CD-Burn: Not as green as a Brussels Sprout!

Spurred on by comments from others about using CDs as a back up method, as
opposed to zips and having decided to give it another go copying a music CD
(AND read TFM assiduously!) I am beginning to think that lack of success
isn't just down to me being stupid and not very technologically ept. Steffan
himself showed me, at the Utrecht Show and it did look remarkably easy.

Which still leaves the problems.

I'm using a SA RPC 3.1 computer. I initialy thought the problem was to do
with the CD reader in the machine. The only way I can play a music CD and
hear it is to put headphones in the CD socket on the front. The external
speakers play things from the hard drive OK. IIRC it is an early machine,
mussing some link to somewhere. I found the receiept and the gentleman we got
it from bought it in 1996. CD-Burn identifies its 'read' drive as CDFS:0
MATSHIACD-ROM. It functions fine on both audio and data cd-roms.

The CD burner (which we have never succeeded in getting to work) was bought
at a Wakefield Show, at the same time as we bought the original CD-Burn disk
(v.0.11) Serial number in the low 300s. That might date it for someone? I
can't find the receipt for it, which is unusual as we have files of such info
going back decades! Our current version of CD-Burn is 1.16 with a different
serial number. CD-Burn identifies the 'write' drive as SCSI3:YAMAHA CRW8424S.

The computer, software and CD writing machine are successfully talking to
each other and yes, everything is switched on :-)

In the past, my failed attempts at copying a CD were based on using 'Copy A
CD' as that seemed the easiest. This time I ventured into more difficult
territory; Creating an Audio CD! Mindful of other recent comments, I set read
speed to 2 and write speed to 1.

I successfully managed to 'sample' the files, rename them and get them onto
the HD. Yehee! we're in business I thought. I'm not thick after all. And
there's nothing wrong with the RPC or the CD reader or CDFS if it can get
that far.

The next step being to write to the new disk, I encountered problems. For the
first time I noticed that putting CDs into the Yamaha, the little light was
going orange, not green, for 'on/disk'. (I've never looked before).

I used CD-Tools to investigate. (All the CDs used were brand new - I bust a
nail whilst getting rid of the cellophane wrappers, adding injury to insult!)

I started with several TDK d-view CD-recordable disks (up to 32x). All gave
the orange light and CD-Tools labelled them 'unknown'.

Next I tried several Verbatim Datalife Plus CR-584 CD-RW 2x/4x disks.
CD-Tools reported these as 'Drive Empty'.

I had more success with a Kodak CD-R Ultima 80 1x to 24x disk. This was
'Ready to Write' so off I went. All looked as though it was going well. Both
machines fluttered their 'eyes' in turn and satisfying whirrs were heard. The
eggtimer showed track one being written and got up to 50%, at which time I
left the room for a few minutes. When I returned, after about 2 minutes,
there was a message on the screen saying "CD writer has detected a hardware
error. Try to switch off and on."

I did that, then assumed I could restart. No. "The Devise reports a medium
error" and "Devise is not ready". Switched off and on again, got the green
light, checked with CD-Tools and off we went again.

To cut to the chase, this happened several times on each of 3 seperate Kodak
discs.

Having reached the end of my tether, I now appeal here for help. The hardware
all seems to work OK, but how can so many disks of 3 different brands fail?
Is the Yamaha at fault? I thought TDK, Vebatim and Kodak were reputable
brands - friends on PCs have no problems with them. I can hardly return them
to the shop, as the shop assistant will use a PC to prove they work. And I
can't even remember who sold us the Yamaha; even if I could, after years of
failure to succeed, I'd be too late to claim I'd been sold a faulty drive -
it was bought before I came to Belgium, at least as far back as May 2002.

So, to those who told me I was a might daft relying on zip disks, at least
(fingers crossed, touch wood etc) they work. I did try transfering !Boot to
another cd-rom, but was told it wasn't an ISO file, whatever that is, when
its at home.

Can anyone save my sanity? Or do I ask hubby to buy me the Sony Vaio
(?spelling) I fell in love with in FNAC, for my birthday?


--
Wendy Gray, expat Yorkshirewoman
Tervuren .be

.

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