Recipe 11.7. Erasing a CD-RW
11.7.1 Problem
You want to erase a rewritable disk,
to prepare it for recording new material, or you might want to erase
single tracks.
11.7.2 Solution
Use the blank
option for cdrecord.
blank=fast erases only the table of contents
(TOC), the program memory area (PMA), and the pregap:
$ cdrecord -v blank=fast dev=0,1,0
A more complete erasure is done with the all
option:
$ cdrecord -v blank=all dev=0,1,0
Don't count on this for a secure erasure; data can
still be recovered. blank=fast is perfectly fine
for routine use, and it's a lot faster—plus,
your CD-RW will last longer.
You can erase the last session on a multisession disc:
$ cdrecord blank=session
And on the off chance that your drive supports blanking at the track
level, you can erase tracks just like sessions, starting with the
last one:
$ cdrecord blank=track
11.7.3 Discussion
Blanking at track level is not supported by most drives. Erasing
tracks or sessions in random order is not possible, either—you
have to start at the end and work your way back. If you get error
messages when using any of the blank options,
try adding -force:
$ cdrecord blank=track -force
However, the disc is probably damaged or defective, so the wiser
course is to discard it.
To see all the blanking options, use:
$ cdrecord blank=help
Keep in mind that CD-RWs have a limited lifespan and can take
only so many erasures. The number varies, but you should get at least
100 rewrites before it becomes unreliable.
11.7.4 See Also
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