Erase a CD or DVD

Rewritable CDs (for example, CD-RW discs) and rewritable DVDs (for example, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, or DVD+RAM) can be erased and written to many times. After you erase a rewritable CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc, you can format the disc and burn files to it again. For more information, see Burn a CD or DVD in Windows Explorer.

 To erase all of the files on a disc

You can erase all the files at one time on a rewritable disc, such as CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, or DVD-RAM discs. You can do this for discs that use either the Live File System or Mastered disc format. The following steps for erasing a disc won't work for recordable discs, such as CD-R, DVD-R, or DVD+R discs.
1. Insert the rewritable disc, such as a CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, or DVD-RAM disc, into your computer's CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc burner.
2. Click to open Computer.
3. In Windows Explorer, click the CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc burner icon.
4. On the toolbar, click Erase this disc, and then follow the steps in the wizard.