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prob with CDRW media , becomes READ ONLY

PostPosted: Sun Jul 20, 2003 5:16 am
by faithfoo
This has happened to me for a few verbatim CDRWs, after 2 mnths or so
And I am wandering if I can avoid this in future .or is there a better software

I use Roxio direct CD version 5

I have at least 3000 word documents, 600 folders in 1 CDRW ..
On a daily basis , I will write and over-ride 100 files per day i.e. open up the file , add new info and save it again )

1) When I insert this CDRW into a different CD ROM drive to read , the following will happen when I put back the same CDRW back to my original CDRW drive ,

a) the CDRW would not be able to perform as a CDRW , but the whole disc would be a Read only CD , ( means all files can be re-written anymore)

b) There will be a direct CD 5.1e3c error saying that requested files cannot be read from CD , IT is recommended to copy any critical files to a new CD

c) Sometimes , when you re-insert the disc again into the same CDRW drive , the following error will occur .

1) I can read the label , but cannot see the files at all
2) I will be prompted to reformat the disc ,( free space 0 , Total space .2.2 Gb

PostPosted: Sun Jul 27, 2003 9:16 pm
by CDRecorder
It sounds like the recording quality is poor, and your drive is having a hard time reading the discs. The problem might be that the discs are worn out, but you might want to try installing the latest firmware for your drive and updating to Easy CD Creator 5.3.5.

BTW, what drive do you have?

PostPosted: Sun Jul 27, 2003 9:27 pm
by rdgrimes
On a daily basis , I will write and over-ride 100 files per day

This is the hardest wear you can put a RW disc through. Suggest you find another way to transfer your data, the RW discs will let you down. you might get the disc back by doing a full erase, but basically, you are asking too much from the media. InCD might be worth a try for you, Mt Rainier format would also be a good step. But mainly, you're dealing with an unreliable media and unreliable software.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2003 1:34 am
by Inertia
This amount of daily rewriting to a CD-RW is tough duty, as rdgrimes has mentioned. I disagree that InCD is more reliable than DirectCD, and perhaps is less so. InCD is certainly less flexible and well developed than DirectCD. Mt. Rainier decreases startup formatting time with CD-RW discs, but has not demonstrated any increase in ability to read damaged discs.

As indicated, your problem is almost certainly a media reliability problem. The problem symptoms are indicative of a lot of damaged sectors on the media. CD-RW discs tend to be of uneven quality, and some may give good service but others have early failure. In general, they have not lived up to their promises of 1,000 - 10,000 rewrites. In my experience, the old 4x CD-RW discs are more reliable than even the 10-12x discs, much less the latest 24x or 32x discs. In my opinion, there is a reason why the latest and fastest CD-RW discs are hard to find. The reason is that the performance and reliability engineering of the discs lags the hyped promises.

If you really want to use rewritable discs, I would try a different high quality brand and retire the ones that are giving problems. Alternatively, reformat the problem discs and use them only for nonessential copying.

If you can live without rewriting, DirectCD can write to regular CD-R discs with much greater reliablity than CD-RW. Formatting of CD-R discs is very fast even without Mt. Rainier and the formatted capacity is much greater than with CD-RW. Rewriting is given up, but CD-R discs are much less expensive than CD-RW.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 28, 2003 8:42 am
by rdgrimes
Actually, the Mitsubishi Ultraspeed RW discs are performing better than most, if not all, HS media that's out there. But not all drives are up to the task.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:00 pm
by UALOneKPlus
I hate to say this, because I hate Iomega Zip Disks. But I'd suggest you go with the Zip Disks, or an external hard drive.

I've been burned by CD-RW media, never again will I trust any data to them.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:15 pm
by rdgrimes
Actually, for the stated use, only a hard drive is really appropriate. The RW disc is being used for something other than transfer of data, and it's just not up to the task. Store the files on HD, modify them there, then transfer to CDR/RW disc for moving to another system.

PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2003 9:58 pm
by CowboySlim
It isn't stated how much capacity you use on the CD-RW. I agree with the above with respect to your usage being above and beyond the call.......

However, if you see a perceived advantage in using removable and are less than 256MB, for about $60 you can get a USB 2.0 pen/jump/flash/keychain/etc. Probably some what more than double for 512Mb.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 5:26 pm
by Scrondar
I'm still looking for reliable RW media, and have yet to find it, regardless of what drive I use or what speed. Have yet to try the Mitsubishi discs, so maybe they are up to the task.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 6:14 pm
by Intimidator
I would suggest either using a 2nd HD or removable media. I back up my system using the W2K pro backup utility to a 2nd internal HD for now. Later I will get a mountable removable HD tray. More importantly each week I will burn the "my documents" folder where all the data is located to a very good quality CDR like TY.

When you make the burn make sure you leave the session open so you can add more to the disk. When the disks gets to about 50 to 75 MBs remaining then switch to a NEW CDR and start the process over again. Put this disk away in a fire box or take it to the office with you.

Why is this important? What happens if your CDRW for some strange reason will not recognize your ONLY copy of your files on RW media for what ever reason or you lose the data or it gets corrupted on the media. There goes all of your hard work. Remember you only have ONE copy of your data that you keep changing over and over.

By having several copies of your data that is backuped weekly then you will have a archive that can be accessed pretty much from any CD-ROM it does not have to be a burner. So if you lose one weeks worth of work then you will have another week to fall back on. It is easier to install the OS and programs than RECREATE several years worth of documents!!

As a matter of fact I would recommend that you should keep at least 3 copies on separate CDR's as an insurance policy.

Watch using Mt Rainer to format your disk. Because you cannot read a disk in another dirve if it does not support Mt. Rainer. Not all burners have this feature yet. That is why they are trying to make this universal.

CDRW media can be a real pain to work with and I would NOT trust them to hold important data.

It is better to lose a few weeks of work than several years of work!

I hope this helps!

PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2003 7:01 pm
by CowboySlim
Intimidator,

I concur with everything that you just posted. I have one problem, however. To whom are you responding (I am having trouble following this thread).

Faithfoo has a problem in trying to use CD-RW media as a hard drive beyond its useful life.

Scrondar is looking for better media, but doesn't mention how it is used or how it fails.

Perplexedly yours,

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 8:13 am
by Intimidator
Hey Cowboyslim:

I was responding to the original post by faithfoo. I like how you are always up on top of things.

PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2003 10:42 pm
by CowboySlim
I was responding to the original post by faithfoo. I like how you are always up on top of things.


You bet!

Your recommendation on the 2nd hard drive is right there. However, if faithfoo really wants a removable, my suggestion looks better yet. I've got a 128Mb'r, USB 1 right now and love it. I'm going to get a 256Mb'r, USB 2.0 when they drop to $40.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2003 7:43 am
by Intimidator
Cowboyslim:

I heard those USB drives are pretty cool! Last week I just finish building my AMD 2400+ system. I will have to look into those drives. I have 2 front USB 2.O's on the ANTEC tower.

I can see they would be good for some applications since they are backwards-compatible with USB 1. But not all systems that I would deal with have USB.

CDR is a much larger capacity and more universal right now.

But the USB 2.0 drive would still be nice to have.

Thanks!