CoverCreator: CD & DVD Cover Maker

MakeUseOf has a post about CoverCreator which is a CD & DVD Cover Maker.

“CoverCreator is an online CD & DVD cover maker that lets you type and illustrate your own CD/DVD covers or booklets and then print them out. It allows you to customize almost any part of the cover, you can create multiple pages, select variety of layout templates, apply different background colors, add text and draw.”

ISO what?

ISO files are single files that contain the archived contents of a CD or DVD.  They’re often used to install operating systems or other big programs.  If you download an ISO file, you may need to burn it to a CD or DVD.

Some freeware programs being recommended by PC World are:

• ISO Recorder
• ISOBuster
• Active ISO Burner

Gizmo’s Best Free CD / DVD Emulation Software

Gizmo’s Best Free CD / DVD Emulation Software is a post from the very thorough Gizmo Richard’s site on a number of ways to put the contents of CDs/DVDs on your computer and skip having to carry them with you.

Try at your own risk, and check the comments from users about any problems they might have had with specific operating systems.

Vista CDs incompatible? Kim explains…

Kim Komando.com explains why Vista CDs are sometimes incompatible with other systems, including XP.

“CDs created by Windows XP use the Mastered format. That format requires you to finalize the disc after it is burned. So, it must be completed in one session. Rewritable discs can be written to again, but must be erased first.

By default, Vista uses the Live File System. With this format, you can write files to the CD whenever you want. You can also erase files whenever you want (provided you’re using a rewritable CD). A rewritable CD can be used like a floppy disc or USB drive.

When I make a disc for Vista, I just use Live File System. But when the disc will be used on other machines, I use the Mastered format. You shouldn’t run into too many problems with this format.

To select the Mastered format, insert a blank CD in your computer. Click “Burn files to disc” in the box that opens. Enter a name for the disc and click “Show formatting options.” Select Mastered and click Next. Your CD will be formatted. You can then add files and finalize the disc. Now, that isn’t too complicated—once you know where to look!”

Disketch CD Label for discs and cases for CDs and DVDs

Disketch CD Label Software “is a free CD and DVD disc labeling software for Windows. It allows you to create CD and DVD disc labels as well as cover images for CD and DVD jewel cases. You can import your own art work, or set a simple background colors and organize artist information along with track lists.”

For Windows 98/2000/XP/2003/Vista.  Use at your own risk.

Remastersys creates a custom Ubuntu Linux CD or Flash drive

[Revised 2008/8/8]

A post at Ubuntugeek has instructions on using Remastersys to install Ubuntu on a CD so you can boot Linux with it.

To follow up by installing on a flash drive, continue to A much easier way.

As always, try at your own risk.

Virtual CD/DVD drives

Does anybody really like fumbling with CD cases and DVD cases? Especially when traveling? But if you want to while away the evening with a game or a movie (or even a long, boring meeting — turn the sound off first!)…

Basically, you need to be able to load the contents of your CD/DVD onto the hard drive — which will also be likely to speed up response time — so you can run the files as if they were on the CD/DVD drive. You need a virtual CD/DVD drive. Of course, since you already paid for the CD/DVD, it would be nice if the virtual (or clone) drive software were free. Here are some examples.

MagicDisc is freeware. “MagicDisc Virtual CD/DVD-ROM is a utility designed for creating and managing virtual CD drives and CD/DVD discs. MagicDisc Virtual CD/DVD-ROM emulates audio, data, and game CDs and DVDs with ISO image, CD and DVD images. MagicDisc Virtual CD/DVD-ROM offers 200x speed and noiseless CD/DVD access without a physical drive. It supports creating up to 15 virtual drivers. You can run games, software, see movies (VCD, SVCD, DVD), and hear music directly from your hard disk without inserting and swapping CDs and DVDs. MagicDisc allows you to use almost all CD/DVD image without burning them onto CD or DVD in order to easily access your favorite games, music, or software programs. It works like a real CD/DVD-ROM: You can run programs, play games, or listen to music from your virtual CD-ROM. It can compress ISO CUE MDS NRG CCD image; can encrypt ISO CUE MDS NRG CCD image; can make ISO image from CD/DVD; It can mount UDF only CD/DVD image and multi-session MDS/MDF and CCD/IMG image. Version 2.6.93 can set DVD Region Code.” Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista.

DAEMON Tools Lite is freeware.

” DAEMON Tools is an advanced application for Microsoft Windows which provides THE best optical media emulation in the industry. !! THIS VERSION SUPPORTS 32 AND 64 BIT OS (Microsoft Windows XP, Windows2003, Windows 2000, VISTA) !!”

Microsoft Virtual CD Control Panel (warning: direct download link) Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel is a free CD-ROM emulator that allows you to mount ISO images of CDROMs in a virtual drive. It is a rudimentary program that does not support copy-protected discs such as the game disks supported by commercial CD/DVD emulators. Note that the Virtual CD Control Panel link is a direct download link. It came from a Microsoft KnowledgeBase entry on an unrelated subject, which contains some instructions on how you can install the driver, add a virtual CD drive and mount your images. (If you are visiting that link for instructions about the Virtual CDROM Control Panel, simply ignore references to “Windows PE”.) You will also need to use a third party program to make your ISO images (if you don’t already have it). This is a Windows program. [this entry from www.thefreecountry.com]

Alcohol 52% Free Edition is freeware. “There are no limitations on this version, other than the ability to create only 6 virtual drives. Our retail version still supports 31 virtual drives. Remember you can not run Alcohol 52% if you have Alcohol 120% installed on the same drive. [Alcohol 120% is the pay version with more capabilities.] This version of Alcohol 52% is for private, non-commercial, single home computer use only.The license is provided personally to you and for that reason it does not allow you to make any duplicate (copy) to be sold, borrowed, assigned, leased or transferred. Emulation software allowing users to play CDs DVDs without the need for the physical disc. Notebook users and PC Game players would benifit the most from Alcohol 52% Supports 25 plus languages Can handle up to 6 virtual CD DVD-ROM drives, all at once. The reading speed of a virtual CD-ROM is 200X. This means you can play a CD from the virtual CD-ROM with 200X reading speed. Supports normal CD DVD and CD RAW sub-channel reading methods: RAW reading method enables to emulate all CDs. CD formats supported: CD-DA, CD+G, CD-ROM, CD-XA, Video CD, Photo CD, Mixed Mode, Multi-session CD DVD formats supported: DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio Support for all current (ATAPI SCSI) drives: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW Full support for IEEE-1394 (Firewire) and USB protocols. Winner of the 2006 Epsilon Award at the sixth annual European SharewareConference. Windows NT 3.x, Windows NT 4.x, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista.

SlySoft Virtual CloneDrive is freeware.

Features

• Supports all common image formats such as ISO, BIN, CCD
• Supports up to 8 virtual drives at the same time
• Easy to use – just double-click an image file to mount as a drive
• Virtual CloneDrive is freeware, you may use it at no cost.
• Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP

Best freeware alternatives to Nero for burning

If you have a popular program such as Nero for burning CDs/DVDs, great.  But if you don’t, and you’d rather not spend the money…

MakeUseOf compiled a list of the best free alternatives to Nero.

These included:

• CDBurner XP
• InfraRecorder
• DeepBurner
• many more

BurnAware also does Blu-Ray

BurnAware Free Edition is a freeware program, comparable to Nero, that burns CDs and DVDs including Blu-Ray (BD-R/BD-RE), disk images, allows for multiple burn sessions so you can add successive backups to a disk or new software to a backup of your collection and it supports all current hardware.

The reviewer on Clif Notes Newsletter has set aside Nero in favor of this software.

Burn CDs with freeware

The Best Free CD / DVD Burner as recommended by Gizmo’s Tech Support Alert newsletter: “CDBurnerXP Pro [1] has long been one of the best free burners around. With the release of the new version 4.0 it goes straight to the top of its class….

Not to be dismissed is the latest version of the Open Source InfraCorder [2]. Like CDBurnerXP it handles CDs and DVDs, though not Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs…

Read the rest of his post here.

[1] http://cdburnerxp.se Freeware, Windows 2000 -> Vista, 1.97MB
[2] http://infrarecorder.sourceforge.net/ Windows 2000 -> Vista, 2.6MB

CD without a CD – putting a CD on your hard drive

Instead of shuffling through your CDs, looking for that particular one that will allow your program to work, you may be able to mount your ISO (CD) files virtually.

This tool for Windows XP allows image files to be mounted virtually as CD-ROM/DVD-ROM devices. This tool is provided … for your convenience and is unsupported by Microsoft Product Support Services.  Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel for Windows XP.

Recommended by Windows Secrets and other sources.

CD or not CD? That is, with CloneDrive

SlySoft Virtual CloneDrive “works and behaves just like a physical CD/DVD drive, however it exists only virtually. Image files generated with CloneDVD or CloneCD can be mounted onto a virtual drive from your hard-disk or from a network drive and used in the same manner as inserting them into a normal CD/DVD drive.  Probably the best virtual drive software, Virtual CloneDrive allows you to enjoy the freedom of a virtual drive and is completely free.

Recommended by Coolsites newsletter.

• Supports all common image formats such as ISO, BIN, CCD
• Supports up to 8 virtual drives at the same time
• Easy to use – just double-click an image file to mount as a drive
• Virtual CloneDrive is freeware, you may use it at no cost.

CDCheck could save your computer CD files

CDCheck is freeware. This utility detects and recovers damaged files on CD-ROMs. You can discover which files on your CD are corrupted. You can also use the program proactively, to insure that your data on CD-ROMs are safe. In addition to CD-ROMs, the program can be used with other local or removable media, such as disk drives, floppy disks, and ZIP drives. The file is free for non-profit use. Recommended by PC World.