User Manual

Ahead Software AG
Information on copyright and trade marks The InCD user manual and all its contents are protected by copyright and are the property of Ahead Software. All rights reserved. This user manual contains material that is protected by internationally valid copyright. This manual may not in whole or in part - be copied, transmitted or otherwise reproduced without the express written permission of Ahead Software AG. All trade names and trademarks are the property of the respective owners. Ahead Software rejects any claims that transcend the legal guarantee rights. Ahead Software AG does not undertake any liability for the correctness of the content of the InCD user manual. The contents of the software supplied, as well as of the InCD user manual, may be changed without prior warning. The trademarks mentioned here are only listed for information purposes. Copyright 2003 Ahead Software AG REV 1.4 Mount Rainier and EasyWrite Reader are properties of the Mount Rainier Group. Be aware that some early versions of InCD 4 do not include all of the features presented herein. Check for the newest version on www.nero.com.

Contents

1 About InCD.... 5
1.1 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 Information about InCD.. 5 Hints on working with InCD... 5 Operating systems.... 5 Existing packet writing software.. 6 CD-MRW / DVD+MRW (Mount Rainier).. 7 UDF reader driver... 8

Installation.... 9

2.1 2.2 2.3 Introduction... 9 Installation... 9 Uninstalling InCD... 10

Working with InCD... 11

3.1 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 3.2.5 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.4 3.5 3.5.1 3.5.2 3.5.3 3.5.4 3.6 3.7 Starting InCD.... 11 Discs supported by InCD... 12 CD-RW... 12 CD-MRW... 12 DVD-RW... 13 DVD-RAM.... 13 DVD+RW and DVD+MRW... 13 Format... 14 Background formatting... 16 Disc verification... 16 Quick formatting.... 16 Ejecting a disc... 19 Ejecting a CD-RW or a DVD-RAM... 19 Ejecting a CD-MRW, a DVD+RW or a DVD+MRW. 19 Ejecting a DVD-RW... 19 Loading a disc.... 20 Copying data to a disc formatted using InCD.. 21 Erasing discs.... 22

Contents 3

Commands.... 24
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Introduction... 24 About.... 24 Help.... 24 Options.... 25 Drive properties... 26 InCD format... 28 InCD delete... 29 Eject.... 29

Index.... 30

Contents 4

About InCD

Information about InCD
InCD is a program which formats rewritable discs (CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+RW and DVD-RW) in such a way that they can be used like hard disks or floppy disks. This means that you can save, copy or delete files from any application onto the disc. InCD uses only rewritable discs (CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW). Discs which can only be written to once (CD-R, DVD+R or DVD-R) cannot be used with InCD.
Hints on working with InCD

Operating systems

The system requirements for InCD are as follows: Hardware Software CD/DVD-Rewritable compatible recorder (MMC Compliant, Multiread RW Recorder) Windows 95 (Version B / Service Release 2 onwards) with the DCOM95 update (available if you install Internet Explorer 4.0) Windows 98 Windows Me Windows NT 4.0 with IE 4.0 Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows Server 2003 Rewritable disc (CD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, and DVD-RAM)

Disc type

Note for users of Windows 95/98/Me! InCD is not compatible with the 'Adaptec CD-Burning Plug-in' which is installed as part of Windows Media Player 7.x. Please uninstall the plug-in using 'Add/Remove Programs' from the Control Panel.

About InCD 5

To Windows XP users! If InCD causes a serious error, you can send the error log to Microsoft by clicking on the 'Send Error Report' button. Microsoft will then forward it to Ahead Software, so that our software developers can analyze the error and improve the software. Thank you for your support!
Existing packet writing software
InCD can handle discs formatted by other packet writing software. However, InCD is not compatible with other packet writing software. You must uninstall any other packet writing packages prior to your InCD installation. Before the installation begins, InCD checks the installed applications and exits the set-up procedure if it finds another packet writing program. A window is displayed with a message explaining this.

About InCD 6

CD-MRW / DVD+MRW (Mount Rainier)
To format discs in the so-called MRW (Mount Rainier) format using InCD, check the corresponding check box (if InCD detects a recorder that supports MRW, then this option will be enabled by default). The RW disc will then become an MRW disc once formatting is complete. The check box is to be found in the InCD Options dialog box for overall control, and in the drive properties InCD tab for per drive control. In both places, this option is only modifiable if the recorder supports this function. There is more on this in the 'Options' and 'Drive properties' sections.
In contrast to CD-RW, MRW discs can be written to after only about one minute of formatting. This does not mean that the MRW is fully formatted after two minutes, but simply that it is formatted enough for you to be able to write data on it. The remainder of the formatting goes on in the background. Mount Rainier is also known as 'EasyWrite'. You can find additional information about Mount Rainier at http://www.mt-rainier.org. You can only write data in MRW format with drives that support the format. You must also ensure that the 'MRW Format on all MRW capable drives' checkbox has been ticked. Drives that do not support Mt. Rainier can only read such discs with a remapper (see the 'Remapper' section). Most drives supporting Mount Rainier feature the EasyWrite logo:
The EasyWrite logo is a registered trademark of Philips.

About InCD 7

1.2.3.1
CD-MRW discs are standard CD-RW discs formatted as MRW on a recorder that supports Mt. Rainier. In addition, DVD+MRW discs are standard DVD+RW discs formatted as MRW on a Mt. Rainier-supporting recorder.

1.2.3.2

Remapper
In order to be able to read discs in Mount Rainier format on drives that do not support this format (CD-MRW/DVD+MRW), you will need a so-called remapper (the 'EasyWrite Reader'). It is not installed as part of the InCD installation process, so you will need to install it separately. Depending on the operating system in use, you may also have to install InCD. You can find the information you need in the following table: You need the remapper in order to be able to read CDWindows 95 MRW/DVD+MRW. You can download it free of charge Windows 98 Windows Me from http://www.nero.com. Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows Server 2003 Windows NT You cannot read CD-MRW/DVD+MRW using only the remapper. For this operating system you must install InCD as well as the remapper.

The remapper will not allow you write MRW discs. Only recorders that are MRWwrite compliant can write MRW discs.

UDF reader driver

On a PC running Windows 95B or Windows 98 or Windows ME and on which InCD is not installed, in order to be able to read a disc formatted using InCD, you need a UDF reader driver. This driver is part of the above-mentioned EasyWrite Reader. You can download it free of charge from Ahead Software AG's web site at www.nero.com. Note for users of Windows NT4: The current UDF driver version does not support Windows NT4. If you are running NT4, you must install InCD instead of the UDF driver.

About InCD 8

Installation

Introduction

InCD comes in several installation packages. CD-ROM multi-installer. This pops up when you insert the Nero CD-ROM in your drive and when the auto-insert notification is enabled on your system. CD-ROM standalone installer. You can install InCD, bypassing the multiinstaller, by directly launching the InCD installer to be found on the CD-ROM. Internet standalone installer. You can download its Web installer, but if you want to install InCD you must have a registered version of either Nero or Nero Express.
You must have administrator rights to install the software on Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP Pro or Windows Server 2003. 1. Close all the Windows applications you are not running and close any antivirus software that may be running. 2. Put the InCD disc in the CD or DVD drive, or download InCD's Web installer (from www.nero.com, for instance). 3. Start installation CD-ROM multi-installer - click on the InCD area of the start window. CD-ROM standalone installer browse your CD-ROM and, there, open a folder called 'InCD' if the CD-ROM is a Nero 5.5 CD-ROM (or 'InCD4' if you have a Nero 6 CD-ROM). Launch the 'Setup.exe' file, which is located in this folder, by double-clicking on it. Internet standalone installer launch the downloaded file. 4. Click on the 'Next' button to install the software. If there is an existing version of InCD 4 installed, you can update it by clicking on the 'Next' button.

Installation 9

You cannot update from InCD 3.x to InCD 4. You first have to uninstall InCD 3.x before installing InCD 4. 5. Read the license terms and conditions carefully and then choose the 'I accept the terms in the preceding license agreement' option, if you agree to the terms of the agreement. Then click on the 'Next' button. You cannot install InCD unless you agree to the license terms.
6. Enter your user name in the 'User name' field. If InCD is installed on a company computer, you must also enter the firm's name in the 'Company name' field. This is obligatory - you must enter data in this field. We recommend that private users repeat their user name in this field. The default installation folder is 'C:\Program Files\Ahead\InCD'. You can change this folder by clicking on the 'Change' button and entering the folder of your choice. When all the details are correct, click on the 'Next' button. 7. You must restart your computer before you can use InCD. Click on the 'Restart' button to restart your computer. If you click on the 'Exit' button, the installation program will be closed. You cannot use InCD until you have restarted your computer.

Uninstalling InCD

The uninstall window varies depending on the operating system. 1. Choose START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS. 2. Select 'Ahead InCD' and click on the appropriate button. InCD will be uninstalled immediately without further prompting and all installed drivers will be deleted. 3. You will be prompted to reboot. It is advised that you do so since the drivers might still be active (e.g. if you have an InCD formatted disc in your burner). Click on the 'Restart' button.

Installation 10

Working with InCD

Starting InCD

When you start your computer, InCD will be launched automatically. There is no link to InCD in the Programs folder. The InCD icon appears in the system tray, which is usually in the bottom righthand corner of the screen. The InCD icon shows information about the CD, which is currently in the drive, or about the drive itself. It is possible to show this information only for a few seconds at the time the status changes (then the icon will change back to the normal icon) or continuously. Please refer to the FAQ (it can be found in the InCD installation folder) and to the 'Options' section of this manual for more details.

InCD icon InCD mounted the disc in the DVD/CD-RW drive. InCD recognized the disc in the DVD/CD-RW drive, but could not mount it. InCD mounted the disc in the DVD/CD-RW drive, but access to the disc is read-only. InCD did not detect a disc in the drive.

Working with InCD 11

Discs supported by InCD
Ultra-speed discs take about ten minutes to be formatted. High-speed discs take about 20 minutes and low-speed discs around 40 minutes. A CD-RW must be completely formatted before you can use it with InCD. Here are the different CD-RW media speeds available at the time this manual was written. Low speed 1-4x Sometimes referred to as 'normal speed' or 'multi-speed'. Can be burnt in any RW recorder.

High Speed

4-10x, 4-12x Can be burnt with High Speed, Ultra Speed and Ultra Speed+ drives. High Speed CD-RW and High Speed capable drives feature the High Speed logo.

Ultra Speed

16-24x Can be burnt only with Ultra Speed or Ultra Speed+ capable drives. The Ultra Speed drives and discs feature the Ultra Speed logo.

Ultra Speed+

32x Can be burnt only with Ultra Speed+ drives. The Ultra Speed+ drives and discs feature the Ultra Speed+ logo.
The logos shown here are the property of Philips.

CD-MRW

The disc is ready for you to write on after only one to two minutes of formatting. This means that you can save data on the disc while it is being formatted in the background (see the 'Background formatting' section). As for CD-RW, the same restrictions concerning disc speed and recorder speed compatibility apply.

Working with InCD 12

DVD-RW
It takes about 90 minutes to fully format a blank DVD-RW (1x DVD-RW). Nevertheless, you can also perform a quick format. The disc will then be ready for writing after just one to two minutes of formatting. This means you can save data on the disc while it is being formatted in the background (see the 'Background formatting' section). Fully formatting an already formatted medium takes only one to two minutes.

DVD-RAM

The disc is ready for you to write on after only one to two minutes of formatting. A DVD-RAM disc includes several types of write protection (Cartridge switch, media write protection, etc.). If any of them is active, you will be unable to perform any disc operation that calls for writing on the medium, such as formatting, erasing, or (of course) writing on the disc. For more information, please refer to the 'Drive properties' paragraph.

DVD+RW and DVD+MRW

The disc is ready for you to write to after only one to two minutes of formatting. This means that you can save data to the disc while it is being formatted in the background (see the 'Background formatting' section).

Working with InCD 13

Format
You must format unformatted discs before you can use them with InCD. In this case only the 'Format' option is available in the InCD Format dialog box.
In the specific case of DVD-RW discs, both 'Format' and 'Quick format' options are available. InCD treats CD-RW, CD-MRW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD+MRW discs differently. CD-RW Ultra Speed discs take about ten minutes to format. High Speed discs take about 20 minutes and low-speed discs around 40 minutes. The disc is ready for you to write on after only one to two minutes of formatting. It takes about 90 minutes to fully format a blank disc. Quick formatting a blank disc takes only one to two minutes. You can save data to the disc while it is being formatted in the background. Fully formatting an already formatted disc takes only one to two minutes. The disc is ready for you to write to after only one to two minutes of formatting. This means that you can save data on the disc while it is being formatted in the background.

DVD-RAM DVD-RW

CD-MRW DVD+RW DVD+MRW
You cannot run any other operations on the same disc during the formatting process. Nevertheless, if you have several recorders, you can process each inserted disc independently of the others. For instance, if you have two recorders, you will be able to format two discs at the same time, or format one while the other is being written on or erased)
InCD Working with InCD 14
1. Insert a disc into the recorder. 2. Start 'Windows Explorer'. 3. Right-click with the mouse on the recorder's drive icon. 4. Select the 'InCD Format' command from the menu.
This opens the formatting dialog, which automatically uses the recorder you have selected.
5. If you want to, you can enter a name for the disc. This name can have a maximum of 11 characters - blank spaces are not accepted. 6. You can check the disc for physical defects. In this case check the 'Verify' checkbox. The time taken varies according to disc size. Please read the 'Disc verification' section for more details. 7. Click on the 'Start' button to start the formatting process.

Working with InCD 15

8. You will see a format completion notice if you checked this option in the general options available via the system tray icon or using the 'Options' button in the 'Format' and 'Erase' dialogs.

Background formatting

The formatting process is done by the drive itself while it is idle (i.e. not used for reading or writing). The background format will be interrupted if you try to access the disc in order to read it, write on it or to eject it, and it will be resumed once the drive is idle again and containing the above-mentioned disc. This also applies if you shut down your PC during background formatting.

Disc verification

Checking this option before starting the format process enables the surface of the disc to be verified. Note that the formatting operation will then take longer. The table below shows the approximate duration of this operation, depending on the media used. CD-RW CD-MRW DVD-RW DVD-RAM DVD+RW DVD+MRW Format with verification can take up to one hour Format with verification can take up to two hours Format with verification should usually take about one hour but it may last up to two hours with worn-out media.

Quick formatting

If the disc has already been formatted, you do not necessarily have to do a complete reformat, you can also do a quick format. This means that the disc is only formatted logically: the data on the disc is not deleted, only the information about the data on the disc is. In other words, although the data is still present, the disc appears to be empty. That means that the full capacity of the disc is available again. As it is still possible for an expert to restore the data, this formatting method should not be used for discs that contain confidential data. This feature works a little differently for DVD-RW discs, depending on the whether the inserted DVD-RW is blank or not. For already formatted media, quick format works as described above. For blank media, quick format corresponds to a background format, as described in 'Format'.

Working with InCD 16

Notice that the check option is not available.
If a disc has been rewritten several times, the formatting process may be interrupted because of errors in some cases. In this case, we recommend erasing the disc with Nero. To do this, eject the disc, launch Nero, insert the disc, choose 'Erase CD-RW' from the 'Recorder' menu and choose 'Full-erase rewritable media' as erase method. Depending on the recorder and the disc, the erase process will last between 10 and 20 minutes. 1. Insert a formatted disc into the recorder. 2. Start 'Windows Explorer'. 3. Right-click on the recorder's drive icon and select the 'InCD Format' command from the menu.

Working with InCD 17

The formatting dialog opens and automatically uses the drive you selected.

4. If you want, you can enter a name for the disc. The name may have a maximum of 11 characters - blank spaces are not permitted. 5. Click on the 'Start' button to start the formatting process. 6. You will see a format completion notice if you checked this option in the general options available via the system tray icon - or via the 'Options' button in the 'Format' and 'Erase' dialogs.
Reformatting a disc should not take longer than two minutes.

Working with InCD 18

Ejecting a disc
InCD treats CD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, CD-MRW, DVD+RW and DVD+MRW discs differently. Please refer to the appropriate section below.
Ejecting a CD-RW or a DVD-RAM
You can eject a formatted CD-RW/DVD-RAM by using the 'Eject' command in the right click drive contextual menu (read the 'Introduction'), by pressing the eject button on the recorder, or by clicking the 'Eject' button in the 'Format' or 'Erase' InCD dialog windows. 1. Use one of the ejection methods. 2. Take the disc out of the recorder and close the tray. You can also close the tray using the 'Load' command described below ('Loading a disc').
Ejecting a CD-MRW, a DVD+RW or a DVD+MRW
You can eject a CD-MRW, a DVD+RW or a DVD+MRW that has not yet been fully formatted by using the 'Eject' command in the right click drive contextual menu (read 'Introduction'), by pressing the eject button on the recorder, or by clicking the 'Eject' button in the 'Format' or 'Erase' InCD dialog windows. 1. Use an ejection method. If background formatting is still in progress, it will need to be suspended and a dialog will appear telling you that the process will take one to two minutes.
2. Take the disc out of the recorder and close the tray.

Ejecting a DVD-RW

If the disc was blank and has been fully formatted, please follow the procedure described in 'Ejecting a CD-RW or a DVD-RAM' in order to eject it. If the disc is undergoing a background format, in other words if you started a quick format on a blank disc, or a full format on an already formatted disc, please follow the procedure described in 'Ejecting a CD-MRW, a DVD+RW or a DVD+MRW' in order to eject it.

Working with InCD 19

Loading a disc
When a disc is ejected and the recorder's door is still open, the InCD ejection command changes from 'Eject' to 'Load'. The effect of choosing this action will be to close the recorder's tray. Your recorder may or may not support this feature, depending mostly on whether it has a motorized tray or not.
The 'Eject' command is changed to 'Load' in the drive's right-click contextual menu
and in the 'Format' and in the 'Erase' dialog windows.

Working with InCD 20

Copying data to a disc formatted using InCD
You can use a disc formatted with InCD in the same way as a hard disk or floppy disk. This means that you can copy data onto the disc simply by using drag and drop or else retrieve documents stored by other applications. 1. Insert a formatted disc into the recorder. 2. Open Windows Explorer, select the data you want to copy and drag and drop it onto the recorder's drive icon. Or retrieve the documents from the other applications. When saving documents, you can also select the recorder's drive as any other drive. If a writeable formatted disc is inserted in a recorder, you can send data to it using the 'Send to' command of the contextual right-click menu. For more information on this command, please consult your operating system's documentation.

Working with InCD 21

Erasing discs
Erasing a rewritable disc is not like deleting data from a floppy disk or a hard disk. Erasing a disc also removes the formatting, leaving the disc completely blank. After erasure, the disc will be like brand new. This means it can be burned using Nero or otherwise. 'Erase' and 'Quick erase' differ in one very simple way. A quick erase operation only erases the file-system structures from the disc, making it appear as blank, even though the data is still physically present. An erase operation zeroes the whole disc, making it really blank. Choose full erase if you want to get rid of confidential data. 1. Insert a formatted disc into the recorder. 2. Start 'Windows Explorer' and select a recorder drive. 3. Right-click on the recorder's icon and select the 'InCD Erase' command from the menu.
4. The erasure dialog opens and will automatically use the selected recorder.
5. Select the desired method of erasure and click on the 'Start' button.

Working with InCD 22

If you insert the disc you have just erased, the format dialog will be displayed just as with every other blank disc.

You cannot run any other operations on the same disc during the erasure process. Nevertheless, if you have several recorders, you can process each inserted disc independently from the others (e.g. if you have two recorders, you can erase two discs at the same time, or erase one, while formatting the other).

Working with InCD 23

Commands
You can right-click the mouse on the InCD symbol in the System Tray to open a context menu. Select and click with the mouse to execute commands.
In 'Windows Explorer', right-click the mouse on the recorder's drive icon to open a context menu. Provided a rewritable disc is inserted, there are three commands for use with InCD. To avoid confusion, the other commands are not shown on the screenshot below.
The 'About' command displays information about the version of InCD that is currently installed on your system.
The 'Help' command opens the InCD help file.

Commands 24

Options
The 'Options' command opens the InCD program settings window.
To save the changes you have made, click on the 'Apply' button and the dialog box will close. To close the dialog box without saving the changes, click on the 'Cancel' button. If this check box is activated, the Format dialog will pop up when you put a blank disc in the drive. (Default) If this is unchecked, the InCD icon appears in the system tray. (Default) If the check box is activated, discs on all MRW-compatible drives will be formatted as MRW. For per-drive MRW control, see 'Drive properties'. (Default). The check box appears gray (deactivated), if no MRW-compatible recorder is installed. This means that you have several drives supporting Mount Rainier, and that not all of them are currently set to format an inserted disc as MRW. For more information, see 'Drive properties'. If this option is unchecked, the system tray icon changes will only be temporary. If checked, it will allow the continuous display of those disc status indicating icons. Read 'Starting InCD' for more information. If this check box is deactivated, a message is displayed to indicate when the formatting process is complete. (Default)

InCD Commands 25

InCD automatically selects the language according to your local settings.

Drive properties

Right-click the mouse in 'Windows Explorer' on the recorder drive's icon to open the context menu. Then choose the 'Properties' command.

InCD provides an 'InCD' tab with information on the recorder and the disc that has been inserted. You will find more information about the icon displayed in the section 'Starting InCD'.

Commands 26

From here you also have access to several features. 1. You can control whether this drive should format the disc as Mt. Rainier or not (provided your drive supports Mt. Rainier). Make sure you click on 'Apply' to get any change taken into account. 2. The format and erase operations are also available, provided the drive contains a compatible disc. Just click on the corresponding button. To learn more about disc/drive compatibility, read the 'Discs supported by InCD' section. 3. If a DVD-RAM is currently inserted in the drive whose properties are displayed, then a media specific checkbox is displayed. It shows the current write protection status of the inserted disc and, where applicable, allows you to change it. Make sure you click on 'Apply' to get any change taken into account.
It is impossible to modify the write protection state while formatting or erasure is in progress. Moreover, changing it during any other disc operation, such as a file copy, is absolutely not to be recommended. A warning message will therefore be displayed if you have modified the write protection state.

Commands 27

If the DVD-RAM 'Write protection' checkbox has been grayed, it means that you are not allowed to change it. Please first check that you do not have an InCD Format or Erase dialog window opened.

InCD format

The 'InCD Format' command opens the Format dialog box. You will find detailed information about it in the 'Format' and 'Discs supported by InCD' sections.

Commands 28

InCD delete
The 'InCD Delete' command opens the delete dialog. See the 'Erasing discs' section for full details.
The 'Eject' command causes the disc in the drive to be ejected. You will find more detailed information in the 'Ejecting a disc' section.

Commands 29

Mount Rainier 7, 8 N Nero 17, 22 U Uninstalling InCD 10 Update 9
C CD-RW Ejecting 19 Command Eject 29 Copying Disc 21 D Disc Copying to 21 DVD-RAM Write Protection 27 DVD-RW Ejecting 19 E Ejecting CD-RW 19 DVD-RW 19 F Formatting 14 Background format 16 Full formatting 18 Full formatting Format option 18 I Icon 11, 26 InCD Deleting 22 Uninstalling 10 Update 9 M Media speed 12