Bizarre problem with CD drives

[Guest]

Here's the scenario:

I put a CD-RW disc into a CD-RW drive and erase the disc using the Writing
Wizard. I then burn new files onto the disc using the Writing Wizard. After
the disc is ejected, I re-insert the disc to verify the new files are there.
No problem.

I then take the disc home and insert it into my CD-ROM drive on my laptop.
The new files do not show up. In fact, old files do, some of which I can
open. So the old files were in fact not erased as the CD-RW drive showed they
were.

Also, my CD-ROM drive shows different data on my disc, burned on different
dates. For example, if I saved some files on March 24, those files all show
up and no other files. If I restart my laptop, my CD-ROM may read only files
burned April 3. Keep in mind that I erased all of these files previously
using a CD-RW drive.

So what is going on here? Obviously, the CD-RW drive isn't erasing all of
the files even though it shows so. That seems like a major security issue if
one drive shows files as not existing, but in reality they do.

Is the problem the result of the disc, the drives, or both? Why are
different drives reading different information on the same disc?

 

[Damo]

I had a similar scenario when I ruined a CDR - the older contents appeared
in one drive and the new (supposedly multisession) contents only appeared in
the other drive.

CD-RWs don't last forever. Have you erased a few times already? Maybe buy
a new disc. Also, some older computers, particularly laptops, have trouble
reading some data discs.
Damo

 

[Sharon F]

Here's the scenario:

I put a CD-RW disc into a CD-RW drive and erase the disc using the Writing
Wizard. I then burn new files onto the disc using the Writing Wizard. After
the disc is ejected, I re-insert the disc to verify the new files are there.
No problem.

I then take the disc home and insert it into my CD-ROM drive on my laptop.
The new files do not show up. In fact, old files do, some of which I can
open. So the old files were in fact not erased as the CD-RW drive showed they
were.

Also, my CD-ROM drive shows different data on my disc, burned on different
dates. For example, if I saved some files on March 24, those files all show
up and no other files. If I restart my laptop, my CD-ROM may read only files
burned April 3. Keep in mind that I erased all of these files previously
using a CD-RW drive.

So what is going on here? Obviously, the CD-RW drive isn't erasing all of
the files even though it shows so. That seems like a major security issue if
one drive shows files as not existing, but in reality they do.

Is the problem the result of the disc, the drives, or both? Why are
different drives reading different information on the same disc?

XP's burning tool is really a CDR tool. The term "erases" is used in
regards to cdrw disks since it can't do packet writing. However "erase" is
really a misnomer for what it does to the disk. Erasing a cdrw is similar
to deleting files on a hard drive.

Hard drive: Reference to file is removed but the data remains until it is
overwritten.

CDRW: The TOC (table of contents) is erased. The data remains until it is
overwritten.

I don't completely understand the differences you're seeing though. It
could be due to a difference in drives or in software. Some drives read
multisessions better than others. Some applications read disks differently
than the built in XP burning tools. I suspect the differences between the
software and/or hardware on the two systems are responsible for the two
confusing views that you're seeing.