[The_Oracle]

until recently i have been using NERO Burning ROM 6.6.015 to create/copy CDs or DVDs. this version is a bit out of date now but imho still the best (unless you'll need to burn Blu-Ray or using Vista). version 7 has become pretty bloated and with the release of version 8 things have become even worse, i couldn't believe what i have read about the system requirements:

1.5 GB disc space for a typical installation of all components

hello? 1500 MB for a piece of software to burn discs??? well, you get a lot of bytes for your $80, that's for sure!

so i had a look around for some lightweight application. i'm using DeepBurner on my Windows PE disc but this program does not support direct disk copy. eventually i came across InfraRecorder.

InfraRecorder is a free CD/DVD burning solution for Microsoft Windows. It offers a wide range of powerful features; all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration.

features:

Create custom data, audio and mixed-mode projects and record them to physical discs as well as disc images.

Supports recording to dual-layer DVDs.

Blank (erase) rewritable discs using four different methods.

Record disc images (ISO and BIN/CUE).

Fixate discs (write lead-out information to prevent further data from being added to the disc).

Scan the SCSI/IDE bus for devices and collect information about their capabilities.

Create disc copies, on the fly and using a temporary disc image.

Import session data from multi-session discs and add more sessions to them.

Display disc information.

Save audio and data tracks to files (.wav, .wma, .ogg, .mp3 and .iso).

using InfraRecorder for 3 weeks now and i'm absolutely satisfied. never crashed or fried a blank disk. it's fast (even on older computers) the interface is user friendly and intuitive. it will suffice for all your daily CD/DVD burning tasks.

a very nice feature: you can create DVDs from CD images (if you don't have a blank CD) without the hassle of re-authoring the image

ah yes, system requirements: it works with 2K, XP and Vista, using 7.5 MB hard disk space ... 0.5% of NERO's full installation

and it comes at the best price of them all!

[aarhus2004]

Hello Oracle,

Did you uninstall Nero before installing InfraRecorder?

I see there is a download for Win9x and I wondered if you would think it worthwhile to give that a mention in your post?

Thanks.

Ben.

[The_Oracle]

i didn't have to uninstall nero because i didn't install it in the first place

i tried nero 7 once and i was somewhat disappointed so i went back to 6.6.015 and from what i have seen i have no intention to try version 8

forgot to mention, that you don't have to 'install' InfraRecorder. download the zip version, unpack to a directory of your choice and start the executables InfraRecorder.exe or irExpress.exe (stand alone). handy for mobile deployment on a USB stick too

sorry, i have no experience with the windows 9x version of InfraRecorder (since i don't have any 9x computers. except a VPC with 98se, which doesn't really count) ... feel free to try it and let us know what you think.