CD-RW vs. Zip What's the difference?

[mrfrogs]

Maybe this is a dumb question but I'm new to computers. Can programs be run from CD-RW's just like from Zip Drives? I'm planning to buy something to run my programs from, but I don't want to buy a hard drive.

[MiKe85]

Welcome to Sysopt mrfrogs!!

You'll still need a hardrive, but buying a CD-RW so you will be able to burn cds is a very good investment.
Not only will you be able to put office documents on cds, you'll also be able to put MP3s, html, web page favorites, programs, and you'll even be able to copy any CDs you may want copied. (With an exception of Microsoft products of course )

I hope that answers your question, also not everyone has a Zip drive, and most zip disks can only hold i think it's around 100 mb, on blank cds it's 650 mb+ and virtually everyone has a cd rom in the computer.

Once again - Welcome to Sysopt!!

[OuTpaTienT]

I've owned a Zip drive for quite some time now and I can tell you that chances are a Zip drive is a poor investment.

The main problem is the media (the actual Zip disks) are way too expensive. Last time I checked you were lucky to find them for just under $10 a disk! A disk holds 100MB of data. Compare that to a blank CD-R(W) that can hold 7 times the data, 700MB and if purchased in bulk can cost as low as a $0.25 each.

There was a time when Zip disks were handy, but that time has passed.

[Shagnasty]

I also have a Zip drive 250mb...which I never
use. Mostly because of the size of files in
today's software. My Yamaha 16X10X40X CD-RW
however I use nearly daily. Yes you can run
software directly from the CD Drive but it's
a hassle. You definitely need a Hard Drive.
From the prices I've seen lately they're too
Cheap. I have four 40gb 7200rpm ata/100 HD's
and I paid about $250.00 each for them. I
just saw an 80gb 7200rpm ata/100 drive for
under $200.00. You can get the 40gb for just
about $150.00 now...Until the DVD-Ram drives
get cheaper, a Hard Drive is the Cheapest
Backup solution right now. Even with CD-R
blanks dirt cheap, when you consider how
many it takes to backup a 40gb drive, another
40gb drive is just plain cheaper...

[NDC]

A CDROM/CDRW or Zipdrive, even SCSI removable drives can match the speed of a hard disk... Only removable drive I've seen that can even come close would be a Castlewood ORB drive 2.2GB...

My suggestion would be to get a hard disk if you plan on running applications on it. And as OutPatient said, the cost per MB on external drive medias are just too high compared to a hard disk...

I have a CDRW and Zip250 SCSI and they both have their benefits. I use my Zip250 to transport data back and forth from the office. It's just too much of a hassle to open up the CDRW application, wait for the data to get burned on the CDRW drive. Even using Direct CD is rather time consuming. As for my Zip250, it's hassle free and it writes at faster speeds than CDRW drives.

On the other hand, there are time where I need to give the data to a person who doesn't have a Zip Drive, I can just burn it to a CD to be read by anyone I give it to since most people have CDROM drives...


Keep in mind that some appications may not run on a CDROM or CDRW since it will be read-only. Some applications access the application file(s) alters it...

[hawkeye177]

I have a zip 100 and The only thing I use for it to go to the library (I am sure i spelled it wrong) and download big files and put them on my computer.

[muno]

Sure you can run programs from a cdrw disc, but, if the program needs to write to the location you need to have it formatted with ahead incd or adaptec directcd.
-M

[NDC]

Actually, programs such as DirectCD & PacketWriter won't work in this case since these applications work with shell based interface. The program you're running within the CDRW will not be able to write to the CD even if the CDRW is formatted for Direct CD, Packet Writer, etc format... Packet Writing CDRW formats seem to only work with commands that are within Windows such as "Save, Save As, Delete, etc" or drag & drop method. When no such command is given, nothing is written.

I've experienced this problem on some games that I had on a Direct CD Formatted CDRW where I wasn't able to run the game on it because it was giving errors about no free space on disk...

[This message has been edited by NDC (edited 06-17-2001).]

[marc666]

I have 2gb jazz, 250 zip and creative 8x4x32 on my sys and to be honest shagnasty is correct even though you can run programs from any one of the above even with 2gigs on jazz its much better and cheeper to just buy second hd, the price of a set of jazz disks is about $150.00. I use mine just for downloads or file sharing with a few of my friends which I end up burning a cd any way and the cost of 2gb jazz dosent make it for what you can do with it even when backing up your sys.