Ivanov Yezinki

No *laughing* here--for the most part   --we've all been new to these things ourselves over the years.

1.  Usually, you just open your favorite burning program and copy files from the HDD to the DVD--following the steps of the burning program--usually selecting the source files from the browsing box on top, and adding them to the DVD destination box on the bottom screen.

With Ghost 2003, in the DOS version, you can use the *Standard Boot Disk* to access the Ghost image files only if you used Ghost to do the image burning directly to your optical media.

If you first save an image to a HDD, and then burn it to optical media, then you need to use the *CD/DVD Startup Disk with Ghost* in order for Ghost to correctly work with the image files.

You can use *Ghost Explorer* (in Windows) to change the size of the image files so they fit better on a DVD or CD (Ghost 2003 max file size is approx 2 GB--a DOS file size limitation--Ghost will *span* multiple files if needed to complete the image set).  If Ghost burns the images to optical media directly--then Ghost adjusts the image file size to *best fit* sizes.  If you know ahead of time that you will be burning the images to DVD later, then you can start Ghost with a *split* switch that tells Ghost to create image files in the size you have specified.  So to fill a CD, you might use *ghost.exe -split=650*.

2.  Have not used either--so no personal knowledge.

3.  *R* is one use media, and *RW* is rewriteable--it can be erased and re-used.  *double layer* and *Dual layer* appear to be the same thing.

4.  The *-* and *+* are different, completing burning formats developed by competing companies--most newer, better quality optical drives are designed to handle whichever.  *R* and *RW*--see #3 above.

5.  I let the burning program set the defaults after it *looks at* the abilities of the optical drive and the designated speed of the optical media--but, you can over-ride those--but, you are more likely to have problems as you get further away from *default values*--now you are in the realm of experimenting with your particular set up to see what works on your system--it's hard to make any recommendations here.

Ivanov Yezinki

1.  I use whichever media is fastest on my optical drive. 

I use RW media for test burns and R media for *permanent* storage.

2.  I have the Roxio software that came with my Plextor drives over the years--versions 4, 5 , and 6.  These versions are *crippled* versions (often referred to as OEM versions) that are included with optical drives--but usually not all *features* are supported in these versions--you usually have to purchase the *full* version from Roxio or Nero for all the available burning features.  The best of the three is version 5.xx for supporting the most features.

And I have the OEM suite of Nero 6.xx--this version is very *crippled* compared to Roxio.

3.  Looks like Sony's latest and greatest optical drive--usually gets good reviews.  I personally use Plextor because they have always shown the greatest overall compatibility with my system and software--not necessarily the fastest on the block--but not having to hassle with compatibility has been my personal main goal--my latest model is the PX-708A--which is now a couple years old.