CD Reader Not Reading

  • Thread starter Thread starter ZootRot
  • Start date Start date
Z

ZootRot

WinXP Pro

I have a CD-RW with photos on it. On one computer I can access all files.
On another I cannot- the drive shows no files on the disk. I believe the
original disk was "created" in Win2k.

What diagnostics or changes can I run to ensure that my disk drive can read
all disks of whatever format?

Thanks.
 
WinXP Pro

I have a CD-RW with photos on it. On one computer I can access all files.
On another I cannot- the drive shows no files on the disk. I believe the
original disk was "created" in Win2k.

What diagnostics or changes can I run to ensure that my disk drive can read
all disks of whatever format?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

What software do you use for your pics (ie; PaintShopPro etc) & do you
have the same software in both pc's?
Have you changed the "choice" ("open with" option) thro' "properties?
(properties>change & chose your software to open the pic)
 
ZootRot said:
WinXP Pro

I have a CD-RW with photos on it. On one computer I can access all files.
On another I cannot- the drive shows no files on the disk. I believe the
original disk was "created" in Win2k.

What diagnostics or changes can I run to ensure that my disk drive can read
all disks of whatever format?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Your assumption is that optical technology is reliable :-)
My experiences with it, hasn't inspired confidence.

If you look at the reviews on CDfreaks, you can get some idea of how they
rate the drives. On this page, you can see them running error scans, after
doing a burn. I bought maybe $50 worth of samples of media (like 3-packs), and
tested my new drive with that. Some of the media I bought, was basic coaster
material, and the error scans showed thousands of errors, and a rising error
characteristic near the end of the disk. Some of the disks were so bad, they
would "freeze" another drive trying to read them.

http://www.cdfreaks.com/reviews/LG-...riting-Quality-with-CD-R-and-CD-RW-discs.html

Before ruining a lot of media, with a new drive, you should flash upgrade the
burner, to the latest firmware. That increases the odds, that the drive will
read and recognize the tag on the media.

So, first, your burner machine has to be happy with the disks it has burned.
If the error rate is high on the originating machine, there isn't much chance
the results will be portable to another computer.

Also, there is a possibility, if the destination drive is a really old one, that
it cannot read rewritable media. You might be able to pass a burned CD-R to it,
but a CD-RW might have too low contrast to be readable. I cannot give you a
definite date or age, as to when the drive might be "too old". But that tends
to give consumers a reason to upgrade, to have a better chance at being
compatible.

At this point, my guess would be, that you need to work on your media
choices. As a starting point, you can examine a review of your drive, on
CDfreaks or a similar site, and buy sample media that got good results.
On my burner, I had some Verbatim disks that worked good, while the
computer store "bargain brand" did not work well.

After my experiences, I now have new respect for my floppy collection,
which has never let me down :-)

Paul
 
My CD is ok, it appears to be the drive. The CD works perfectly on another
computer.
So it has something to do with the drive or the drive settings.
 
Possibilities include:

1. bad CD drive. Try other CDs. If most can not be read, then get a new
drive. I have had some optical drives last for years, but I have also had
others die in as little as two years.

2. marginal/antiquated CD drive. Try other CDs. If some can not be read,
but others can, then either get a new drive or accept the situation. For
example, some older CD drives have trouble with some newer/faster CDs and/or
the precise color of the dye on the CD. Of course, you could try writing at
a slower speed and on some otther brand of media. Note that CD-R media is
more likely to be readable on an arbitrary drive than CD-RW media.

3. good drive but bad/maginal/imperfect CD: Try other CDs. If all can be
read, except this one, this there is something strange about this one CD.
For example, is the CD "closed" or "finalized"? A perfectly made CD can be
read on essentially any computer, even on a MAC or a LINUX box. But, the
default in some CD-writing software is to leave the CD "open" for additional
inforamtion. Such a CD can be read on the machine that created it, and on
some other machines, depending on what CD writing software they have. But,
it can not be read on all machines.

4. Format of the CD? A plain CD-R, written in Joliet format (current
standard for CDs), and finalized should be universally readable. But, a CD
made via drag&drop (e.g., Drag-to-disk, DLA, etc) will only be readable on
machines that have associated reading software. The reading software is
usually available free form the makers of the CD-writing software. However,
installing more than one type of this sort of software on a PC can lead to
problems.

5. If all else fails, try downloading a copy of ISOBUSTER. It is part
freeware and part shareware. But, the freeware part should be enough to
read most imperfect CDs and DVDs. ISOBUSTER has several ways to read
optical media, from simply using the Windows read software to using its own.
It has an explorer-like interface.
 
Back
Top