Funny Thing

[Nuno Magalhaes]

Yesterday my copy of windows xp in CD exploded into millions of pieces
while being read inside the drive.

Both the CD and the drive are now completely trashed. Is this normal or
is just something to laugh about?

Nuno Magalhaes.

 

[bxf]

Definitely not normal! "millions of pieces" is way beyond the normal
"dozens of pieces", or at most "hundreds".

If your drive is still under warranty, then laughing is permitted,
since somebody else is going to have to fix it. Othewise, laughing is
permitted as a psychological escape, because the alternative (crying)
is much less pleasant.

My sympathies.

 

[johnf]

Sounds like you scratched the top of the CD (where the data is stored) & the
laser microwaved it.

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

Yesterday my copy of windows xp in CD exploded into millions of pieces
while being read inside the drive.

Both the CD and the drive are now completely trashed. Is this normal or
is just something to laugh about?

Nuno Magalhaes.

Modern drives that spin up to 52x place a lot of strain on a disc. If you
handle the disc improperly (by "flexing" or bending the disc when you remove
it from it's jewel case), you produce tiny fractures in the disc, When the
disc is spun at high speed, these fractures grow until the disc shatters.

Here is how to prevent it from happening in the future:

1. Do not flex or bend the disc when removing it from it's jewel case.
2. Use software available on the internet to slow down the spin speed of
your drive. The faster drives actually access data slower, and here is why:

Data can only be read from the disc at relatively slow speeds. If your
CD_ROM spins up to 48x or 52x to get to the data it reads, it takes a while
for the disc to slow down enough to be read, and this takes longer than if
the disc spun up at a lower speed and did not have to slow down so much.

Bobby

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

Sounds like you scratched the top of the CD (where the data is stored) &
the laser microwaved it.

Please explain how the laser can microwave a disc?

the wavelength of the light emitted from a read laser and the wavelength of
the microwave band are drastically different. The laser in a CD-ROM unit,
whether in read or write mode, cannot produce microwaves.

I hope you don't service or build computers...you sound like you know just
enough to be dangerous around anything mechanical or electrical...

Bobby

 

[johnf]

(Retired Electronics Engineer)
Try "microwaved" = excessive heat.

 

[null]

Data can only be read from the disc at relatively slow speeds. If your
CD_ROM spins up to 48x or 52x to get to the data it reads, it takes a while
for the disc to slow down enough to be read, and this takes longer than if
the disc spun up at a lower speed and did not have to slow down so much.

Bobby

Can you provide on-line documentation of this?

--
The reader should exercise normal caution and backup the Registry and
data files regularly, and especially before making any changes to their
PC, as well as performing regular virus and spyware scans. I am not
liable for problems or mishaps that occur from the reader using advice
posted here. No warranty, express or implied, is given with the posting
of this message.

 

[James Silverton]

NoNoBadDog! wrote on Tue, 27 Sep 2005 01:16:01 -1000:


N> Here is how to prevent it from happening in the future:

N> 1. Do not flex or bend the disc when removing it from it's
N> jewel case.

I have often wondered why I can no longer buy CD files that hold
the discs vertically and loosely at three points. I always found
them useful and they seem very adequate for keeping CDs for
reuse even after more than 2 years. However if one must use the
stupid plastic boxes, what is the best method to get the CDs out
without flexing? I have had no trouble with lifting at an edge
while pressing down on the central spindle with a thumb but the
disc *does* bend a little.

James Silverton.