Things have changed slightly with the release of Windows 7, which added capabilities to burn ISO images out of the box. Windows 7 users who encounter an ISO can simply right-click it to burn it on (an hopefully) connected DVD burner.

But what about users who are not running Windows 7? Sure, you could suggest a full fledged burning suite like Nero or a program like ImgBurn. Those are great programs, but they tend to be complicated in use. At least in comparison to ISO CD Burner, which is probably the most lightweight ISO burning software of them all.

To use ISO CD Burner it needs to be placed in the same directory as the ISO image. That should not be to much of a problem. Simply start the program afterwards. It will automatically scan the directory for ISO images and display those that are found in a pulldown menu at the top. If there is only one it is preselected automatically.

All that is left is to select the DVD burner from the list, if there is more than one. This is usually not the case either. In best case, users move the burning software to the directory of the ISO file, start it and press Burn It after start to burn the ISO to disk.

ISO CD Burner is available for download at the developer website. The tool is fully portable and should be compatible with most Windows operating systems.

Lightscribe allows the user to print designs directly on the upper side of a CD and DVD. The advantage of this method is that it does not use ink but laser etching.

A compatible DVD burner is only one component that is needed. The other two are a recordable disc that supports Lightscribe as well plus a Lightscribe driver and a DVD burning software or CD labeling program supporting Lightscribe.

That sounds like a lot of requirements. The Lightscribe driver that is needed can be downloaded from the official website for Windows, Linux and Macintosh systems. The download is labeled LIGHTSCRIBE SYSTEM SOFTWARE (LSS).

You also need to buy media that is supporting the Lightscribe technology.

LightScribe CDs and DVDs have a special coating that interacts with the laser in your LightScribe-enabled disc drive. You must use LightScribe CDs and DVDs in order to burn a label onto your discs.

Lightscribe DVDs start at about 0,30 Dollar or Euro a piece which is a little bit more than one would pay for standard media. The Lightscribe discs have the same Lightscribe logo on their covers.

The last part that is needed is a Lightscribe software that can process the disc surface to apply the design. A free software program that supports Lightscribe is CD Burner XP.

The process would then look like the following:

• Put the Lightscribe disc into the Lightscribe compatible CD or DVD burner.
• Burn the data as usual.
• Turn over the disk so that the program can etch the design on the upper side of the CD or DVD.

Lightscribe obviously has to be configured in the software program. Designs can be created individually or downloaded from the official design center or other resources. Additional labeling programs are linked in the download section of the Lightscribe website.

Lightscribe software might not work sometimes as expected. HP has created a Lightscribe Diagnostic software that can be used to analyse the Lightscribe functionality on a system in detail. The Lightscribe System Software needs to be installed on the computer system before the diagnostics tool can be used.

The troubleshooting application can be used to detect software settings, compatible drives and media, check the event log, error files and look up error codes directly in the software.

Have you used the Lightscribe technology before? What was your experience with it?

It can be used to burn all sorts of Cds and Dvds, Music discs and Iso files. It is also able to generate Iso files and has a powerful search function. Lets take a look at some of the key features:

Support Long File Name (Joliet) File System.
· Burn and Build ISO Images.
· Create Multi-Session CD.
· Import any of the available previous session.
· Write on Rewritable CDs.
· Tested with SCSI, IDE, EIDE, USB and Firewire CD/DVD Writers.
· Can be used to make backup.
· All Windows Versions (Except Windows 3.1x) supported.
· High Performance File/Disc Caching.
· Burn Proof/Just Link support.
· DAO*, SAO* and TAO Writing methods support.
· On the fly burning of wave, mp3.
· Full Drag and Drop support.

You can download this great tool from silentnight2004.com Silentnight has been discontinued. Check out ImgBurn for an excellent free CD and DVD burner.

You can also check out our CD Burning and DVD burning categories which link to dozens of programs to burn CDs or DVDs. The majority of programs available today offer support for features that were previously only available in commercial programs such as Nero Burning Rom.

With ImgBurn for instance users can burn nearly any kind of disc, from data discs to audio CDs, video DVDs and even Blu-Ray or HD-DVD discs. The program supports everything and then some, and should be part of every computer user’s tools collection.