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Linux Formatting a CDRW / DVD Media ( blank media )

Commands
by V IV E K GITE on JULY 10, 2007 las t updat ed MA Y 29, 2008
in CE NTOS , DE B IA N / UB UNTU, FILE S Y S TE M, LINUX, TROUB LE S HOOTING, UB UNTU LINUX

Q. How do I blank / format my CDRW / DVD media under Linux using a

shell prompt?

A. You can use wodim (cdrecord) to record data or audio Compact Discs
on an Orange Book CD-Recorder or to write DVD media on a DVD-
Recorder

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 Task: Find out device name
Find find out your CDRW drive name by entering following command:

$ cdrecord -scanbus

or

$ wodim -scanbus

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 Output:

scsibus1:
1,0,0 100) 'TSSTcorp' 'CD/DVDW SH-S182D' 'SB04' Removable CD-ROM
1,1,0 101) *
1,2,0 102) *
1,3,0 103) *
1,4,0 104) *
1,5,0 105) *
1,6,0 106) *
1,7,0 107) *

Note that 1,0,0 is the device name you need to use.

Task: Formatting a cd rw on Linux

Insert CD and enter following command to format CDRW (note for formatting DVD use
dvd+rw-format command, see below):

$ cdrecord blank=fast dev=1,0,0

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 OR

$ sudo cdrecord blank=fast dev=1,0,0

Above command will blank a CD-RW and exit or blank a CD-RW before writing. The blanking
type is fast, but it may be one of the following:

all : Blank the entire disk. This may take a long time.
fast: Minimally blank the disk. This results in erasing the PMA, the TOC and the pregap.
track Blank a track.
unreserve Unreserve a reserved track.
trtail Blank the tail of a track.
unclose Unclose last session.
session Blank the last session.

Task: Formatting a dvd rw on Linux

Use dvd+rw-format command to formats dvd disk in the specified dvd drive such as /dev/dvd:

$ dvd+rw-format -force /dev/dvd

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 OR

$ sudo dvd+rw-format -force /dev/dvd

Task: Using GUI tool – k3b

k3b is a CD/DVD burning tool. It can format CD/DVD RW. First install k3b:

$ sudo apt-get install k3b

Start k3b from menus or just type

$ k3b &

Now click on Tools menu > Erase CDRW to format CDRW

OR
Now click on Tools menu > Format DVD to format DVD

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 See also:
Howto: Linux write bur data to DVD or DVD/RW

Updated for accuracy!

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 sed Tip: Delete All Blank White Spaces

{ 13 comments… add one }

gm November 28, 2008, 3:16 am

Thanks for the guide

RE P LY LINK

Sarah January 24, 2009, 10:22 pm

Thanks, this was helpful.

RE P LY LINK

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 Reiska February 19, 2009, 12:32 pm

Thanks for the tip!

RE P LY LINK

varun February 26, 2009, 8:40 am

thanks but could u tell, which filesystem it uses to format dvd??

RE P LY LINK

spiralofhope July 16, 2009, 7:55 am

Thanks, this was useful because I made a coaster when I was forced to reboot my system
during a write. graveman wasn’t dealing with the leftover CDRW well, but the blanking worked
as-expected at the commandline. Then I could write my ISO as usual.

No more obnoxious nonfunctional disks now.. yay!

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 RE P LY LINK

RonCam August 11, 2009, 1:14 pm

02.26.09 at 8:40 am
thanks but could u tell, which filesystem it uses to format dvd??

Yes, a second request for an answer to varun’s question!

Specifically, please tell us the Command Line syntax to select which UDF version will be used,
plus the syntax to make sure the -RW disc is formatted as MRW (Mount Rainier) compatible.

RE P LY LINK

RonCam August 11, 2009, 1:28 pm

Ouch, I see no button to edit the previous post, so:

I think the answer may be different for CD-RWs and DVD±RWs. Please give the syntax for the
above requests, for both kinds of disc? Thanks!
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 RE P LY LINK

nixCraft August 11, 2009, 5:25 pm

@varun / RonCam,

cdrecord – Format cd-rw

dvd+rw-format – Format dvd-rw
mkisofs – Create an hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS filesystem with optional Rock Ridge
attributes. The -dvd-video option passed to mkisofs to generate DVD-Video compliant UDF
file system. The -UDF option passed to mkisofs include UDF support in the generated
filesystem image.

To create a vanilla ISO-9660 filesystem image in the file cd.iso, where the directory /path/to/dir
will become the root directory if the CD, call:

mkisofs -o /tmp/cd.iso /path/to/dir

To write DVD, use growisofs:

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 growisofs -Z /dev/dvd=/tmp/cd.iso

To create a CD with Rock Ridge extensions of the source directory cd_dir:

mkisofs -o cd.iso -R cd_dir

To create a HFS hybrid CD with the Joliet and Rock Ridge extensions of the source directory
cd_dir:

mkisofs -o cd.iso -R -J -hfs cd_dir

To create a HFS hybrid CD from the source directory cd_dir that contains Netatalk Apple/Unix
files:

mkisofs -o cd.iso --netatalk cd_dir

HTH.

RE P LY LINK

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 RonCam August 12, 2009, 2:31 pm

Thanks to Vivek Gite for the informative reply on how to apply the attributes to CDs and DVDs.
I have learned something here!

:-) It will be most appreciated if you could now do the same, for Mount Rainier formatting.

Here’s hoping the somewhat unusual syntax for embedding references works — the preview
function is absent!!

RE P LY LINK

Pierre September 6, 2011, 8:54 am

Thanks, very helpful…

RE P LY LINK

Paul Sheridan October 11, 2013, 4:14 am

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 This article is still very helpful – just used K3b for the first time today for a quick format, and
impressed. :)

RE P LY LINK

Samuel Peters October 27, 2013, 6:18 am

Thanks! You saved me a lot of time trying to find formatting software on an online store!

RE P LY LINK

Reedych June 20, 2015, 1:41 pm

thanks!

RE P LY LINK

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 Tagged with: cdrecord, cdrecord command, dvd+rw-format command, format cd/dvd linux, format cdrw linux,
format dvd rw linux, formatting a media using linux, how linux formats cd, k3b, kde, linux force dvd format, linux
format cd

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