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Posted by Rick Merrill on 12/18/06 17:34
Stuart Miller wrote:
> "Rick Merrill" <rick0.merrill@NOSPAM.gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:NLydndbUkKLyTBjYnZ2dnUVZ_q_inZ2d@comcast.com...
>> I have different questions about DVD-RW disks.
>>
>> Do you have to "format" it before reuse or can you
>> just write over?
>>
>> And if you write over but do not use it all
>> can there be residual information from the prior
>> recording? (as there would be with tape)
>>
>
> Unfortunately, the answer is 'it depends'
> Roxio has two erase modes, fast and complete
> Fast just rewrites the lead in area to make the disc look blank. It is
> certain that there will be be some data from a previous use left on the
> disc, but no index to let you find specific files.
> Complete claims to do a complete erase, but it is not clear if it erases the
> whole disc or just what the disc says was written this session, and I have
> not got the tools to test that.
> There is a security vs media life issue here - each complete erase counts as
> another write cycle. How many cycles can the media support before it starts
> to wear out?
> There has been a lot of discussion in the various computer security
> newsgroups about the ability to recover erased data, and the cost of doing
> so, and the need - law suit, child porn prosecution, anti-terrorist,
> corporate 'secrets', military secrets, consumer data. Finding part of a jpeg
> in 4.7 gigs of garbled data ???
>
> As I understand the process, 'format' is only required for packet writing
> programs like 'drag to disc' which need to know where to put things. For a
> regular complete burn, I just use 'fast erase'. Best thing is to try the
> simple way first and see if it works
>
> Stuart
>
>
Thank you. Sounds like experience is the best teacher!
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