Nero 9 Free

The free version of Nero's burning suite caught us by surprise - Nero 9 Free is an excellent disc burner, but its limitations are many

PC World (US online)

19/08/09

Nero 9 Free

  • Expert Rating

    3.00 / 5

Pros

  • Free

Cons

  • Highly limited functionality

Bottom Line

Despite its highly limited functionality, hefty 130MB install footprint, and dead-end buttons encouraging you to buy a full version, the extremely reliable Nero 9 Free is a welcome addition to my toolbox. It's nice having something around that we know will work (we've had some problems with other freebies and late-model drives), even if it's not our first choice. Now if they'd only make a portable version...

Would you buy this?

Special Offers

There are plenty of free disc-burning alternatives out there - and enough articles pointing to them - but the strength of Nero's offering is welcome. There's absolutely no questioning Nero's expertise with all things optical.

Basically a stripped down version of the Nero StartSmart control centre, Nero Free creates only CD/DVD data discs: no audio ripping or burning, no VCD/SVCD support, and no DVD movie burning from existing files, although it will copy all those types of discs.

We weren't shocked that the free version of Nero lacked almost all the functionality of the pay version, but we were a tad surprised at just how limited it was compared to other free programs such as DeepBurner Free, ImgBurn, and InfraRecorder Portable.

Nero 9 Free is also a bit of a tease. In tests it recognised the Lite-on WH08LS20 Blu-ray burner on our system as well as BD discs. We were hoping that like ImgBurn it would burn Blu-ray data discs - however, it does not.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments
Security Watch

Father’s Day Gift Guide

Brand Post

Most Popular Reviews

Latest News Articles

Resources

PCW Evaluation Team

Luke Hill

MSI GT75 TITAN

I need power and lots of it. As a Front End Web developer anything less just won’t cut it which is why the MSI GT75 is an outstanding laptop for me. It’s a sleek and futuristic looking, high quality, beast that has a touch of sci-fi flare about it.

Emily Tyson

MSI GE63 Raider

If you’re looking to invest in your next work horse laptop for work or home use, you can’t go wrong with the MSI GE63.

Laura Johnston

MSI GS65 Stealth Thin

If you can afford the price tag, it is well worth the money. It out performs any other laptop I have tried for gaming, and the transportable design and incredible display also make it ideal for work.

Andrew Teoh

Brother MFC-L9570CDW Multifunction Printer

Touch screen visibility and operation was great and easy to navigate. Each menu and sub-menu was in an understandable order and category

Louise Coady

Brother MFC-L9570CDW Multifunction Printer

The printer was convenient, produced clear and vibrant images and was very easy to use

Edwina Hargreaves

WD My Cloud Home

I would recommend this device for families and small businesses who want one safe place to store all their important digital content and a way to easily share it with friends, family, business partners, or customers.

Featured Content

Back to top • Home

Don’t have an account? Sign up here

Don't have an account? Sign up now

Forgot password?