Misc. CD-R/W Tools

1st AutoRun Express provides a simple wizard interface to create auto-starting CDs. All you need to do is select the folder with the documents, and the file that you want to be launched when the CD is inserted. A Pro version is available that lets you create a CD menu that allows the user to select a file or programs to launch (You can use the CD menu feature as part of the free version, but the created menu will only run on the PC it was created with.)

UnderCoverXP is a program to easily print pre-designed CD and DVD covers. It supports JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP formats and can automatically scale front covers, back covers, front + inside, inlays, DVD Boxes, Playstation covers and CoolBela LD001 labels to the correct sizes. Other label types can be added with a graphical editing interface. The program is easy to use and allows you to preview the images as they will appear on your cover.

Optical Info is a simple, standalone utility that gathers information about the installed CD and DVD drives and displays the capabilities and technical specs such as Read/Write/Rewriting to CD/DVD as well as the supported read/write speed of the drive and available manufacturer information. The program can be run from a USB drive and it mostly useful for tech support visits where the capabilities of a drive need to be determined.

CIS Smart CD-Menu Creator provides an easy to use interface that allows you to design a simple CD menu dialog, that will automatically start when the CD is inserted. The dialog offers 4 customizable buttons that can launch a document or executable. You can further customize the interface with background images or color, and also add your own logo and custom CD icons. The program saves the complete set of files including autorun.inf, ready to be burned to CD.

AutorunCD Assistant is a tool that can help you create an Autorun CD, to be used with your existing files. It offers a 5-step wizard that creates the autorun.inf file and automatically checks the integrity of start page and icon. If you are familiar with creating an autorun.inf file, you could easily do this yourself, but if you are not, then this tool is quite helpful.

Nero CD-DVD Speed will scan and analyze your CD/DVD drive. it includes a ScanDisc function with File Test & Surface Scan to verify the integrity of the CD as well as several other tests, including Overburning Test. The ScanDisk function consists of two parts, the File Test which simply reads all files on the disc and reports all errors and can also be used for benchmarking to give you an idea on how well the drive performs. The Surface Scan checks the quality of each sector and shows the results in a graph.

Nero DriveSpeed is a utility to set the reading speed of a CD-ROM drive. Although a high speed drive allows you to transfer data in less time, there are some disadvantages of using such a drive, including noise levels at high speed, which can be irritating when playing MP3s, high spin-up/spin-down times (can cause games to freeze) and more. Nero DriveSpeed runs in the system tray and allows you to adjust the drive speed as needed. Recommended for advanced users.

ASPI drivers version for Windows 98, NT 4, Me, 2000 and XP. Includes ASPICHK version checking utility to check which version of ASPI is installed on your system.

MediaMenu is a customizable full-screen CD menu with an built in image viewer and launcher for Windows Media player. It allows you to create an attractive full screen menu for your CD that links to the CD content, launches applications and even web site links. You can play background music and link to sub-level of the menu containing file listings etc. The program is completely configured via an .ini file, which requires you to do some very basic scripting in order to customize it to your needs. With a little bit of work, MediaMenu allows you to create a very attractive interface for your CD.

PhotoCDBrowser is an AutoRun program for photo CD-archives in TIFF, JPEG, TGA, EPS, PCX formats. Upon insertion of the CD, the program will display a small navigation browser and show the photos in full screen mode. You can include background sound on an per-image basis, include optional background music and more. The user can zoom and rotate your photos or view them in slideshow mode. Additional features include an option to comment individual images and navigate through the collection via keyboard shortcuts. Creating your autorun CD does not require any programming, however requires you to read the (broken english) documentation and do some basic ini file editing and optional scripting to customize it. Nevertheless, if you are comfortable with that, and are not looking for a wizard style program, PhotoCDBrowser provides the functionality to produce some great photo Cds, even with multi-language support.

Quick Menu Builder allows you to quickly create custom CD launch menus, using a skin of your choice (image file). You can add buttons and specify an action for each. The program supports Explore folder, Execute program, Open Document, Open multimdia file, Play Sound, Link URL, E-mail and others. Once your menu is created, it will be compiled to a standalone .exe file, with an optional autorun.inf, and can be used as a launcher for a CD, or even your PC as a personal program launcher, if you prefer. The executables created run on every version of Windows and don't need any DLL to work. Sample menus are available from the home page.

CD Slide Show Generator is an Microsoft XP PowerToy, that allows you to view images burned to a CD as a slide show. The Generator works downlevel on Windows 9x machines as well.

CD2TAPE is a tool to test your favourites CD tracks on your own designed TAPE layout. It features automatic computation of the remaining time for each side of the MC (musicassette) as well as internet support to access freedb (both cddbp and http protocol supported). IN addition, the program prints tape covers, including title information and provides an integrated CD database for easy managment of your CDs. This program cannot actually record your CD tracks to tape - it only allows you to design and test the layouts, then (optionally) print the labels.