Update, 7 July 2007 Maybe Brasero is more for the basic jobs. K3b will do more for you…
My system76 desktop machine came with a CD-RW/DVD-RW drive that I’ve finally got around to trying out. I wasn’t too concerned about how it would work with GNU/Linux, since I suspected CD and DVD burning should be relatively well-supported by now. Of course, you never know until you try.
I’ve been chugging along with getting my backup regime in place and it’s only a matter of time before I’ll need to start making DVD backups on my GNU system. I’d taken a peek at the built-in burning software in Ubuntu, and it hadn’t looked very impressive. I was looking forward to diving in and resolving my uncertainty about CD/DVD management, which is a key part of my backup strategy.
I don’t use multisession CDs very often, but I like to use them with a CD-RW for my wife to bring some spreadsheets from home to work. There’s about 15MB worth of data, and it’s easiest to keep adding it to a CD. We also get to have a few generations of backups hanging around that way. So yesterday I took the opportunity to try burning the data on the GNU machine (that she uses) instead of copying up to the Windows machine where I regularly burn stuff.
The first thing I discovered with the included software is that it doesn’t handle multisession CDs. That wouldn’t be a complete showstopper, if I could blank the CD and start over, but I didn’t see a way to do that either. It appears that the Nautilus integrated built-in software software for data CD/DVDs is awkward and limited. (I suspect much like the built-in burner software in Windows which I’ve never even tried.)
GnomeBaker
No problem: this is the world of free software. There were sure to be many alternatives out there. Initially I ran across GnomeBaker, and while it looked promising according to the Wikipedia page and the interface after I installed it (graphically from Synaptic — another seamless and easy install), I had some problems.
First, I had error messages about not being able to get an exclusive lock on the CD drive:
Error trying to open /dev/cdrw exclusively (Permission denied)... retrying in 1 second
Lots of information about this. (One thing I like about Ubuntu is there are a lot of other newbies out there trying to use it so I find a lot of search results for my problems.) It looked like I might have to edit some files and change permissions or use SUID, but first I could try running with sudo and that got me past the first error.
I tried erasing a CD-RW. It was taking a while but we were going out to eat so I just left it working. When we got back I saw that it had taken 20 minutes. And that was with the fast blank option.
Ok, let’s try adding some data. 15MB appeared to work with multisession. I added a second 15MB. And then I couldn’t read it. Nothing. I could keep working with the software, of course. Maybe I was just being dumb and doing it wrong. But one of the joys of free software is that there are usually alternatives and the switching cost is low, so let’s move onward and upward to…
Brasero
Some searching brought me to a good article in Free Software Magazine about CD burning. Robin Monks first discussed GnomeBaker, and then Brasero (formerly “Bonfire”). (It’s Spanish for “electric heater.” Get it?)
I didn’t see Brasero in the graphical package manager, but I’ve learned enough by now to guess that the command:
sudo apt-get install brasero
Might do the job, and sure enough, Ubuntu downloaded and installed Brasero from the Universe repository without a hitch. It works great so far and I don’t have to start it as sudo (gksudo). No messing with config files or permissions or anything either. (So far!)
If I launch it from the command line, it spits out a few errors, but everything seems fine. There is:
Error: Cannot gain SYS_RAWIO capability.Is cdrecord installed SUID root? : Operation not permitted
As well as what I’m seeing as standard cdrecord complaints:
cdrecord: Warning: Running on Linux-2.6.17-11-generic cdrecord: There are unsettled issues with Linux-2.5 and newer. cdrecord: If you have unexpected problems, please try Linux-2.4 or Solaris.
(Which sounds pretty bogus, doesn’t it? According to Wikipedia, there is some controversy swirling around the cdrecord console program that all these GUI-based programs seem to be using.)
Anyway, Brasero erased my CD-RW quickly with no problems. I burned some data on to the CD and when adding some more it was smart enough to ask me if I wanted to add it to what was already there. (However, in my initial attempts, it doesn’t show me what’s already there from within the application.) It also erased and wrote to a DVD-RW with no trouble. Both discs were readable from my Windows machine. (And a DVD backup I made in Windows was readable in Ubuntu, which has nothing to do with GNOME CD burning, but was good to know my backups are readable on a different machine than the one that created them.) :-)
So there you have it. I’ve been using Nero for years in Windows, but I only use a limited subset of its features. It’s almost all data backups and audio CDs for me, and I don’t need a lot of options for that. Brasero easily replaces Nero for my purposes.
K3b
There is also the KDE K3b application which looks pretty good, but since Brasero is working so well at the moment I’ll stick with it and save K3b for another day.
ISO Images / Audio CD / Video DVD
Also topics for another day when I’ve had occasion to try these things. (I need to get going on using free video software soon.)
Related: Not Unexpectedly: K3b is Just Swell for CD and DVD Burning in GNU/Linux
10 Comments
I really enjoy reading your site and have done so regularly for the past 6 months. (The above is my real email address)
Good to see you enjoying your discovery of this wonderful Linux world.
I am surprised that you gave a scant look at K3B which is possibly the most user friendly and most practical burner program in existence. Even better, in my mind than the rightly respected Nero. I installed the burner program Brasero just now and had a look at it and tried it out and the difference is like chalk and cheese. I was staggered by how bland (a word alternative to dull and entirely uninteresting) the program is. It doesn’t surprise me that none of the large number of Linux users I know have never heard of it.
I recommend you give K3B a real tryout. It is now even supported by La Cie the hardware manufacturer. You only get that kind of support when you have made the grade. In your future endeavors to encourage others to follow in your Linux adventure you will knock their sox off when you show them K3B, whereas show them Brasero and it will likely frighten them away thinking if this is typical of Linux then they don’t want to know about it.
Keep up your good writing.
By the way, I use (for the past3yrs) Mandriva and have converted at least 8 other people to it in these past couple of years and none have reverted back to windows for anything since. They are all dual boot but are now considering wiping Windows so they can use the extra space for their Mandriva. None have fallen for the hype about Ubuntu or Kubuntu even though we are sure they are very good OSs.
Cheers. John (72yrs young)
9 April 2007 at 10:38 am
Hi, John. Thank you so much for the kind words. Comments like yours mean a lot to me — I enjoy writing this blog and it’s good to hear when people enjoy reading it.
I really did pass over K3b, although I suspected it would be good. I have nothing against KDE apps at all and am willing to use them, but I often look for a GNOME app first.
Brasero is very simple but it works for my basic CD burning needs. Maybe I should have tried K3b to have a more complete writeup on this topic. I’m sure I’ll have some things I want to do eventually that will require more than what Brasero has to offer, and then I’ll turn first to K3b. (And I hope I take the time to revisit the subject at that time.)
I’m liking Ubuntu for its newbie-friendliness, but have also been doing a lot of command line stuff lately. I hope to learn enough at that level that I can switch between distributions when and if necessary without too much pain. I like the combination of powerful CLI for some things and GUI for others. Mix and match for tasks that lend themselves better to one or the other. (I’m also trying to balance my desire to learn things in-depth with my impatience to get moved over.)
Thanks again for reading and for your comment.
9 April 2007 at 5:21 pm
Scott-
Been reading your blog off and on for some time now, and I enjoy it quite a bit. Keep up the good work!
I have been using xcdroast for a few years now, and have just gotten too lazy to change to anything else. Admittedly, I don’t burn too many cd’s much anymore…but when I do, I like the software to work. Lately, xcdroast has given me fits so I am on the lookout for something else. I will check into Brasero as it looks fairly interesting. Thanks!
Chad
9 April 2007 at 10:13 pm
Hi, Chad. Thanks — that makes *two* satisfied customers in one day. :-)
If you’re just doing simple CD burning stuff like me, Brasero will hopefully do the job for you also.
10 April 2007 at 5:01 am
Peace people
We love you
18 April 2007 at 12:17 pm
K3b is a superb burner, however Brasero is a very capable burner, and its UI is clean, well integrated and user friendly.
I have burnt Sabayon Linux 3.3 mini and Mandriva One Spring at the highest burn speed my cd/rw supports this week (48x) and no errors, I have never had a bad burn with Brasero and that amounts to hundreds of burns!
I could say the same of K3b too. I’ll admit to usually burning at 36x for cd ISOs of Linux distros to avoid any new coasters. Brasero does have the advantage of not requiring any kde libs and IMHO kde apps don’t look great in gnome however good they are. Although I know plenty of people running Amorak and k3b in an otherwise gnome environment.
20 April 2007 at 7:27 pm
Thanks for your comment, Philip. So far I have one KDE app installed — KolourPaint — and it works well and installed easily enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to install more KDE programs.
20 April 2007 at 7:48 pm
I just used Brasero to add data to a multisession dvd. It works like a charm :)
I was a bit apprehensive of trying to do this in Ubuntu and was about to boot into Windows. But after reading your blog I decided to give it a try (after backing up my DVD on the hd). Thanks a ton. Your blog is a great help for people moving to freedom :) Kudos.
20 June 2008 at 4:01 pm
Hi, Akshat — thank you!
20 June 2008 at 4:34 pm
Ubuntu continues to select the worst possible applications for the default apps. Brasero is garbage. This is 2009. There are CD burners that work reliably, even open source ones. Ubuntu needs to stop operating like everything is a lark and decisions can be made based on feelings.
10 June 2009 at 9:11 pm