How to Back Up Data from Hard Drive(s) to External Media
How to Format a CD Using Roxio Easy CD Creator

If your computer came with (or you purchased) an application that allows you to create data or audio CDs (e.g., Roxio Easy CD Creator), you can use that application to format a CD to back up data from your hard drive.

The instructions outlined here are for Roxio EasyCD Creator version 5 used on a Windows XP computer. If you have a different version of this application or a different application, these instructions will not work exactly as they are outlined here. Use the Help menu within your application for specific instructions.

How to use the Roxio DirectCD Format Utility to Format a CD
  1. Insert a blank, unformatted CD into the drive on your computer that allows you to write to a CD. (The drive is usually labeled as Recordable or Rewritable).
  2. If a dialog box appears that asks how to open the CD, click Cancel.
  3. Click Start | All Programs | Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 | Applications | DirectCD Format Utility.
  4. You will see the DirectCD Format Utility dialog box that looks similar to the following:

  5. Click format CD.
  6. In the Label field, type a name for the CD (one that will provide information about what is on the CD and when it was created). For example, in the Label field in the following screen, the name backup11_04 indicates it is for a backup done in November 2004.

  1. Click Start Format.
  2. Click OK. It may take up to an hour or more for the CD to format completely. After it is formatted, you can "drag and drop" files/folders from your computer's hard drive to the CD.