This is driving me nuts...

[Ed Cregger]

I have an eMachines T-6000.

I purchased some tunes from Wal-Marts download site. The $.88 per tune type.
When I try to record them to CD-R or CD-RW, it tells me that there is no CD
in the drive.

WTF is this about?

Yes, they are brand new, fresh CD's.

TIA

Ed Cregger

 

[Ed Cregger]

I have an eMachines T-6000.

I purchased some tunes from Wal-Marts download site. The $.88 per tune
type. When I try to record them to CD-R or CD-RW, it tells me that there
is no CD in the drive.

WTF is this about?

Yes, they are brand new, fresh CD's.

TIA

Ed Cregger

I finally got it to try to record, but then it says there is something wrong
with the CD. It does this perhaps 50% of the time, even when I can manage to
record to the same CD later on, but I never know when.

What a PITA. CD's are one media that I will be happy to see replaced. Any
thoughts?

Ed Cregger

 

[dantheman]

I had the same exact problem. If you go to the manufacturers website of
the burner your'e using, and update your firmware, your problem might
be solved.

 

[Ed Cregger]

I had the same exact problem. If you go to the manufacturers website of
the burner your'e using, and update your firmware, your problem might
be solved.

Thanks. I'll give it a try.

Ed Cregger

 

[JAD]

I have an eMachines T-6000.

I purchased some tunes from Wal-Marts download site. The $.88 per tune

type.

nothing to do with the burner not burning

When I try to record them to CD-R or CD-RW, it tells me that there is no CD
in the drive.

1 your media is of a type not supported by your burner / firmware.
2 your burner is new / old ? The more you use them the quicker they go /
get dirty. Try gently blowing out the drive.(sometimes however this can make
matters worse) If in fact it does then it could be a dirt problem. You could
open it and clean it. I read that at some point in production of media, that
the newer stock will have trouble in older burners.

 

[fj]

type.

nothing to do with the burner not burning



1 your media is of a type not supported by your burner / firmware.
2 your burner is new / old ? The more you use them the quicker they go /
get dirty. Try gently blowing out the drive.(sometimes however this can
make
matters worse) If in fact it does then it could be a dirt problem. You
could
open it and clean it. I read that at some point in production of media,
that
the newer stock will have trouble in older burners.

How about one of those CD cleaners - the ones that are little brushes stuck
on a CD?

 

[JAD]

How about one of those CD cleaners - the ones that are little brushes stuck
on a CD?

utter nonsence really, the brush is basically flattened after a few seconds
of spinning

 

[Ed Cregger]

type.

nothing to do with the burner not burning

In view of Sony's trick of installing software on computers, unbeknownst by
the owner's, can anyone guarantee that the music we download from any vender
does not contain nefarious programs, programs intended to restrict the use
of intellectual property purchased from said vender?

If I knew the answer, I wouldn't be asking the question. It appears to be
being caused by firmware/software problems somewhere. Occasionally, the
drive will surprise you and work as it is supposed to work.

1 your media is of a type not supported by your burner / firmware.

How so? It is a CD-RW drive. Both CD-R and CD-RW disks are randomly rejected
for prolonged periods of time, then, without explanation, the same disk will
be written to without hesitation.

2 your burner is new / old ? The more you use them the quicker they go /
get dirty. Try gently blowing out the drive.(sometimes however this can
make
matters worse) If in fact it does then it could be a dirt problem. You
could
open it and clean it. I read that at some point in production of media,
that
the newer stock will have trouble in older burners.

When you buy a refurb, it is impossible to tell how much the burner has been
used, so you may have a valid point here. I do clean the drives on my
computers, ridding them of dust, etc.

Later on, the same CD that was rejected previously will be burned to with no
problem. This isn't the first time that it has happened.

Thanks for your reply.

Ed Cregger

 

[David Maynard]

In view of Sony's trick of installing software on computers, unbeknownst by
the owner's, can anyone guarantee that the music we download from any vender
does not contain nefarious programs, programs intended to restrict the use
of intellectual property purchased from said vender?

Yes, don't 'install' the mp3s, not that there's any way to do so in the
first place.

If I knew the answer, I wouldn't be asking the question. It appears to be
being caused by firmware/software problems somewhere. Occasionally, the
drive will surprise you and work as it is supposed to work.

Proof positive it isn't 'trick sony software'. It wouldn't tell you there's
no CD in the drive as there's no money in that; it would tell you to go buy
something, like a license for the mp3 you're trying to burn.

How so?

Because not all CD-R(W)s are created equal.

It is a CD-RW drive. Both CD-R and CD-RW disks are randomly rejected
for prolonged periods of time, then, without explanation, the same disk will
be written to without hesitation.

At night or day? Don't laugh, marginal CDs will sometimes work with, or not
work with, additional light in the room.

I'm not saying that's your problem but there's no reason to act as if
intermittent problems are unheard of.

 

[Ed Medlin]

1 your media is of a type not supported by your burner / firmware.

Because not all CD-R(W)s are created equal.


At night or day? Don't laugh, marginal CDs will sometimes work with, or
not work with, additional light in the room.

Never heard that before.....hehe....... But I can see that it could happen.

I'm not saying that's your problem but there's no reason to act as if
intermittent problems are unheard of.

I have found that some CD/DVD writers can be very picky with the
type/brand of media used. This is also true of many players. I find that
Memorex and Verbatim work better for me, and for music I want to play on my
Kenwood CD/MP3 player in my truck I must use the Memorex music-type CDR
media. It is the same price as most others, and I don't know what the
difference is, if any, but most budget CDRs will not eject from it and I
have to use some tweasers to get the CD out. There might be a difference in
thickness or just the texture of the surface might be different........ I
dunno. I always thought that "music" CDs were just a marketing hype and
there was no difference, but have since found that at least with Memorex,
there is SOMETHING that is different. I have tested this over and over with
that particular player with the same results. My CD/DVD writer is a Memorex
branded Liteon.

Ed

 

[Ed Cregger]

Never heard that before.....hehe....... But I can see that it could
happen.


I have found that some CD/DVD writers can be very picky with the
type/brand of media used. This is also true of many players. I find that
Memorex and Verbatim work better for me, and for music I want to play on
my Kenwood CD/MP3 player in my truck I must use the Memorex music-type CDR
media. It is the same price as most others, and I don't know what the
difference is, if any, but most budget CDRs will not eject from it and I
have to use some tweasers to get the CD out. There might be a difference
in thickness or just the texture of the surface might be different........
I dunno. I always thought that "music" CDs were just a marketing hype and
there was no difference, but have since found that at least with Memorex,
there is SOMETHING that is different. I have tested this over and over
with that particular player with the same results. My CD/DVD writer is a
Memorex branded Liteon.

Ed

Thanks for your contributions, Ed and David.

I have read elsewhere that the CD-R's marked "Audio" have a small piece of
code on them that identifies them as having paid a royalty to ASCAP, or some
other outfit, for the copying of copyrighted material.

If the drive hadn't done this before and then worked perfectly for six
months, I wouldn't be as perplexed. I haven't had this machine apart in over
six months, so I don't think it is anything that I have done mechanically.

It could be all of the things you folks have mentioned, or none, but at
least you gave me some ideas to work with. Thanks a bunch.

Ed Cregger

 

[JAD]

on another note. Just had a machine here that was intermittently not burning
or the burner wasn't being recognized by the IDE controller. ended up being
the PSU.

 

[Ed Cregger]

on another note. Just had a machine here that was intermittently not
burning
or the burner wasn't being recognized by the IDE controller. ended up
being
the PSU.

Thanks, Jad. That would not surprise me. It has been behaving marginally
since new.

Ed Cregger

 

[David Maynard]

Never heard that before.....hehe....... But I can see that it could happen.

I have, or had (not sure if it's still here), a really old one that was
ambient light sensitive with CD-Rs.

Amusing, but unrelated, story about early tube computers. They had one that
worked fine during test but gave gobbledygook if left running over night.
But when tested it would, again, work just fine making it a real bitch to
debug. Turned out the cleaning crew was turning out the lights at night and
the lack of ambient light altered the threshold voltage of neon glow tubes
just enough to screw it up.

Leaving the lights on was a more economic solution that redesigning the
whole computer

I have found that some CD/DVD writers can be very picky with the
type/brand of media used.

I've heard that enough to believe it's true but I've been lucky, I guess,
as just about any old thing works in all the CD reader/burners I've got
that, in any way, resembles 'recent' manufacture.

This is also true of many players. I find that
Memorex and Verbatim work better for me, and for music I want to play on my
Kenwood CD/MP3 player in my truck I must use the Memorex music-type CDR
media. It is the same price as most others, and I don't know what the
difference is, if any, but most budget CDRs will not eject from it and I
have to use some tweasers to get the CD out. There might be a difference in
thickness or just the texture of the surface might be different........ I
dunno. I always thought that "music" CDs were just a marketing hype and
there was no difference, but have since found that at least with Memorex,
there is SOMETHING that is different. I have tested this over and over with
that particular player with the same results. My CD/DVD writer is a Memorex
branded Liteon.

Well, the media problem you have with some vs others is different than what
makes a music CD a 'music' CD. Music CDs have some additional information
pre-recorded into them that, for one, declares it's a music CD and that the
proper license/royalty has been paid (to who I forget, off hand). For
computers it is of no consequence but stand-alone recorders check that
before allowing a burn.

 

[David Maynard]

Thanks, Jad. That would not surprise me. It has been behaving marginally
since new.

Ed Cregger

I don't know what "behaving marginally" means but if a computer isn't
working right then it shouldn't be terribly surprising if anything
connected to it shows some kind of symptom as well.

 

[Ed Cregger]

I don't know what "behaving marginally" means but if a computer isn't
working right then it shouldn't be terribly surprising if anything
connected to it shows some kind of symptom as well.

Well, for instance, I have two external USB enclosures connected to the
computer. One has an NEC DVD writer and the other a 300 GB hard disk
installed.

If I leave the two powered up and then turn on the computer, XP locks up and
will not boot. If I turn the power to the external drives off and reboot the
computer, the computer boots up just fine. You folks told me that it was a
marginal power supply.

That is what I meant.

Incidentally, both have their own power supplies and are plugged into a four
port, USB 2.0 hub, which also has its own power supply.

Being knowledgable does not grant one the right to be a wiseass. <G>

Ed Cregger

 

[David Maynard]

Well, for instance, I have two external USB enclosures connected to the
computer. One has an NEC DVD writer and the other a 300 GB hard disk
installed.

If I leave the two powered up and then turn on the computer, XP locks up and
will not boot. If I turn the power to the external drives off and reboot the
computer, the computer boots up just fine. You folks told me that it was a
marginal power supply.

Just for the record, I was not one of those folks and while you may very
well have a marginal power supply I would not have leapt to that conclusion
from that particular symptom. (I don't have an alternate conclusion to leap
to either)

That is what I meant.

That's why I asked because, to me, (the computer) "behaving marginally"
suggests unexpected behaviors that randomly crop up under seemingly normal
operation and not identifiable, repeatable, specific problems. At that
point it's a problematic (marginal) this or that, not the whole thing.

Incidentally, both have their own power supplies and are plugged into a four
port, USB 2.0 hub, which also has its own power supply.

Doesn't sound to me like that should have any noticeable effect on the PC's
PSU.

Being knowledgable does not grant one the right to be a wiseass. <G>

Na, I was a wiseass long before I was knowledgeable

But back to the problem, have you tried more than one burning program?

Second, if you have more than one installed maybe they're interfering with
each other (for example, EZCDCreator used to be notorious about that).

Of course, you may have something really oddball like a funky wall outlet
acting up. (I once bought a whole new motherboard/CPU combo before
discovering it and that was the closest I ever came to losing my mind. You
know, it is *impossible* for this to *not work*, but it doesn't.)

 

[Peter]

I have an eMachines T-6000.

I purchased some tunes from Wal-Marts download site. The $.88 per tune type.
When I try to record them to CD-R or CD-RW, it tells me that there is no CD
in the drive.

WTF is this about?

Yes, they are brand new, fresh CD's.

TIA

Ed Cregger

Have you tried just writing data (not audio) to them? Do you get the
same problem?

 

[jer4202]

im not entirely sure, maybe the format, but i would think it would
download it in WMA format which should burn fine. Perhaps its the
software??? I would
recommend Nero 6 Ultra Ed but i dont even think thats your problem.
Re-install the drivers for the optical drive and restart. If all else
fails, maybe buy a new optical drive.

 

[Ed Cregger]

Have you tried just writing data (not audio) to them? Do you get the
same problem?

I did not try this time, but when it happened before it would not write
data. That really puzzled me.

Yesterday, later in the day, the wife found a couple of CD Audio CD's that
have been around for a while. It burned the disk on the first try.

Of course, it may not have had a thing to do with the fact that it was an
Audio CD, it could have been the nature of the material it was made from -
ARRRRGH! <G>

Ed Cregger