Checking Disk Errors

[rogeepete]

Running Win XP Pro. Want to check out errors on a cd...Scandisk is not
available in Win XP but Tip From Microsoft Knowledge base = My Computer,
right click on my cd drive, Properties, Tools, Error checking...

Problem is is that when I get in the cd disk properties screen, I do not see
Tools
as an option.

Thanks

Roger

 

[R. McCarty]

Chkdsk is not available for Optical disks. After checking the disk
for obvious scuffs or scratches about the only maintenance type of
operation is to use a lens cleaner disk in your optical drive.

 

[BillW50]

In rogeepete typed on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:10:02 -0700:

Running Win XP Pro. Want to check out errors on a cd...Scandisk is
not available in Win XP but Tip From Microsoft Knowledge base = My
Computer, right click on my cd drive, Properties, Tools, Error
checking...

Problem is is that when I get in the cd disk properties screen, I do
not see Tools
as an option.

Thanks

Roger

I don't know why you want to do so, but did you try chkdsk in a command
prompt?

 

[Paul]

Running Win XP Pro. Want to check out errors on a cd...Scandisk is not
available in Win XP but Tip From Microsoft Knowledge base = My Computer,
right click on my cd drive, Properties, Tools, Error checking...

Problem is is that when I get in the cd disk properties screen, I do not see
Tools
as an option.

Thanks

Roger

The commercial Nero package, includes some tools written by Eric Deppe.
For some reason, these tools are available for download as well (since
they don't burn CDs, and just perform maintenance functions).
This version is 4.11.2.0 from 2008-04-24. The version currently
shipping with Nero, is likely a much higher rev number. If you
already have Nero installed, just use the version in the Nero
Tools folder.

http://majorgeeks.com/Nero_DiscSpeed_d118.html

There are disc quality checks in there, which show something
more akin to "raw error rates". The drives also have error
correction, which is why a certain level of raw errors can be
tolerated. Sites like CDFreaks or CDRinfo, can tell you how
high an error level, with the various kinds of errors, can
be tolerated, before the user actually sees a data error.

I burned a CDRW a couple weeks ago, and scanned it with the
Nero tool, and I think the errors went up to about 3000 or so.
(That media is terrible stuff, so this is not a good thing...)
And the disc was still readable. But when the errors are high,
what I can expect from that disc, is in a matter of a few months
or less, that disc will be unreadable. So my CDRW would not
be considered a "backup" or anything close to it. The scan
tells me what I need to know.

So doing quality scans, using PI/PO, C1/C2, helps you predict
what condition optical media is in currently, and perhaps what
will happen to it in the future. I like to test sample media
(3-pak or 5-pak), until I find something I can trust, and then
I buy a spindle of them.

The CDFreaks or CDRinfo sites can also provide some info on
the difference between drives. There were some drives, which
were known for their ability to support scanning well, and some
reviewers use those "scanning drives", to verify how well a
brand new drive is doing burns. So for people who take their
burning seriously, they keep certain old drives around
as "reference scan" devices.

KProbe was a tool intended for Liteon drives, which also provided
scanning capability. But I hardly see Liteon any more and don't
know what happened to the brand. If you have an old Liteon drive,
then you could find a copy of KProbe "for a second opinion".

The Nero tool mentioned in the first link, also has a "scandisc"
option, so you can check for errors at the user level. The
"Disc Quality" scan tells you what is going on "underneath",
giving raw uncorrected errors. The Scandisk option tells
you "what the user sees". So 3000 raw errors amplitude,
might still give a clean Scandisc. But using the Disc
Quality gives you an early warning, as to how hard that
error correction has to work.

Paul

 

[BillW50]

In Paul typed on Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:39:24 -0400:

The commercial Nero package, includes some tools written by Eric
Deppe. For some reason, these tools are available for download as
well (since they don't burn CDs, and just perform maintenance
functions). This version is 4.11.2.0 from 2008-04-24. The version
currently
shipping with Nero, is likely a much higher rev number. If you
already have Nero installed, just use the version in the Nero
Tools folder.

http://majorgeeks.com/Nero_DiscSpeed_d118.html

There are disc quality checks in there, which show something
more akin to "raw error rates". The drives also have error
correction, which is why a certain level of raw errors can be
tolerated. Sites like CDFreaks or CDRinfo, can tell you how
high an error level, with the various kinds of errors, can
be tolerated, before the user actually sees a data error.

I burned a CDRW a couple weeks ago, and scanned it with the
Nero tool, and I think the errors went up to about 3000 or so.
(That media is terrible stuff, so this is not a good thing...)
And the disc was still readable. But when the errors are high,
what I can expect from that disc, is in a matter of a few months
or less, that disc will be unreadable. So my CDRW would not
be considered a "backup" or anything close to it. The scan
tells me what I need to know.

So doing quality scans, using PI/PO, C1/C2, helps you predict
what condition optical media is in currently, and perhaps what
will happen to it in the future. I like to test sample media
(3-pak or 5-pak), until I find something I can trust, and then
I buy a spindle of them.

The CDFreaks or CDRinfo sites can also provide some info on
the difference between drives. There were some drives, which
were known for their ability to support scanning well, and some
reviewers use those "scanning drives", to verify how well a
brand new drive is doing burns. So for people who take their
burning seriously, they keep certain old drives around
as "reference scan" devices.

KProbe was a tool intended for Liteon drives, which also provided
scanning capability. But I hardly see Liteon any more and don't
know what happened to the brand. If you have an old Liteon drive,
then you could find a copy of KProbe "for a second opinion".

The Nero tool mentioned in the first link, also has a "scandisc"
option, so you can check for errors at the user level. The
"Disc Quality" scan tells you what is going on "underneath",
giving raw uncorrected errors. The Scandisk option tells
you "what the user sees". So 3000 raw errors amplitude,
might still give a clean Scandisc. But using the Disc
Quality gives you an early warning, as to how hard that
error correction has to work.

Very good information Paul! I have used it in the past, but I use it to
test the reliability of drives themselves. I totally forgot you can do
this for CD/DVD media as well.