Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on CD-R

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Igglethorpe
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Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on CD-R

Post by Igglethorpe »

Greetings Mac brothers and sisters,

I have my first dumb Mac question. I for the life of me, can't figure out how to see the remaining space on a CD-R before I hit the burn button. Let me elaborate:

1) Stick a CD-R into the drive.
2) Drag files into the CD-R icon (which will be burned shortly)
3) Hit the burn button and I am told that this image is too big to support the size of this CD-R.
4) Remove a folder or whatever
5) Hit the burn button and told the same thing. Image too big.
6) Frantically and to no avail look for the remaining space bar or number so I know exactly how much I need to remove from the image...
7) Scream in frustration

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide.

----------------------------------
Fantom X-8 (2.10) 512MB
Fantom X-R (2.02) 512MB
V-Synth XT (2.02)
SH-201
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Artemiy
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Re: Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on

Post by Artemiy »

You can double-click the CD-R/RW icon, and Finder will open it as a "burn folder". You can see the total size of the items in the status bar (see the image below). Also when you click on the burn icon, you will be informed which size of the disk you'll need:

Image
nsheldon
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Re: Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on

Post by nsheldon »

Hi Igglethorpe

Unfortunately, there is no quick way to find the actual capacity of a blank CD or DVD within the Finder of OS X. The Mac OS X Disk Burner utility (which is used by the Finder and other Apple programs to burn file and audio CDs and DVDs) appears to only check the actual capacity of the media just before burning it. It does not support multi-session discs either. However, the published capacity of CD-Rs and CD-RWs are pretty close. If the label says the capacity is 700 MB, it's probably around 702 MB unformatted (or about 696 MB formatted).

Though the Mac OS X Disk Burner provides basic functionality, for expanded functionality in burning CDs (such as multi-session CDs and DVDs, mixed-mode CDs, as well as the ability to get more detailed information about a CD and the drive, etc.) I'd suggest Roxio's Toast Titanium 7 software.

Regards,

Nathan Sheldon
http://www.nathansheldon.com/
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Artemiy
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Re: Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on

Post by Artemiy »

I'd just want to add that I myself never needed more than the built-in burner. I burned about a 150 CDs and CD-RWs with it without any problems. Also, Disk Utility can be used to burn multi-session CDs - you just need to drag a folder onto it to create a disk image first, and then burn that image with the multisession option. Read this tip on the Apple site: http://www.apple.com/pro/tips/burnmulti.html.
nsheldon
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Re: Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on

Post by nsheldon »

Good point Art. Thanks for pointing out the multi-session option using Disk Utility.

Regards,

Nathan Sheldon
http://www.nathansheldon.com/
Igglethorpe
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Re: Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on

Post by Igglethorpe »

Yay! Thanks for your help! I also found the little tiny button across the bottom of the bar on the right that also calculated the disk usage. Regarding multi-session, I'll definitely keep that as a tip.

----------------------------------
Fantom X-8 (2.10) 512MB
Fantom X-R (2.02) 512MB
V-Synth XT (2.02)
SH-201
nsheldon
Posts: 2292
Joined: 12:35, 3 March 2004
Location: Fresno, CA, USA
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Re: Dumb Mac Question #1: How to see the remaining space on

Post by nsheldon »

You can also get disk space usage from the Info window. Just right-click (or control-click) the blank disc icon on your desktop and choose "Get Info" (you can also single-click the icon and choose the menu option File > Get Info, or press Command + I, where "Command" is the Apple logo key).

If you're new to Mac OS X, it may help to look for little details in the interface, like that little Refresh button in the status bar at the bottom right of the window. Mac OS X, and Apple products in general, tend to be focused on the little details and nuances, akin to an artistic creation (likely a direct result of Jobs' perfectionism and micromanagement style).

Regards,

Nathan Sheldon
http://www.nathansheldon.com/
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