Q.What is DLA?

A.Drive Letter Access (DLA) is a utility that gives you the ability to copy files directly to recordable CD and DVD discs. Using DLA, you can drag-and-drop files to a disc and make the disc compatible with almost any Windows computer.

Q.What Operating Systems (OS) does Drive Letter Access install on?

A.DLA is designed to run on just about any Windows-based desktop or laptop computer. It supports Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 Professional and Windows XP Home and Professional. You just need 10 MB of free space on your hard drive.

Q.Can the files I copy using DLA be opened with any computer?

A.DLA offers two levels of compatibility: On a basic level, a disc formatted by DLA can be read by just about any computer with DLA installed. In addition, DLA comes with a feature called "Make Compatible." This special formatting allows the disc to be read by virtually any Windows computer, even if DLA is not installed.

Q.I know DLA is installed on my computer, but I can't seem to find it.

A.DLA works with one disc recorder at a time. Begin by inserting a disc into your CD or DVD recorder then open the "My Computer" window. Right-click the name of your recorder drive. There should be a check mark next to "Use With DLA" on the shortcut menu. If not, select "Use With DLA" from the shortcut menu. Before you can copy files to your disc, the disc must be formatted. Right-click your drive in the "My Computer" window, and select "Format." Once your disc has been formatted you can drag files to it just as you would to a hard drive. You can learn more about using DLA by right-clicking the name of your recorder drive and selecting "Properties." Click the DLA tab and then click "Learn more about DLA." This opens the DLA Help file.

Q.Full format takes so long for a CD-RW disc. Can't I do a Quick Format?

A.Discs must be formatted before they can be used by DLA. The formatting options available depend on the type of disc you are using. Write-once CDs and DVDs can only be formatted using the "Quick Format" option, which takes less than a minute. The formatting of rewriteable DVDs occurs in the background, which means a new disc can be ready for use in just a few minutes. CD-RW discs can be quick formatted once a full format has been done on the media. The full format option can take about 45 minutes. One advantage of a Full Format is that your computer will block out any bad spots it finds on the disc so that no data can be written there. This can prevent disc errors in the future.

Q.Data discs can be created with DLA or with a mastering product, correct?

A.RecordNow is great for projects like making audio discs, ripping mp3s, and making disc images. You can also use it to make data discs that can be shared with friends and co-workers. But DLA and RecordNow work differently, and only DLA lets you write files to a disc as though it were a hard drive or floppy disc. However, in some cases, it is necessary to have DLA installed on a computer to read a data disc created with DLA. It is never necessary to have RecordNow installed to read a disc created with RecordNow.

Q.Which drives does DLA support?

A.DLA supports an extensive list of drives that is constantly growing: http://support.sonic.com/hardware/