How to Burn a DVD for Free
Now that DVDs are the optical media standard for storing and backing up data, it's important for any home user to understand how to burn them. Many retail programs that burn DVDs for you cost upwards of $35-50 in order to install the program, and most can only be used in one computer. Fortunately, free programs such as CDBurnerXP exist that can help you burn a DVD for only the cost of the disc.
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Instructions
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Download CDBurnerXP from the website. You should be able to use all the default options for installation.
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Insert the DVD into the DVD recorder.
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Once the computer reads the DVD, open CDBurnerXP. At the first prompt, specify that you want to burn a data disc.
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You should see a window open with two boxes. The top box lists what the contents of your hard drive are, and the bottom box lists the contents of your DVD, which should be empty.
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Click and drag the files you want on your DVD from the upper pane to the lower one.
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When finished, click on the Burn option to begin burning the disc. Be sure to finalize the disc so it is usable.
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Tips & Warnings
If you plan on burning multiple copies of a DVD over an extended length of time, you might want to consider saving the files in one folder, so you don't have to find the files all over again.
Make sure that your DVD is compatible with your DVD recorder. There are several different formats that DVDs fall under. Consult your manual to determine the usable formats. If you do not finalize the disc, the DVD will be unusable.
