Semi-coaster problem - last 50% of sectors burn unreadably

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  • tautau
    Junior Member
    Junior Member
    • Apr 2005
    • 4

    Semi-coaster problem - last 50% of sectors burn unreadably

    I've been trying to burn some data-dvds - ordinary files. I wanted to be able to do backups in the same way I used to backup to CD; just making use of the dvd's higher capacity. Because these are data-dvds I can't make use of dvdshrink, dvd-decoder or any of the other 101 programs that exist purely for ripping and burning existing dvds. Instead I've tried to use Nero Ultra 6.6.06; Stomp Recordmax 4.5 and Ashampoo Burning Studio 5.0.3. All these programs give me the same problem which is ..

    The Dvd burns fine and verify's in the program successfully. After that I run Beyond Compare 2.2.7 and perform a crc comparison (or a binary comparison) between the files on the dvd and the files on the harddisk. Half the files are OK - usually about 2GB worth. The rest of the files are unreadable. If I use the "compare with viewer" option then the editor window for the corrupt dvd file shows everything empty beneath the header. If I try to open one of the corrupt dvd files the computer locks up. Using Nero CD-DVDspeed 3.61 and performing a surface scan shows every block green until a certain, apparently random to each disc, point at which time every block after that point is red and gives a crc error.

    Some specifics:
    - My burner is an NEC 3500A, connected as the secondary master running in Ultra DMA2
    - I've used both the 2.C8 firmware (with which I created 10+ semi-coasters) as well as the experimental 2.19 mod firmware (with which I've created one semi-coaster identical to the 2.C8 ones).
    - The computer is a winxp SP2 system with a 3200 mhz AMD cpu, 512 MB ram, a gigabyte 7N400 Pro2 motherboard
    - burns are carried out with no other processes running in the background, immediately after reboot, at x4 or x2 speed - both speeds yield the same result.
    - The media I'm burning to are 4.7 GB DVD-R Infinite disks (code Longten 001).

    I'm pretty sure ppl are going to suggest I change media; although I have to say that surface inspection of the media reveals no scratches and, if it was the media, I would expect the disc not to burn at all or to burn unevenly. As it is every disc burns perfectly until a certain random point at which time everything else doesn't burn after that point. If it was some sort of set limitation I would expect the point of failure to be the same for each disc but it's not. Some discs burn 1.x amount and others 2.x amount.

    I appreciate any ideas as I'm starting to feel I've tried everything by now.
  • ormonde
    Digital Video Explorer
    • Dec 2003
    • 3735

    #2
    Hello and welcome to the forums. Have you attempted to use the "Make UDF/ISO DVD" selection under the "Data" icon in Nero (Nero Smart Start)?

    Comment

    • tautau
      Junior Member
      Junior Member
      • Apr 2005
      • 4

      #3
      Didn't work

      Well, I'm prepared to try anything ..

      I tried to burn now with Nero, DVD-ISO/UDF using UDF 1.02 however ..

      A scan with DVD-CD Speed shows 69.09% good sectors and the remainder to the end of the DVD unreadable. These are the same files that I burned last time and got 40% sectors good and the rest bad so .. an improvement (?) but the problem remains.

      Thanks anyway for your suggestion ormonde.

      Comment

      • scooter1556
        Junior Member
        Junior Member
        • Feb 2005
        • 49

        #4
        Media is very strange. You usually find that some discs are not manufactured around the edges properly so the end part the burn fails, the writer will still burn most of the disc until it gets to a bad sector of the disc. It may be worthwhile trying to get hold of a different make of media just out of curiosity! I take it all of the files you are trying to burn are ok and are not corrupt or difficult to read. You could try defragmenting the hard drive before burning the data!!!

        Comment

        • ormonde
          Digital Video Explorer
          • Dec 2003
          • 3735

          #5
          "Thanks anyway for your suggestion ormonde."

          Glad to be of help - sorry it didn't work...

          Comment

          • blutach
            Not a god of digital video
            • Oct 2004
            • 24627

            #6
            Re: Semi-coaster problem - last 50% of sectors burn unreadably

            Originally posted by tautau
            I'm pretty sure ppl are going to suggest I change media; although I have to say that surface inspection of the media reveals no scratches and, if it was the media, I would expect the disc not to burn at all or to burn unevenly. As it is every disc burns perfectly until a certain random point at which time everything else doesn't burn after that point. If it was some sort of set limitation I would expect the point of failure to be the same for each disc but it's not. Some discs burn 1.x amount and others 2.x amount.
            Hi tautau.

            This is clearly a media issue. Longten are known garbage. Please click on Media Quality in my sig. The issue is not visual scratches but quality of the dye and many other matters. Buy better disks. Sorry

            This post may also help you.

            Regards
            Last edited by blutach; 3 Apr 2005, 08:21 AM.
            Les

            Essential progs - [PgcEdit] [VobBlanker] [MenuShrink] [IfoEdit] [Muxman] [DVD Remake Pro] [DVD Rebuilder] [BeSweet] [Media Player Classic] [DVDSubEdit] [ImgBurn]

            Media and Burning - [Golden Rules of Burning] [Media quality] [Fix your DMA] [Update your Firmware] [What's my Media ID Code?] [How to test your disc]
            [What's bitsetting?] [Burn dual layer disks safely] [Why not to burn with Ner0] [Interpret Ner0's burn errors] [Got bad playback?] [Burner/Media compatibility]

            Cool Techniques - [2COOL's guides] [Clean your DVD] [Join a flipper] [Split into 2 DVDs] [Save heaps of Mb] [How to mock strip] [Cool Insert Clips]

            Real useful info - [FAQ INDEX] [Compression explained] [Logical Remapping of Enabled Streams] [DVD-Replica] [Fantastic info on DVDs]


            You should only use genuine Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden media. Many thanks to www.pcx.com.au for their supply and great service.

            Explore the sites and the programs - there's a gold mine of information in them

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            Comment

            • tautau
              Junior Member
              Junior Member
              • Apr 2005
              • 4

              #7
              Answer discovered

              I discovered the problem .. sort of. After hauling my discs across town to my friend's standalone dvd player it turns out the discs play on it fine with all files accessible.

              This is very troublesome - apparently the nec 3500a can't verify it's own burned discs. Probably the only thing I can do now is to buy a seperate dvd-rom drive to do verifications on, otherwise I'll never know what burned and what didn't.

              Comment

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