Windows Tips Tool - Why are there two different ways to format a disc?

You can choose between the Live File System and Mastered formats when creating a new recordable disc because each of these formats is used for a different purpose. The default choice is Live File System because it is a more convenient way to create a disc. When you use a Live File System disc, files are copied to the disc right away. When you use the Mastered format, files are stored in a "staging area" until you decide to burn the disc.

When you use the Live File System format with rewriteable discs such as CD-RW and DVD-RW, you can also erase unwanted files from a disc to recover space, which is not possible with Mastered discs. On the other hand, Mastered discs are more compatible with older computers, previous versions of Windows, and other devices such as CD and DVD players.