CD-RW disk Last modified: Monday, August 05, 2002
Short for CD-ReWritable disk, a type of CD disk that enables you to write onto it in multiple sessions. One of the problems with CD-R disks is that you can only write to them once. With CD-RW drives and disks, you can treat the optical disk just like a floppy or hard disk, writing data onto it multiple times. The first CD-RW drives became available in mid-1997. They can read CD-ROMs and can write onto today's CD-R disks, but they cannot write on normal CD-ROMs. This means that disks created with a CD-RW drive can only be read by a CD-RW drive. However, a new standard called MultiRead, developed jointly by Philips Electronics and Hewlett-Packard, will enable CD-ROM players to read disks create by CD-RW drives. Many experts believe that CD-RW disks will be a popular storage medium until DVD devices become widely available. Also see Understanding CD Burner Speeds in the Did You Know . . . ? section of Webopedia.
•E-mail this definition to a colleague• For internet.com pages about CD-RW disk . Also check out the following links! PC Guide's CD-ROM reference Extensive coverage of CD-ROM drives and technology. Describes how the CD-ROM drive works. Covers CD media and the different formats, CD-recordable and CD-rewriteable technology, performance and reliability, and interface and configuration issues. Recordable CD Format Overview Outlines the technology behind the recordable and rewritable CD formats and the associated standards which ensure compatibility with other formats. Includes graphics, diagrams and an integrated glossary. This page is from "The PC Technology Guide."	CD-ROMs Lasers Peripheral Devices burn CD-R drive CD-ROM DVI MultiRead UDF Give Us Your Feedback Shopping CD RW disk Products Compare Products,Prices and Stores Shop by Category: DVD Players 787 Model Matches CD and DVD Burners 972 Model Matches