Detailed Guide - Burning CD/DVDs

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The archive process for most targets is fairly similar. The most complex process is burning to CD or DVD media. This section will describe this process in detail. The other targets are similar.

When you hit the Archive button AC will begin the burn process and proceed to burn the CDs/DVDs that have check marks on them. When each disk is completed, the verify will be performed according to the option that had been selected. When each disk is complete (writing and verifying) AC will ask for the a blank disk to be inserted into the drive and it will go on to the next disk..

The sequence of events is as follows:

First the ISO image for the first disk is prepared in memory. If there is proper blank media in the drive burning will then begin. If there is not blank media in the drive you will see this dialog box.

If the Cache to Hard Disk is enabled(CD Only), the files will be written to a temporary ISO image file in the "BurnCache" folder in the path as set in the AC Preferences.. During the Cache process an indication of completion is displayed in the status bar..

If you hit Cancel the Write process will be cancelled for the entire session (don't worry...you can start it again). otherwise insert a blank media in the drive and hit OK. The screen will then look like this..

The status is always shown in the "Progress Panel" on the right.

When the disk is done burning, it is closed as indicated in the status panel. This takes about 30 seconds. The disk is then ejected so that it may be remounted and recognized by Windows in preparation for the verify process (if selected). The CD will automatically be withdrawn if the drive allows it, but some do not and this cannot be detected (like on a laptop). The following dialog is displayed during the process..

The CD will be re-inserted automatically in a few seconds if the drive had that capability or you can hit OK to re-insert the drive before the timeout. If the drive cannot be re-inserted, then you should do it manually and then hit OK. The Verify will then proceed and complete. If errors are detected, you will be informed and the disk will be marked in the disk tree. You can re-burn the disk by beginning the burn process again. Whatever disks have check marks will be burned in this burn session.

If there were no errors then the following dialog will be displayed, and the screen will look like this..

Insert a blank media and Hit OK.

Here is a screen with Disk 2 being burned.

Notice that Disk 1 is Gold in color with no check mark indicating that it has been successfully burned and verified (if verify was turned on). The status of Disk 2 is shown. This process continues until all the disks are completed.

This is Disk 2 being Verified..

When Disk 3 is complete the following dialogs are displayed..

Override Last disk on DVD burn Feature.

When burning DVDs, often you are left with the last disc that is very under utilized. You can choose to burn that last disc to a CD instead of a DVD. If a Blank CD is inserted when the last disc is about to be burned AND there is enough capacity on the CD to write the remaining files, AC will pop up a notification that a CD is inserted and give you the option to use it or not.