Can I use vbscript to automate the CD/DVD "burn" process?
Frnak McKenney
Part of a project I'm working on involves creating a customized
software CD to be mailed to a client. It would be handy to use
vbscript to do this, but the FileSystemObject.Drives list doesn't
seem to distinguish CDROM drives from those which can write CD-Rs
and those which can read (or write) DVDs.
I can sort of tell if an audio CD is in the drive by the fact that
drive.VolumeName is "Audio CD", but that'll only work until someone
burns a data CD with a that volume name. <grin>
I know that MSWinXP provides a "manual" click-on-files-and-burn CD
creation process, but I'm looking for a method for automating this
through WSH. Is this possible, or do I need to purchase commercial
software for this (e.g. Nero or something similar).
Seems like some sort of automated CD burning would also be handy for
making backups, but that's not my immediate problem.
Any hints or clues will be appreciated.
Frank McKenney, McKenney Associates
Richmond, Virginia / (804) 320-4887
Munged E-mail: frank uscore mckenney ayut minds pring dawt cahm (y'all)
--
Over the ages, the condition of the arts has been seen as a part
-- a striking and important part -- of the exercise of critical
imagination, of the human mind, in their broader compass.
-- Robert Conquest, "The Dragons of Expectation"
--
Torgeir Bakken (MVP)
> Part of a project I'm working on involves creating a customized
> software CD to be mailed to a client. It would be handy to use
> vbscript to do this, but the FileSystemObject.Drives list doesn't
> seem to distinguish CDROM drives from those which can write CD-Rs
> and those which can read (or write) DVDs.
>
> I can sort of tell if an audio CD is in the drive by the fact that
> drive.VolumeName is "Audio CD", but that'll only work until someone
> burns a data CD with a that volume name. <grin>
>
> I know that MSWinXP provides a "manual" click-on-files-and-burn CD
> creation process, but I'm looking for a method for automating this
> through WSH. Is this possible, or do I need to purchase commercial
> software for this (e.g. Nero or something similar).
>
> Seems like some sort of automated CD burning would also be handy for
> making backups, but that's not my immediate problem.
>
> Any hints or clues will be appreciated.
Hi
CreateCD - Windows XP and Windows 2003 CD Recording utility (free)
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/CreateCD.htm
CreateCD utility is designed as a command-line-based alternative to the
GUI-based CD-Recording process in Windows XP and Windows 2003.
With VBScript and the Shell.Application object:
From a google newsgroup search at
http://groups.google.co.uk/advanced_group_search
Message-ID: <OA2f$RcuBHA.1776@tkmsftngp03>
From: John Smith (no...@nowhere.com)
Subject: Sample: Copy files and invoking CD Writing in XP
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.scripting.wsh
Date: 2002-02-19 20:11:48 PST
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?selm=OA2f%24RcuBHA.1776%40tkmsftngp03
Message-ID: <#ViW#HXkBHA.388@tkmsftngp05>
From: Ian (Ian_M...@nospam.com)
Subject: Re: Burn a CD in XP using VB Script
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.scripting.vbscript
Date: 2001-12-30 12:41:51 PST
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?selm=%23ViW%23HXkBHA.388%40tkmsftngp05
If the above doesn't cut it, here is sample usage of NeroCmd.exe:
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?selm=eTn5PuN%23DHA.888%40tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl
--
torgeir, Microsoft MVP Scripting and WMI, Porsgrunn Norway
Administration scripting examples and an ONLINE version of
the 1328 page Scripting Guide:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/default.mspx
Frnak McKenney
> Frnak McKenney wrote:
>
>> Part of a project I'm working on involves creating a customized
>> software CD to be mailed to a client. It would be handy to use
>> vbscript to do this, but the FileSystemObject.Drives list doesn't
>> seem to distinguish CDROM drives from those which can write CD-Rs
>> and those which can read (or write) DVDs.
Torgeir,
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
> CreateCD - Windows XP and Windows 2003 CD Recording utility (free)
> http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/CreateCD.htm
>
> CreateCD utility is designed as a command-line-based alternative to the
> GUI-based CD-Recording process in Windows XP and Windows 2003.
I'll take a look at it.
> With VBScript and the Shell.Application object:
>
> From a google newsgroup search at
> http://groups.google.co.uk/advanced_group_search
Ah. I searched the 'web and USENET, but not Groups. Thank you.
> Message-ID: <OA2f$RcuBHA.1776@tkmsftngp03>
> From: John Smith (no...@nowhere.com)
> Subject: Sample: Copy files and invoking CD Writing in XP
> Newsgroups: microsoft.public.scripting.wsh
> Date: 2002-02-19 20:11:48 PST
> http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?selm=OA2f%24RcuBHA.1776%40tkmsftngp03
Oook. "Send keystrokes".
> Message-ID: <#ViW#HXkBHA.388@tkmsftngp05>
> From: Ian (Ian_M...@nospam.com)
> Subject: Re: Burn a CD in XP using VB Script
> Newsgroups: microsoft.public.scripting.vbscript
> Date: 2001-12-30 12:41:51 PST
> http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?selm=%23ViW%23HXkBHA.388%40tkmsftngp05
Oook. "Click on menus".
It's a weird thing. I've used the same approach under MS/PCDOS, *NIX, and
OS/2 REXX (I built a Minesweeper player), but somehow doing the same thing
under MSWinXX never even occurred to me.
Thank you for taking the time to warp my view of the problem enough to get
my thinking out of its rut. <grin>
Frank McKenney, McKenney Associates
Richmond, Virginia / (804) 320-4887
Munged E-mail: frank uscore mckenney ayut minds pring dawt cahm (y'all)
--
Knowledge does not necessarily imply judgment. All truly
critical, as against technical, argument is either intuitive or
hypothetical or partial. This cannot be compensated for by a
study of the raw material, however exhaustive.
mr_unreliable
like Johnny Carson's "Carnak - The Magnificant"),
You may be able to use some of Steve McMahon's code.
See:
"Simple Data CD Creation Using ICDBurn"
found here:
http://www.vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Libraries/Writing_CDs/Simple_CD_Burn/article.asp
and:
"Writing Audio CDs"
found here:
http://www.vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Libraries/Writing_CDs/Writing_Audio_CDs/article.asp
On another track, you may be able to use your non-microsoft software,
if you have an older system. For example, my (5-year-old) win98se
systems comes with Adaptec software for burning CD's. The Adaptec
software uses an "engine" (named: "engine.dll"), which is an ActX
object, with all sorts of interfaces (such as: "RecordTrack",
and "WriteFile") which should lend themselves to some "reverse
engineering", (that is, it shouldn't be to hard to figure out what
those methods and properties do, and you can get a listing of the
methods and properties using an ole viewer such as Steve McMahon's
"ActiveX Documenter Utility").
cheers, jw
mr_unreliable
like Johnny Carson's "Carnak - The Magnificant"),
You may be able to use some of Steve McMahon's code.
See:
"Simple Data CD Creation Using ICDBurn"
found here:
http://www.vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Libraries/Writing_CDs/Simple_CD_Burn/article.asp
and:
"Writing Audio CDs"
found here:
http://www.vbaccelerator.com/home/VB/Code/Libraries/Writing_CDs/Writing_Audio_CDs/article.asp
On another track, you may be able to use your non-microsoft software,
if you have an older system. For example, my (5-year-old) win98se
systems comes with Adaptec software for burning CD's. The Adaptec
software uses an "engine" (named: "engine.dll"), which is an ActX
object, with all sorts of interfaces (such as: "RecordTrack",
and "WriteFile") which should lend themselves to some "reverse
engineering", (that is, it shouldn't be to hard to figure out what
those methods and properties do, and you can get a listing of the
methods and properties using an ole viewer such as Steve McMahon's
"ActiveX Documenter Utility").
cheers, jw