Genealogy Chat

Margaret.... Sorry for the delay in responding....different time zones ya know! LOL! In answer to your question about placing a CD into the CD drawer and a progarm automatically popping up - this happens sometimes but not always. People tend to be lost when an automatic program does not jump up and prompt them and then they are at a loss as to how to get the CD to work. When no program prompts you just: 1. Click on START. 2. Click on MY COMPUTER. 3. Click on D DRIVE - some PC's may have a different drive letter, ie DRIVE E, etc....the CD should then activate. I, too, besides using the Windows XP software for burning CD, use NERO. Which is also quite easy to use - and in some respects, I think, easier. I'm not sure what version you use (those wishing a copy I can explain how to get FREE) I have NERO 7 - but most versions work pretty much the same: 1. Click open the NERO program. There should be an icon on your desktop - if not click on START, Click on ALL PROGRAMS - find Nero in the list of programs and click it open. 2. You'll be asked what type of CD you wish to burn - choose DATA CD - which is good for burning trees, pictures, text documents, certificates, etc..... 3. A NERO EXPRESS screen should appear - where at the top of the screen it will say something along the lines of: ADD DATA TO YOUR DISK. There are several ways to add the data you wish to burn to this screen....one way would be to click on the ADD button to the right of the screen which then allows you to scan your PC, find the file to be added to the burn list and then click on the appropriate prompts to add the file to the NERO program. Lots of scrolling and clicking to do this way. AN EASIER WAY to add the files you wish to burn, I find, is to simply move the NERO screen over a bit on your screen, go to say MY DOCUMENTS, or you DESKTOP, where ever the file is you wish to burn - place your mouse on the file, click down and keep the mouse clicked down and DRAG it over to the NERO program window and then let your finger up on the mouse - this will DROP the file - you should now see the file name you wish to burn in the ADD DATA TO YOUR DISK area. Continue to DRAG and DROP until all the files you want to add to be burned are listed in the NERO window. ** a nice little feature with NERO - that XP does not have - is the ruler looking device at the bottom of the NERO screen - this ruler, you will note after adding a file to the list to be burned - highlights and will move from left to right, a little at a time, as you add more items to the list to be burned. You'll note at the end of the ruler, towards the right there is a Yellow line and then a Red line - when the highlighted area gets near to the yellow line it means you have come close to filling up the CD - hitting the red line or going over the red lines means you have gone over the capacity that the CD can hold - so you never have to worry about whether or not all you have chosen to burn will fit on one CD or not. 4. When your done adding files to be burned click on NEXT. 5. On this screen you will be able to give your CD a name. You can also choose at this time how many copies of the CD you wish to burn if burning more than 1 copy (You won't have to redo all the work of adding all the files as you did above.) Click BURN and the burn process should begin. 6. When the CD is done burning successfully you will be advised with a message on your screen. Be sure after burning that you pop your CD back in and open it up to make sure that your files backed up. To check: 1. Click on START. 2. Click on MY COMPUTER. 3. You should now see the DRIVES of your CD listed - click on the one that has the CD in it - which you will recognize right off the bat because you gave the CD a name and that wil be listed next to the Drive. Any questions or problems feel free to give me a shout. Judy :) A tip that works with both the XP burning software or the Nero program: ** If you wish to remove an item chosen to be burned from the burn list, simply place your mouse over the file to be removed and RIGHT click. A drop down box will appear - click on DELETE. A screen will appear asking you if you if you are sure, click OK.

Val, so glad you asked the question, and Judy many thanks for the explanations. Had a cd writer for Christmas and haven't been able to use it!!!! Its a bit late now but will have a go tomorrow.. Thanks to everyone who volunteers their expertise. Jean

Margaret now you are talking my language Scanners and Printers I have so much trouble doing those too I am off to look at your thread Val

glad to see my request has helped you Jean, I often spend ages on here when I should be researching , reading all the messages so helpful. Thanks everyone My Floppy is empty no more.

Judy...... thanks so much for the instructions on how to burn a CD.... had a rewriter for 6 months and not known how to use it..... Bought PC for Dummies but couldn't understand that. Just a suggestion ... have you ever thought of writing 'PC for Proper Dummies' (like me). No kidding you would make a fortune. Val, Thanks so much for asking the questions. An old lady is now in love with her computer again. Jean x.

Shes got a couple more on the go Merry, One is headed something like 'Judy Judy Judy, funny message on floppy' Oh bless.

Filppin' heck....what other thread??? Off to find it now! Merry

Sorry Val, Had to go to bed last night - just popped in to see that you sorted it o.k. - missed all the fun I see. Dea x Just noticed your other thread - off to take a look now. Dea x

Val.... If you have Windows XP (and I believe I read you did) your PC has the software capabilities - you just need to be sure that your PC has a CD burner! LOL! To burn information to a CD is pretty much the same as sending information to the A Drive (floppy disk.) First, of course you need a blank CD - I prefer the one time burning CD's - also referred to as a CD-R. There are also CD-Rewritables but when you continue to burn onto the same CD it lessens the life of the CD and (I've learned this one the hard way) new information added to a disk can write over information that was already on the disk - I lost previously saved, and what I thought, safe, information. CD disks are relatively cheap so better to be safe than sorry. With that said: 1. Place the blank CD in the CD burner and close the drawer. 2. Find the file you wish to burn (backup) onto the CD, place your mouse over the file and RIGHT click. 3. A drop down box appears - click on SEND TO. 4. Another screen appears - click on D DRIVE. Some PC's might have a different letter (mine is the E DRIVE) but the CD burner should be the only other drive besides the A DRIVE that will appear. You'll note that a message popped up from your icon tray - the icon tray being the bottom right hand corner of your screen - advising you that you have files waiting to be burned - you can just ignore that message for now - continue going back to each file or picture you wish to burn to this CD and follow the directions above for each one. When everything you wish to burn has been sent to the D DRIVE: 1. Click on START. 2. Click on MY COMPUTER. 3. Click on the D Drive - you should now, after clicking on the D Drive, see all the files you chose to burn listed. 4. Look to the left of this screen, under CD WRITING TASKS and click on BURN THESE FILES TO CD. 5. A CD Writing Wizard will appear - on the 1st screen you can give the CD a short name - give it a name and Click NEXT. 6. Just follow all the screens, clicking NEXT each time - I don't recall there being anything else to do other than that - the information will then start transferring from PC to CD disk and will advise you when its complete......

Bob have you seen my new thread a few below this one, I could not do it as it said I would lose some information

As has been said, the computer when it boots looks for the '' A '' drive, if there is nothing in it ,it then goes to the next drive............'D' if there is nothing there it goes to the 'C' drive, which is where most of your info is kept... most pcs, or av progs offer to make a rescue disc. either a floppy, or CD.. BTW when I had my previous PC it was running ME. And I backed up my FTM program on that........took 22 floppies............at 1.4 MB per floppy Bob

night night Ann, I have them all at the moment .

Hi All Have come in on the end of this, but as my mother used to say i was like the Donkey's tail. i was feeling very tired, but could'nt go to bed until i found out if Valerie found her slot and if she burned her fingers? I would pay to see you lot in Eastenders. Night Night Ann

thanks very much Margaret I have copied and pasted the info Judy sent so I can refer to it , I am just plucking up the courage to do it .

night night Heather , I dont go to bed till about 1 I also sell stuff on ebay so I shoot from here to there all night .

Val, believe me my son does NOT help me, he has no patience, time or interest in doing so, just wants me off as quick as possible. No, as I said, I get more done by ringing my sister 150 miles away - shes as bad as me - but by sitting in front of our puters and talking it through together we have learnt lots. Now I must go to bed ............................. god bless!

Heather you are lucky to have your kids around to help you mine live too far away, so have had to learn the hard way. Its lovely when you work out something isnt it??? My son was here a while ago and I was saying its so annoying to come of the site I am on to look at another and he said Why dont you open a new Window you can guess what I said cant you??? I was amazed when he showed me how to do it . Jean I am glad this thread has been some help to you, sounds like you will do a better job than me good luck

Oh thanks for that Kate, no end of people have told me about the floppy causing that problem, but no one ever knew why!

Judy, I do know why you can't start your computer up with a floppy in, and it goes back to the very early days of PC's when you could 'boot up' from a floppy if you so desired. You still can. So if you have a floppy in when you turn your computer on it will still try to boot up from it. But if the floppy doesn't contain an operating system, well, it can't! Kate.

Oh Val, they arent 'real' boxes, just little icons of 4 boxes, one for music, one for docs, one for film and one for copying one disc to another. I have spent 6 months shifting the icons around the screen when they get in the way and youngest son who is still living with us, telling me not to delete them but not explaining what they were. Well, he looked choked when I told him me and his auntie had sussed it! Your photo printer will be really handy for you. I take our little disc things to Boots and have to stand there with a full audience doing them. Oh thats good Jean, its easy on there isnt it! I couldnt believe it when I actually did it. Have you also sent all your info to a Home Page? You must do that and have your stuff on the net (make sure you click privatise living people when you do it.) Thats the next thing Val, you will have to get a familytreemaker2006 program and do your own website - well familytree does it all for you, you just click next a few times. Now, must get to bed, up at 6 again, gawd I hate getting up.