I meant "pre-formatted" in the sense that it's structured as a CD that your
system recognizes, and is ready to roll. There is a special name for a CD
that has not been structured in any way -- it's called "a round piece of
plastic." :-)

I was trying to indicate that formatting is not something a user typically
needs to worry about when copying files to a blank new [non-rewriteable] CD.
As you indicate, rewriteable CDs are a different matter. Whenever Windows XP
tells me that a blank new [non-rewriteable] CD needs to be formatted, that
invariably is a sign that a) the CD itself is defective, or b) the CD drive
or its drivers are malfunctioning.

In this case, the only missing step that occurs to me would be the "Write
these files to disk" step, which often eludes users who are experiencing
frustration with CDs.

--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
http://www.herbtyson.com
Please respond in the newsgroups so everyone can follow along.
"Graham Mayor" wrote in message
...

What the PC user understands by 'formatting' a disc is the pre-formatting
of a disc to accept data as (for example) would be the case with a floppy
disc. Writeable CDs do not require such formatting EXCEPT for use by a
packet writing system, so your comment that "you can always fully format
before you start, giving you the fastest write times" is clearly drivel.