cant write CDs that are readable, wrong formatting occuring

[aenor sawyer]

Everytime I try to write CD, the computer first reformats
the CDs (which does not happen on my other computers!)
and then writes a disc that is unreadable on any
computer!!! I am very upset with my new lap top from IBM
for this reason. I am a very busy physician who presents
at conferences and must submit my talks on CD to the AV
director at each conference. Twice I have been told that
my talks are unreadable (not even recognized) although I
can see that the disc was burned. I cant afford this
type of a problem and am about to return the entire lap
top and go back to the reliable Dell's that I have had in
the past. Please help as soon as possilbe... I have more
talks to give in just one week. I really rely on the
ability to create my talks in ppt and burn them to the
discs. I also cannot back up my computer on CDs right
now. Pleeeeezzzz...

 

[BC]

I notice you've given an unbelievable amount of
information about your life and absolutely none about your
computer system. My only advice is this: It doesn't
sound like a hardware issue. Try getting Nero or another
3rd party burner.

 

[Bob Harris]

There are two basic ways to write data CDs, one I would
call mastering, the other packet writing. In mastering,
you assemble all files ahead of time, form a directory for
those files, then write once and close the CD. You never
write again to this CD. You do not format the CD, but if
it happen to be a CD-RW, you may erase it and reuse it in
the future.

In packet writing, you first format the disk, then use
windows explorer to copy files to the CD, as if it were a
giant floppy. It sounds like your PC is doing packet
writing by default.

In general, packet writing is less reliable than
mastering. Not all PCs can read packet written CDs by all
other pCs. Thus, I suggest that you stop using this
method of writing CDs.

One way to do this to do this is to get some standard CD
writing software and follow the manual. I use Easy CD
Creator, but Nero also gets good reviews.

But, your PC should have come with some CD writing
software, and it may be just a matter of learning how to
use it. For example, I have an IBM PC at work (NetVista
model) and it does seems to want to packet-write to CD-
RW. However, it also seems to know that it can not do
this to a CD-R. Thus, merely inerting a CD-R does
nothing, until I separately start the IBM-brand writing
utility. Then, it lets me collect files/directories, and
write once. Such CDs have been read successfully on
several computers around the USA, incluing some UNIX
machines.

By the way, a reasoably good test of a CD is to read it in
a plain CD reader. As you might expect, a CD-writing can
usually read its own CDs, even if no one else can.
However, a separate CD reader (or DVD reader) will only
work if the CD is correctly written in some standard
format.

By the way the usual format for data CDs is called
Joliet. Something called ISO9660 is good for backward
compatibilty to older PCs, but it does not support long
names. UDF is a form of packet writing.

Finally, if your PC is still under warrantee, you might
seek assistance from the manufacture, so long as you are
using software that came bundled with the PC. Otherwise,
contact the support group of the software vendor.

 

[dev]

aenor sawyer said:

Everytime I try to write CD, the computer first reformats
the CDs (which does not happen on my other computers!)
and then writes a disc that is unreadable on any
computer!!! I am very upset with my new lap top from IBM
for this reason. I am a very busy physician who presents
at conferences and must submit my talks on CD to the AV
director at each conference. Twice I have been told that
my talks are unreadable (not even recognized) although I
can see that the disc was burned. I cant afford this
type of a problem and am about to return the entire lap
top and go back to the reliable Dell's that I have had in
the past. Please help as soon as possilbe... I have more
talks to give in just one week. I really rely on the
ability to create my talks in ppt and burn them to the
discs. I also cannot back up my computer on CDs right
now. Pleeeeezzzz...

XP has simple burning software built-in (non-packet / no formatting required).

Audio files (CDA) must be burned in ONE session; the CD is then closed,
and the disk should be playable on any CD *AUDIO* player.

Data files can be burned in subsequent sessions (the CD is not closed);
the CD should be readable on a PC's CD player.

A quick tutorial on capabilities and limitations of the XP burner...
http://www.aumha.org/a/xpcd.htm

 

[Len]

Sounds like an over eager piece of software Roxio/Nero or what ever is
running on your system (Direct CD or InCD). When it sees a nice blank disk
it assumes you want to format the disk for packet writting.

That in its self is not terrible, just the longer way around. The part that
will kill you is if you leave the CD as it is rather than close the CD. A
CD that is not closed almost always requires that the same burning software
be installed on the viewing machine and sometimes that it be read from a
CD/RW drive.

If the disk was closed then it should be read on any computer with a modern
CDROM and an OS of Win98 or newer.

As suggested by the other poster, it would be easier to shut down the packet
writing SW and open your disk mastering program EZCD Creator or Nero Burning
Rom. Those will automatically burn and close the CD making it universally
viewable on any relatively new CDROM (maybe not a 4x or 6X).

Good Luck,
Len