TMO Quick Tip - Erasing a CD-RW or DVD-RW

by , 7:30 AM EDT, June 21st, 2006

Every Mac made today can burn CD and CD-RW (rewritable CDs) discs, and if your Mac has a SuperDrive, you can burn DVD and DVD-RW discs, too. The problem with reusing a rewritable CD or DVD is that Apple didn't exactly make it easy to figure out.

If you want to erase a CD-RW or DVD-RW so that you can reuse it for other data, here's what to do:


Use Disk Utility to erase rewritable CDs and DVDs.

Once a CD-RW or DVD-RW is erased, you can use it again just like a new disc. Keep in mind that rewritable discs have a limited life. It's probably not a good idea to use them for long term file archiving, and you should never erase and reuse them more than about 100 times.


if you have ideas for Mac related tips that you think other TMO readers might find helpful.