View Full Version : will DVD+RW burn CDs?
BlueSite
5-10-04, 07:48 PM
i was wondering...will a dvd+rw burn cds too?
i just ordered a system from tiger direct (thanks to everyone who gave suggestions in my other thread about getting a new system)
it was $544 including shipping and a system restore cd...just 3 months warranty tho, so hopefully there wont be any problems.
its an AMD athlon 2600+ with a 120 GB hd, 512 MB RAM.
it has a dvd+rw drive and a regular cd-rom drive...and im wondering if dvd burners do regular cds as well. it seems like they would, but i never really thought about it until now. if they dont, its no big deal...i saw cd burner for 30 bucks on numerous sites.
i dont LOVE ordering and paying with a money order- which im sending out to them wednesday morning...but all the reviews of the site i see are great and they seem to be trustworthy and have good products. this system would have cost over 800 in stores...so i guess its a good deal overall.
tbonekkt
5-10-04, 07:51 PM
Yes, I believe most do.
Some do and some do not. You need to read the specs. Do not assume they all do. The cheaper ones do not.
BlueSite
5-10-04, 10:42 PM
i guess ill have to see when i get the system. i can always buy a cd burner and put it in...i did so with my last PC. too bad i got it from gateway and it died after about 6 months! i installed the burner and the tv tuner card...so, i guess if i have to do it again. btw. whats the diff between an agp slot and a pci slot?
a tuner card is the pci slot...looks the same as the slot where the ethernet is and the audio hookups, etc...right? it says it has two free slots on the system i ordered and 1 agp slot. not sure of the difference for one, and if thats plenty of slots 2.
AGP is for video only and that is all that will fit the slot properly. It is set back further from the back of the board than the PCI slots so that only an AGP card will fit.
BlueSite
5-11-04, 12:54 AM
video....as in, say i wanted to get a really nice video card that would help with gaming graphics and such? or a totally different kind of video?
video....as in, say i wanted to get a really nice video card that would help with gaming graphics and such? or a totally different kind of video?
That kind of video.
I have a DVD-RW (LG) which permits me to write on CDs .. writing speed is slower
BlueSite
5-11-04, 06:29 AM
nice. i was thinking- anyone know of a way to transfer all the files from this computer (well,not ALL of them- i can redownload tons of stuff- music, videos and stuff)....
but, is there an easy way to link this system to the new one and transfer all the files over? :confused: i want to clean out everything on this machine...and give it to my parents- let them get a cd rom drive for it, and do a full restore...should be fine for them.
BlueSite
5-11-04, 06:30 AM
btw. why are there 14 different formats for cd and dvd burning? maddening!
nice. i was thinking- anyone know of a way to transfer all the files from this computer (well,not ALL of them- i can redownload tons of stuff- music, videos and stuff)....
Three possibilities come straight to mind
1 Set up a local network with network cards and a hub or switch. You may already have one of these as part of your router if you're using cable/DSL.
2 Set up a local network with network cards and a cross-over cable to transfer between machines
3 Use USB to link the two machines in a similar way.
I suggest option 2 .. it is simple and very fast. All you need is a cross-over cable and 2 network cards and win xp operating system. Then click on create a small network and follow wizard instructions.
BlueSite
5-11-04, 04:25 PM
well, this machine im using now is win98. the new one, of course, is win95. help me out also- is a network card and an ethernet card the same thing? they installed a card for the modem...since the modem wasnt working thru USB.
the new one, of course, is win95. You must be kidding :confused:
is a network card and an ethernet card the same thing?Generally yes, they are the same. But network card is a generic term that could mean other types of networks (wireless, phoneline, PWC).
tbonekkt
5-11-04, 05:18 PM
Generally yes, they are the same. But network card is a generic term that could mean other types of networks (wireless, phoneline, PWC). don't forget the old school BNC :D
BlueSite
5-21-04, 10:27 PM
oops. how on earth did i say win95? i meant winXP. whew. that was strange!
it does burn cd's tho, as i found out last night when i burned one. couldnt get it to burn with the software it came with, so i used win media player to burn it and it worked fine.
i still need to pick up a cord for the data transfer tho. i was going to do it USB, but i could just hook up the two network cards right? cause im confused as to which will work...i think they both should from what i read elsewhere?
You can hook the network cards together. That would be a lot faster than USB. If you have no hub or router between them you will need to use a cross-over cable. You use that special type of cable (as the name implies the wires are crossed) two hook to network cards together.
BlueSite
5-22-04, 08:58 AM
yeah, i tried just taking out the end of the cable from the modem and hooking it into the other computers ethernet jack, but that didnt work. it was asking me for a username and password, but kept saying error 721. so, i found out that the regular cable doesnt work! :)
BlueSite
5-22-04, 09:02 AM
so...let me make sure i got this.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00004Z591/qid=1085227142/sr=8-2/ref=pd_ka_2/102-2906715-2220101?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846
something like that...then, hook both computers together and on the host with XP go into the network wizard and it choose computer to computer directly connected...and im guessing itll recognize the second computer hooked up to it.
You found the right cable. Depending on how the netowrking is set up on the computers they may just talk. Or you may need to tweak the network settings. I have never used the network wizard in XP - that may do it as well.
Using the telephone cable from the modem . . . not going to work anyway - crossover or not. phone line and network cable are different.
BlueSite
5-22-04, 08:24 PM
wait. now im confused. i have a cable modem, so the cord i was referring to is the cable that goes from modem to ethernet. that is a crossover cable no? from what has been mentioned, and from what i saw at office depot earlier- a crossover cable is just male-male, as opposed to male-female, right? the cable modem to network card i have has the same plug on both ends (which is what male-male means right? or have i gone crazy)...so, should this be the same cord, or is there something special in a crossover cable (with the wires) that makes it diff than the regular hookup to the network card? thing is- my old cable company put the card in and supplied the cord, so i never knew anything about the installation or the cord used or whatever. i just know that looking at amazon.com is showing pics of the same type of cord i have- with the big phone looking plug on both sides.
BlueSite
5-22-04, 08:37 PM
ah. i think i have it now. both the regular and crossover cables have the same plugs on both ends (male-male) but the wires INSIDE are crossed over. alright. well, i ordered a crossover cable from amazon.com- like 8 bucks with shipping...went to office depot earlier and the cheapest cable was $17 for the same 3 ft length. i dont think i mentioned that in any other reply, and im too lazy to check right now. :)
as you can see, i am clueless when it comes to hardware and the like.
Forget my modem cable comment. I thought you meant a phone line modem not an ethernet cable modem.
But you have it right. A cross-over cable is just a regular ethernet cable with the wires crossed so two computers can talk to each other without the need for a router or hub.
BlueSite
5-23-04, 07:11 PM
okay. another question maybe someone might be able to help with- ill just put it in this thread...
i was installing my tv tuner card the other night (my old card, and i cant get it work- it stopped working long ago, just wanted to see if it would work in my new system)...and i noticed when i took out the back of the slot that the two open slots have the same thing on the side that the card slide into (theyre pci slots i guess?)...so, i have two open slots, but in one, the thing mounted on the side that the side of the card slides into is further back than in the other. are both pci cards and just for diff sized cards or what? because i was thinking- with only two slots, im not sure if ill have room for the tv tuner card and the 5.1 sound card im going to put in it...unless the sound card happens to be longer and actualkly reaches the one where the slot is further back. not sure if thats indicative of a diff type of slot or just a diff sized card to go in there.
Not sure what you are asking, but PCI cards come in "long" and "short". A short card - the card is only as long as the slot so you need no back overhang room. A long card is much longer than the slot. If you need to you can arrange the cards so they fit. Some PCs have other components in the way so some slots can only accept short cards.
You may also have an AGP slot that is not "aligned" with the other slots, it is normally further back on the board than your PCI slots are.
mrmagill
5-23-04, 11:28 PM
I suggest option 2 .. it is simple and very fast. All you need is a cross-over cable and 2 network cards and win xp operating system. Then click on create a small network and follow wizard instructions.
Here's a great link to a page on how to build your own network cables (http://www.linksys.com/faqs/default.asp?fqid=20) from the Linksys support pages. "How to Wire a Network" gives full color diagrams, which are a nice addition to everyone's tech tools when they suffer from a case of late-night Brain Cloud... it also has a nice mini-tutorial on networking basics.
BlueSite
5-24-04, 02:16 AM
this is the system i bought
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=683674&sku=C426-1006%20P
it does only have one open PCI slot and the one that is further back is the AGP slot. one PCI slot is firewire, one is the 56k modem and the open slot- which ill use for the 5.1 sound card when i actually buy it.
i use a cable modem, as i mentioned, so i dont need the modem...i wonder if i should remove that for the tv tuner card when i purchase it? i looked online USB tv tuner cards, but i dont see many, and from reviews the picture isnt as good. not a big deal actually, because i mainly want it for screen capture for websites i run for tv shows and for recording shows i usually tape in EP (SLP) mode on VHS...maybe i COULD just get a usb tv tuner. what sort of devices connect via firewire? never had anything that used it, so im clueless.
If it were me, and having a cable modem, I'd get rid of the standard 56K PCI modem and use that slot for the TV Tuner. Unless of course you think you'll have a need for a dialup connection.
For lack of any other way to describe it, Firewire is like a faster USB connection and there are many devices available for it.
If you do any or plan on doing any gaming or running any serious graphics software in the future, I'd suggest looking for a good AGP video card and disabling the onboard video.
I keep my phone modem because I also use my PC as a fax machine. Not often, but sometimes I do need to send or receive a fax.
I keep my phone modem because I also use my PC as a fax machine. Not often, but sometimes I do need to send or receive a fax.
I do also, but then I have more than one computer and more than 3 PCI slots to begin with :D
mrmagill
5-24-04, 08:33 PM
I keep my phone modem because I also use my PC as a fax machine. Not often, but sometimes I do need to send or receive a fax.
Now that I finally freed up a slot, I'm about to do the same thing for the same reason. But I don't intend to leave the modem plugged into the phone service except when I want it -- I've cleaned up FAR to many cases of those porn-dialer and other such "Lets-make-a-call-to-somewhere-at-$10-a-minute" viruses and bugs on the computers of unsuspecting friends to let the machine decide when to connect to the phone line... in fact, since AT&T is one of the most commonly targeted carriers for this sort of craziness, I called them up one day and had them block out-of-country calls from my line. It now requires a (long-forgotten) passcode to do so.
When I was doing tech support for MSN, one fellow got hit by one of these little monsters. The resulting bill was over $700, and at that time AT&T was not offering any kind of help on those incidents (they do now). In fact, one of our own workers got one of these bugs -- only realized it when he saw the speed of his connection INCREASE remarkably....
I recommend leaving a healthy air gap on that phone wire plug when not in use. ;)
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