BurnAware Free 7.1

BurnAware Free offers you a set of powerful tools to burn all kinds of discs with ease. Using this app you can create data discs, audio CDs, video DVDs, boot discs, ISO image files, etc. It is capable of burning CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs in the same easy way. This free tool can be a perfect alternative to expensive disc burners, unless you have really “special” disc-burning needs.

The program's main window is, in fact, a main menu with shortcuts to all the tools offered, which, in turn, will run on separate windows. The visual design of these windows has been substantially changed from previous versions. For example, a command ribbon has now been included, resembling the MS Office 2007 style. Most of the tools included allow you to add your source files through the program's own file navigator. Besides, you can always select the burning drive (if you have more than one available), the burning speed, and the target disc size, with values ranging from “CD - 650MB” to “Blu-ray XL - 100GB”.

One of the main advantages of BurnAware Free is that it is suitable for both beginners and advanced users. For example, to use the "Data Disc" tool, you just need to add you source files, select the target disc size, and start the process with a simple click of a button. However, there is also the "Custom Disc" tool, which allows you to configure additional parameters like the disc's file system. The program also includes a set of tools to work with ISO image files. You can create ISO images either from your existing discs or from your hard drive's file system. Then, a complementary tool allows you to burn ISO image files back to blank discs. Finally, the program also allows you to erase re-writable discs, to display a disc's information, and to verify a recorded disc for errors.

To sum up, BurnAware Free includes a comprehensive set of tools that aim at covering virtually all your disc-burning needs. The only function I would say that is missing in this free edition of the program is direct disc-to-disc copying. However, you can always create an ISO image file from a source disc and then burn it back into a blank disc using BurnAware, although this requires a certain level of knowledge.