CR-R and CD-RW Issues

[Fred 2002]

Not sure if this is the board I should be asking this question on, so let me
know if there's a better one.

I began using CD-R disks for backing up my data files some months ago. I
updated frequently and the newer files overwrote the older ones. Recently
though, the system will no longer delete the old files on the CD-R. So I
rapidly run out of space on the CD. What's happened?

So I went to Staples and bought some CD-RW disks, but the system won't allow
me to write to any of them. I get an error message saying the disk is "not
accessible. Incorrect function." Did I buy the wrong kind of CD-RW disks?

Any ideas about this behavior? Thanks in advance!

 

[John McGaw]

Not sure if this is the board I should be asking this question on, so let me
know if there's a better one.

I began using CD-R disks for backing up my data files some months ago. I
updated frequently and the newer files overwrote the older ones. Recently
though, the system will no longer delete the old files on the CD-R. So I
rapidly run out of space on the CD. What's happened?

So I went to Staples and bought some CD-RW disks, but the system won't allow
me to write to any of them. I get an error message saying the disk is "not
accessible. Incorrect function." Did I buy the wrong kind of CD-RW disks?

Any ideas about this behavior? Thanks in advance!

New files do not "overwrite" old ones on a CD-R -- what you see is just
a trick called "multisession" that makes it appear as if they did. So
basically you can write and write and write until the disk is full and
then it refuses to go any further because it simply can't because it is
full. As for the CD-RW not working, that could be any sort of problem.
What sort of program are you using to write to your CD? Does it have an
"erase disk" function? (don't get your hopes up, this applies only to RW
disks which indeed can be erased). What is your CD hardware? If it has
upgradeable firmware have you installed the newest version from the
manufacturer?

John McGaw
http:/johnmcgaw.com

 

[Fred 2002]

John:

That makes sense. I kind of suspected something like that but wasn't sure.
As far as the CD-RW, I have Roxio installed to allow drag and drop action
and to "see" the CD drive essentially a folder. Roxio has an erase disk
function and a format function. I will try those now. I will have to refer
to Belarc Advisor to see my drive type and see if it has upgradeable
firmware capability. Thanks for the tips. I will report results later.

 

[Li'l Roberto]

See this MS article
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315350

rgds
Robert

 

[bxf]

John:

That makes sense. I kind of suspected something like that but wasn't sure.
As far as the CD-RW, I have Roxio installed to allow drag and drop action
and to "see" the CD drive essentially a folder. Roxio has an erase disk
function and a format function. I will try those now. I will have to refer
to Belarc Advisor to see my drive type and see if it has upgradeable
firmware capability. Thanks for the tips. I will report results later.

You are on the right track here. If you are trying to use the CD-RW as
if it were a normal HDD, you need to format/erase it using Roxio
Drag-to-Disk. You can subsequenlty use it in Windows Explorer, etc. to
add/delete/replace files.

 

[Plato]

I began using CD-R disks for backing up my data files some months ago. I
updated frequently and the newer files overwrote the older ones. Recently
though, the system will no longer delete the old files on the CD-R. So I
rapidly run out of space on the CD. What's happened?

CR-R's dont delete files, one can only add them if the disk is not
"closed".

 

[Tom]

CR-R's dont delete files, one can only add them if the disk is not
"closed".

But Fred noted that when he added (newer) files, they overwrote the older
ones; this tells me he is using the RW ilk. Otherwise, you either write to
the CD-R until it is full or closed as you stated, but you cannot overwrite
existing files on the disk if it is CD-R.

Seems to me he is using a CD-RW, and he was able to write over older files
because he left the session open (as a program preference) by allowing
writing to the disk in the future. Maybe in his last write, this was
neglected, and the only thing that can be done now is to erase the disk to
start over again. I would just get another disk, as they are too cheap to
worry about anyway.

 

[John McGaw]

But Fred noted that when he added (newer) files, they overwrote the older
ones; this tells me he is using the RW ilk. Otherwise, you either write to
the CD-R until it is full or closed as you stated, but you cannot overwrite
existing files on the disk if it is CD-R.

Seems to me he is using a CD-RW, and he was able to write over older files
because he left the session open (as a program preference) by allowing
writing to the disk in the future. Maybe in his last write, this was
neglected, and the only thing that can be done now is to erase the disk to
start over again. I would just get another disk, as they are too cheap to
worry about anyway.

Not really. If you are using, for example, a 700mB CD-R and write a the
100mB file "Fubar.txt" to it using multisession and do a directory
listing you will see that single file. If you then modify the
"Fubar.txt" file and write it to the CD-R, again using multisession, you
will still see a single instance of "Fubar.txt" (the newer one) in the
directory even though both are physically on the CD-R. You can keep
doing this until eventually the system will refuse to write the file
because all of the CD-R is filled with different versions of the same
file but you will still be able to see only the most recent of them in a
file listing. Writing a new version does not really replace the old
version because erasing or rewriting just doesn't work on CD-R even
though the system does its best to make it looks as if you could.

Given the price of a write-once media today relying on this technique
looks like a waste to me. Of course given the somewhat spotty
reliability of RW media I also refuse to use them for long-term
"must-work" backups and the like. When my weekly backup goes to the
bank's safety deposit box after being verified for readability it will
always be on a fresh DVD-R disk or two.

John McGaw
http://johnmcgaw.com

 

[Fred 2002]

Thanks to all for the replies and assistance. You guys are a remarkable
resource.

Here's the latest: I tried using Roxio to erase a CD-RW disk. It errored
out. Same result with a format attempt (after 20 minutes I was told the disk
had errors on it and was unusable). I returned to Staples and bought some
Sony CD-RW disks. Same problem.

After some Googling, I came across this Microsoft KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;826510

Note the second error message in this article under "More Information":
That's the message I was getting when I tried to write to the disk. The
checkbox was clear: once I checked it, I could write to the CD-RW.

Does this indicate that I may have a corrupt Roxio installation? I have
never checked this box before.

Pardon the different fonts. I copied this from an email I sent to myself.

Fred 2002

 

[Talahasee]

x-no-archive: yes

Thanks to all for the replies and assistance. You guys are a remarkable
resource.

Here's the latest: I tried using Roxio to erase a CD-RW disk. It errored
out. Same result with a format attempt (after 20 minutes I was told the disk
had errors on it and was unusable). I returned to Staples and bought some
Sony CD-RW disks. Same problem.

After some Googling, I came across this Microsoft KB article:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;826510

Note the second error message in this article under "More Information":
That's the message I was getting when I tried to write to the disk. The
checkbox was clear: once I checked it, I could write to the CD-RW.

Does this indicate that I may have a corrupt Roxio installation? I have
never checked this box before.

Pardon the different fonts. I copied this from an email I sent to myself.

Fred 2002

Since I don't use Roxio anymore, I can't speak for it. I switched to
Nero 5, then Nero 6 over a year ago, and I have few problems.

One problem I DO have today is minor damage to my CPU (tiny chips
missing in 2 places) that apparently prevent me from copying my
program disks.

but I can certainly burn both CD-Rs and CD-RWs.

The trick I have learned in using CD RWs is that you must QUICK erase
them, and THEN Full erase them for them to work properly.

As for open and closed sessions, and "drag-n-drop", I gave up that
functionality some time ago, and I miss it, but I have no clue how to
do it.

I am now stuck with 20- 30 minute backup sessions per CD RW, but at
least it works.

Hope that helps.

Oh! And I grabbed a copy of Nero 6 off Amazon.com for $5.
(no kidding)

Tallahassee