Burning CDs
If your Macintosh includes a CD-R drive or SuperDrive, you can write, or burn, files onto blank CD-R media. This is a great way to archive important files that you don't need on your computer's hard disk and to share files with other computer users.
Tips
This part of the chapter provides one technique for burning a CD with the Finder's Burn Disc command. You can also burn CDs or DVDs from within iTunes, iDVD, or other third party utilities, such as Roxio Toast. iTunes and iDVD are discussed in Chapter 11.
Mac OS X 10.2 offers additional options for burning CDs. For example, the dialog that appears when you insert a blank CD enables you to choose the application you want to use to burn the CD (Figure 57) and the Burn CD command displays a dialog that enables you to select a burn speed (Figure 62).
To burn a CD
Insert a blank CD-R disc into your computer's CD-R drive or SuperDrive.
A dialog like the one in Figure 56 appears. Make sure Open Finder is chosen from the Action pop-up menu (Figure 57). Then enter a suitable name for the disc in the edit box and click OK.
Figure 56 When you insert a blank CD-R disc, your Mac asks what you want to do.
Figure 57 The Action pop-up menu enables you to choose the application you want to use to burn the CD.
Wait while your computer prepares the disc. When it is finished, a CD disc icon appears on the desktop (Figure 58).
Figure 58 An icon for the disc appears on the desktop.
Drag the files you want to write on the disc onto the disc icon or into the open disc window (Figure 59).
Figure 59 Copy the items you want to include on the disc to the disc's window.
Wait while your computer copies the files.
Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all files you want on the disc have been copied.
Choose File > Burn Disc (Figure 60).
Figure 60 Choose Burn Disc from the File menu.
A confirmation dialog like the one in Figure 61 appears. If desired, choose a speed from the Burn Speed pop-up menu (Figure 62) and then click Burn.
Figure 61 Your computer confirms that you want to burn the disc and enables you to choose the burn speed.
Figure 62 Use the Burn Speed pop-up menu to indicate how fast you want to burn the disc.
Wait while your computer prepares, burns, and verifies the disc. A Burn Disc window (Figure 63) reports its progress. When it disappears, the disk is ready.
Figure 63 The Burn Disc window appears while the disc is being prepared, burned, and verified.
Tips
If you choose a different application from the Action pop-up menu (Figure 57) in step 2, Mac OS X will open that application so you can use it to burn the disc. The remaining steps do not apply.
In step 8, the options that appear in the Burn Speed pop-up menu (Figure 62) vary depending on the speed of your CD-R or DVD-R drive.
If you're not sure which speed to choose in step 8, choose Maximum.