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CD-R erratically detected

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J. P. Gilliver (John)

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Oct 15, 2009, 8:34:05 PM10/15/09
to
On an elderly PC I help a friend with, where he's copying a lot of his
old LPs to CD, we use burn4free (though I think the problem is not with
burn4free itself).

More often than not, when hitting the "burn" button, it says "please
insert a disc" - even if there's one in. When, by fiddling, ejecting,
closing and reopening b4f, and so on, it finally decides that there _is_
a blank disc in, it does the burn fine.

While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the writer
(from within b4f, that is).

It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up in
explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that is so
often missed.

Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished!

glee

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Oct 15, 2009, 10:26:26 PM10/15/09
to
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dVY2DGM9...@soft255.demon.co.uk...

> On an elderly PC I help a friend with, where he's copying a lot of his
> old LPs to CD, we use burn4free (though I think the problem is not
> with burn4free itself).
>
> More often than not, when hitting the "burn" button, it says "please
> insert a disc" - even if there's one in. When, by fiddling, ejecting,
> closing and reopening b4f, and so on, it finally decides that there
> _is_ a blank disc in, it does the burn fine.
>
> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the
> writer (from within b4f, that is).
>
> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up
> in explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that
> is so often missed.
>
> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?


Did you try cleaning the lens with an audio cleaning disc?
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009
A+
http://dts-l.net/

thanatoid

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Oct 15, 2009, 10:54:24 PM10/15/09
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"glee" <gle...@spamindspring.com> wrote in
news:e6RgSggT...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl:

You can not be serious.

--
Lots of theoretical butchers are alleged and other bloody eyes
are suitable, but will Pam secure that?

RobertVA

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Oct 15, 2009, 11:21:53 PM10/15/09
to

With all the air that cooling fans draw through tower systems? There
might even be contaminates in the air from cooking or tobacco smoking.

J. P. Gilliver (John)

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Oct 16, 2009, 2:59:08 AM10/16/09
to
In message <uX2WQ$gTKHA...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, RobertVA
<robert_c7...@invalid.com> writes:
>thanatoid wrote:
>> "glee" <gle...@spamindspring.com> wrote in
>> news:e6RgSggT...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl:
>>> "J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote
>>> in message news:dVY2DGM9...@soft255.demon.co.uk...
[]

>>>> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that
>>>> always shows up in explorer; it's only the fact that
>>>> there's a blank disc in it that is so often missed.
>>>>
>>>> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?
>>>
>>> Did you try cleaning the lens with an audio cleaning disc?
>> You can not be serious.
>
>With all the air that cooling fans draw through tower systems? There
>might even be contaminates in the air from cooking or tobacco smoking.

(The PC's in the spare bedroom, and I don't think John or his wife
smoke.) It's not a daft suggestion, which I may try, though I don't
_think_ it is likely to be the problem; if I put a data CD in, Explorer
usually sees it.

dadiOH

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Oct 16, 2009, 7:52:29 AM10/16/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> On an elderly PC I help a friend with, where he's copying a lot of his
> old LPs to CD, we use burn4free (though I think the problem is not
> with burn4free itself).
>
> More often than not, when hitting the "burn" button, it says "please
> insert a disc" - even if there's one in. When, by fiddling, ejecting,
> closing and reopening b4f, and so on, it finally decides that there
> _is_ a blank disc in, it does the burn fine.
>
> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the
> writer (from within b4f, that is).
>
> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up
> in explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that
> is so often missed.
>
> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?

Try a different brand of CD blanks...Taiyo Yuden are among the best.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Message has been deleted

philo

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Oct 16, 2009, 9:02:56 AM10/16/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> On an elderly PC I help a friend with, where he's copying a lot of his
> old LPs to CD, we use burn4free (though I think the problem is not with
> burn4free itself).
>
> More often than not, when hitting the "burn" button, it says "please
> insert a disc" - even if there's one in. When, by fiddling, ejecting,
> closing and reopening b4f, and so on, it finally decides that there _is_
> a blank disc in, it does the burn fine.
>
> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the writer
> (from within b4f, that is).
>
> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up in
> explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that is so
> often missed.
>
> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?


You said it's an elderly PC so I'm guess the cdrom is also elderly...
probably time for a new one

J. P. Gilliver (John)

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Oct 16, 2009, 5:14:19 PM10/16/09
to
In message <B-udnTmqu4a-8UXX...@westnet.com.au>, Andy
<no@?.?.invalid> writes:
[]

>>> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up
>>> in explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that
>>> is so often missed.
>>>
>>> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?
>>
>> Try a different brand of CD blanks...Taiyo Yuden are among the best.
>
>And once you've wasted a couple of quality blank CDs, throw the drive
>away and spend $20-$30 to replace it.
>
>It's fucked. They don't last forever.
>
I think if it was the blanks, it wouldn't have been burning faultlessly
for the last few times we did manage to make it realise there was a disc
present. (And with cheap blanks, too.)

It's not that old - only a year or two; the elderly PC had a non-writing
drive (still there). It's actually a CD and DVD writer, as I couldn't
even find a CD-only one. It's not been used much.

I will try the cleaning disc suggestion, but I do think it's a system
configuration funny: as I mentioned earlier, when burn4free is told to
do a burn, it accesses the floppy drive before getting to the writer.

Message has been deleted

glee

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Oct 16, 2009, 10:21:28 PM10/16/09
to

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:E4Lg4OQ8...@soft255.demon.co.uk...

> In message <uX2WQ$gTKHA...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, RobertVA
> <robert_c7...@invalid.com> writes:
>>thanatoid wrote:
>>> "glee" <gle...@spamindspring.com> wrote in
>>> news:e6RgSggT...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl:
>>>> "J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote
>>>> in message news:dVY2DGM9...@soft255.demon.co.uk...
> []
>>>>> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that
>>>>> always shows up in explorer; it's only the fact that
>>>>> there's a blank disc in it that is so often missed.
>>>>>
>>>>> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?
>>>>
>>>> Did you try cleaning the lens with an audio cleaning disc?
>>> You can not be serious.
>>
>>With all the air that cooling fans draw through tower systems? There
>>might even be contaminates in the air from cooking or tobacco smoking.
>
> (The PC's in the spare bedroom, and I don't think John or his wife
> smoke.) It's not a daft suggestion, which I may try, though I don't
> _think_ it is likely to be the problem; if I put a data CD in,
> Explorer usually sees it.

@than: Yes, I was serious....a cleaning disc has helped in almost
identical situations for me in the past, a number of times.

@J.P.: If you really do mean "Explorer usually sees it" rather than
"Explorer always sees it", then a cleaning disc may help.

The suggestion elsewhere in this thread about trying a different brand
of disc is also a good idea, especially if the issue is *only* with
burning discs, not reading them.

It's also possible the drive is just getting old and taking too long to
recognize the blank disc.

Have you tried another burning program?

J. P. Gilliver (John)

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Oct 17, 2009, 9:36:45 AM10/17/09
to
In message <OFPNLCtT...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, glee
<gle...@spamindspring.com> writes:
[]

>@than: Yes, I was serious....a cleaning disc has helped in almost
>identical situations for me in the past, a number of times.

I'll certainly try it, then.


>
>@J.P.: If you really do mean "Explorer usually sees it" rather than
>"Explorer always sees it", then a cleaning disc may help.

I think it always sees the drive as present, just not always with
anything in it. Your line of reasoning makes sense.


>
>The suggestion elsewhere in this thread about trying a different brand
>of disc is also a good idea, especially if the issue is *only* with
>burning discs, not reading them.

The first few we did were with cheap unlabelled ones, which were mostly
fine (we had a couple of part-burned ones, but that was I think more a
buffer problem - it is a BURN-proof drive, and the software knows that,
but still; and moving the "temporary files" space for the .mp3-to-wav
conversion to a different partition, combined with reducing the burning
speed, seemed to solve that). I've still got plenty of those, so will
try.


>
>It's also possible the drive is just getting old and taking too long to
>recognize the blank disc.

Possibly. Until he started burning (he's done less than a dozen albums,
I think) he hardly ever used CDs, even for reading (in which case he'd
have probably used the older drive anyway).


>
>Have you tried another burning program?

Initially I used Easy CD Creator - I know a lot of people don't think
much of it, but I was used to it, and it seemed to work fine. (I used
updates, which were necessary for it to recognise the new drive.) After
a complete system rebuild - I forget what prompted that, but it was, I'm
pretty sure, necessary (no point in discussing it, anyway - 'tis done) -
I couldn't get ECDC to recognise the drive, whatever I did, hence the
installation of burn4free. Until the recent problems, _that_ has been
working fine too. I've downloaded burnaware_free, deep_burner, and
microburner, and will try one or all next time I visit John; the trouble
is, I don't know if they allow the temp. files location to be specified
as burn4free does, and there's not really enough space on the C drive.


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

"We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will
eventually reproduce the entire Works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the
Internet, we know this is not true." Robert Wilensky, computer science
division,
University of California Digital Library Project, 1996 (Computing 1999-12-16)

§ñühw¤£f

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Oct 17, 2009, 11:02:14 AM10/17/09
to
In message <yKuNkvlr...@soft255.demon.co.uk>, "J. P. Gilliver (John)"
wrote:

> In message <B-udnTmqu4a-8UXX...@westnet.com.au>, Andy
> <no@?.?.invalid> writes:
> []
> >>> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up
> >>> in explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that
> >>> is so often missed.
> >>>
> >>> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?
> >>
> >> Try a different brand of CD blanks...Taiyo Yuden are among the best.
> >
> >And once you've wasted a couple of quality blank CDs, throw the drive
> >away and spend $20-$30 to replace it.
> >
> >It's fucked. They don't last forever.
> >
> I think if it was the blanks, it wouldn't have been burning faultlessly
> for the last few times we did manage to make it realise there was a disc
> present. (And with cheap blanks, too.)
>
Will it recongnise if theres a disc in the drive that has data on it?
If so then its probably the media itself.
CD/RW discs are a problem sometimes.

> It's not that old - only a year or two; the elderly PC had a non-writing
> drive (still there). It's actually a CD and DVD writer, as I couldn't
> even find a CD-only one. It's not been used much.
>

Did you ever drop it?
:)



> I will try the cleaning disc suggestion, but I do think it's a system
> configuration funny: as I mentioned earlier, when burn4free is told to
> do a burn, it accesses the floppy drive before getting to the writer.

Then you need to g00gle up the website for that app and look for a support
section, mate.

--
http://www.care2.com/click-to-donate/wolves/
Proof of Americas 3rd world status:
http://www.ramusa.org/
Cash for *who*?
http://www.bartcop.com/list-the-facts.htm
http://www.pavlovianobeisance.com/

dadiOH

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Oct 17, 2009, 12:49:54 PM10/17/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

>> The suggestion elsewhere in this thread about trying a different
>> brand of disc is also a good idea, especially if the issue is *only*
>> with burning discs, not reading them.
>
> The first few we did were with cheap unlabelled ones, which were
> mostly fine (we had a couple of part-burned ones, but that was I
> think more a buffer problem - it is a BURN-proof drive, and the
> software knows that, but still; and moving the "temporary files"
> space for the .mp3-to-wav conversion to a different partition,
> combined with reducing the burning speed, seemed to solve that).

A fail-safe method is to just decode the MP3s to wave yourself then burn the
waves. Many programs to do decoding/encoding, CDex is good, easy and free.
http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/

glee

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Oct 17, 2009, 4:04:04 PM10/17/09
to
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Px$y6$Athc2...@soft255.demon.co.uk...
> snip

> Initially I used Easy CD Creator - I know a lot of people don't think
> much of it, but I was used to it, and it seemed to work fine. (I used
> updates, which were necessary for it to recognise the new drive.)
> After a complete system rebuild - I forget what prompted that, but it
> was, I'm pretty sure, necessary (no point in discussing it, anyway -
> 'tis done) - I couldn't get ECDC to recognise the drive, whatever I
> did, hence the installation of burn4free. Until the recent problems,
> _that_ has been working fine too. I've downloaded burnaware_free,
> deep_burner, and microburner, and will try one or all next time I
> visit John; the trouble is, I don't know if they allow the temp. files
> location to be specified as burn4free does, and there's not really
> enough space on the C drive.

Which version of Microburner? I have versions 4.x and 5.x here.
Silentnight Microburner 5.x has a place in its "burner settings" to
choose the temp location. I don't see any way to do it with version
4.x, though.

J. P. Gilliver (John)

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Oct 17, 2009, 6:53:45 PM10/17/09
to
In message <Oyy1go0T...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, dadiOH
<dad...@invalid.com> writes:
>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>
>>> The suggestion elsewhere in this thread about trying a different
>>> brand of disc is also a good idea, especially if the issue is *only*
>>> with burning discs, not reading them.
>>
>> The first few we did were with cheap unlabelled ones, which were
>> mostly fine (we had a couple of part-burned ones, but that was I
>> think more a buffer problem - it is a BURN-proof drive, and the
>> software knows that, but still; and moving the "temporary files"
>> space for the .mp3-to-wav conversion to a different partition,
>> combined with reducing the burning speed, seemed to solve that).
>
>A fail-safe method is to just decode the MP3s to wave yourself then burn the
>waves. Many programs to do decoding/encoding, CDex is good, easy and free.
>http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/
>
>
GoldWave (with Lame) too. But (a) that part of Burn4Free seems to have
worked fine anyway, (b) I suspect it (burnfree) would still
intermittently fail to detect there was a blank in the drive, when we
tried to burn the .wavs.

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

At least with a British car, you know that everything that falls off it is a
product of true British workmanship. (Lord somethingorother on Robin Day's
programme, 1980-1-15.)

J. P. Gilliver (John)

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Oct 17, 2009, 7:00:40 PM10/17/09
to
In message <OOXX8T2...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, glee
<gle...@spamindspring.com> writes:
>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:Px$y6$Athc2...@soft255.demon.co.uk...
[]

>>visit John; the trouble is, I don't know if they allow the temp. files
>>location to be specified as burn4free does, and there's not really
>>enough space on the C drive.
>
>Which version of Microburner? I have versions 4.x and 5.x here.
>Silentnight Microburner 5.x has a place in its "burner settings" to
>choose the temp location. I don't see any way to do it with version
>4.x, though.

5.0. Under burner settings, I see something called "Temporary ISO folder
placement" under "Direct Copy/Clone Settings", which I presume is
something to do with copying one CD to another. I have wondered whether
it also uses the folder specified for temporary .wav files, but have yet
to find out; if you know that it does, I'll be pleased to try - it looks
a nice piece of software. (And the speech is fun.)


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

At least with a British car, you know that everything that falls off it is a

glee

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Oct 17, 2009, 7:35:22 PM10/17/09
to
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:ibiZgELY...@soft255.demon.co.uk...

> In message <OOXX8T2...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, glee
> <gle...@spamindspring.com> writes:
>>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>>news:Px$y6$Athc2...@soft255.demon.co.uk...
> []
>>>visit John; the trouble is, I don't know if they allow the temp.
>>>files location to be specified as burn4free does, and there's not
>>>really enough space on the C drive.
>>
>>Which version of Microburner? I have versions 4.x and 5.x here.
>>Silentnight Microburner 5.x has a place in its "burner settings" to
>>choose the temp location. I don't see any way to do it with version
>>4.x, though.
>
> 5.0. Under burner settings, I see something called "Temporary ISO
> folder placement" under "Direct Copy/Clone Settings", which I presume
> is something to do with copying one CD to another. I have wondered
> whether it also uses the folder specified for temporary .wav files,
> but have yet to find out; if you know that it does, I'll be pleased to
> try - it looks a nice piece of software. (And the speech is fun.)

I haven't used it for music ripping/conversion/etc., so I can't say if
that setting applies to it also. Why not try and find out? It can't
hurt (too much) <eg>

J. P. Gilliver (John)

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Oct 17, 2009, 9:35:21 PM10/17/09
to
In message <#$uj$J4TKH...@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl>, glee
<gle...@spamindspring.com> writes:
>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:ibiZgELY...@soft255.demon.co.uk...
>> In message <OOXX8T2...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, glee
>><gle...@spamindspring.com> writes:
>>>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6...@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>>>news:Px$y6$Athc2...@soft255.demon.co.uk...
>> []
>>>>visit John; the trouble is, I don't know if they allow the temp.
>>>>files location to be specified as burn4free does, and there's not
>>>>really enough space on the C drive.
>>>
>>>Which version of Microburner? I have versions 4.x and 5.x here.
>>>Silentnight Microburner 5.x has a place in its "burner settings" to
>>>choose the temp location. I don't see any way to do it with version
>>>4.x, though.
>>
>> 5.0. Under burner settings, I see something called "Temporary ISO
>>folder placement" under "Direct Copy/Clone Settings", which I presume
>>is something to do with copying one CD to another. I have wondered
>>whether it also uses the folder specified for temporary .wav files,
>>but have yet to find out; if you know that it does, I'll be pleased to
>>try - it looks a nice piece of software. (And the speech is fun.)
>
>I haven't used it for music ripping/conversion/etc., so I can't say if
>that setting applies to it also. Why not try and find out? It can't
>hurt (too much) <eg>

I intend to!

dadiOH

unread,
Oct 18, 2009, 6:51:32 AM10/18/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message <Oyy1go0T...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, dadiOH
> <dad...@invalid.com> writes:
>> J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>>
>>>> The suggestion elsewhere in this thread about trying a different
>>>> brand of disc is also a good idea, especially if the issue is
>>>> *only* with burning discs, not reading them.
>>>
>>> The first few we did were with cheap unlabelled ones, which were
>>> mostly fine (we had a couple of part-burned ones, but that was I
>>> think more a buffer problem - it is a BURN-proof drive, and the
>>> software knows that, but still; and moving the "temporary files"
>>> space for the .mp3-to-wav conversion to a different partition,
>>> combined with reducing the burning speed, seemed to solve that).
>>
>> A fail-safe method is to just decode the MP3s to wave yourself then
>> burn the waves. Many programs to do decoding/encoding, CDex is
>> good, easy and free. http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/
>>
>>
> GoldWave (with Lame) too. But (a) that part of Burn4Free seems to have
> worked fine anyway, (b) I suspect it (burnfree) would still
> intermittently fail to detect there was a blank in the drive, when we
> tried to burn the .wavs.

Right. I was suggesting it as an alternative to your previous buffer
problem.

Message has been deleted

S??hW0?ƒ

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Oct 18, 2009, 10:31:00 AM10/18/09
to
Meat Plow wrote:
> On Sat, 17 Oct 2009 09:02:14 -0600, ???hw??f
> <snuh...@netscape.net>wrote:
> Appears he's got some corruption in his system part of the registry.

If so tehn he s gotta uninstall it and do surgery on the registyryry to
remove all the diseased bits.

^_^

Greg

unread,
Oct 18, 2009, 6:58:14 PM10/18/09
to
Here a suggestion if he trying to burn cds. Lower the speed down to
12x (Yes, you have to wait longer, but it is more reliable to have
the data stored correctly). I notice when my burners are going bad,
you can use lower speed for a few months till it quits. My lasted
for about a year.


Greg

J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 19, 2009, 3:06:39 AM10/19/09
to
In message <OLLz7E#TKHA...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, dadiOH
<dad...@invalid.com> writes:
>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
[]

>>> A fail-safe method is to just decode the MP3s to wave yourself then
>>> burn the waves. Many programs to do decoding/encoding, CDex is
>>> good, easy and free. http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/
>>>
>>>
>> GoldWave (with Lame) too. But (a) that part of Burn4Free seems to have
>> worked fine anyway, (b) I suspect it (burnfree) would still
>> intermittently fail to detect there was a blank in the drive, when we
>> tried to burn the .wavs.
>
>Right. I was suggesting it as an alternative to your previous buffer
>problem.
>
Ah, understood, thanks.

J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 19, 2009, 3:10:20 AM10/19/09
to
In message <7k1kpgF...@mid.individual.net>, Greg

We're already using 8x, not because we think there's anything wrong with
the burner, but to reduce the chance of a buffer problem.


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

At least with a British car, you know that everything that falls off it is a

J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 19, 2009, 3:08:29 AM10/19/09
to
In message <hbf8r2$c37$1...@tioat.net>, S??hW0?ƒ <snuh...@netscape.net>
writes:
>Meat Plow wrote:
[]

>>>> I will try the cleaning disc suggestion, but I do think it's a
>>>>system configuration funny: as I mentioned earlier, when burn4free
>>>>is told to do a burn, it accesses the floppy drive before getting
>>>>to the writer.
>>> Then you need to g00gle up the website for that app and look for a support
>>> section, mate.
>> Appears he's got some corruption in his system part of the registry.

That is (the sort of thing I) fear, but wouldn't know how ...


>
>If so tehn he s gotta uninstall it and do surgery on the registyryry to
>remove all the diseased bits.

... to do that. (The surgery I mean.)
>
>^_^

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

At least with a British car, you know that everything that falls off it is a

S∩∪hw0ζƒ

unread,
Oct 19, 2009, 10:39:31 AM10/19/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message <hbf8r2$c37$1...@tioat.net>, S??hW0?ƒ <snuh...@netscape.net>
> writes:
>> Meat Plow wrote:
> []
>>>>> I will try the cleaning disc suggestion, but I do think it's a
>>>>> system configuration funny: as I mentioned earlier, when burn4free
>>>>> is told to do a burn, it accesses the floppy drive before getting
>>>>> to the writer.
>>>> Then you need to g00gle up the website for that app and look for a
>>>> support
>>>> section, mate.
>>> Appears he's got some corruption in his system part of the registry.
>
> That is (the sort of thing I) fear, but wouldn't know how ...
>
You're not willing to break things then.
^_^

>> If so tehn he s gotta uninstall it and do surgery on the registyryry
>> to remove all the diseased bits.
>
> ... to do that. (The surgery I mean.)
>

You'd be better off looking at their webpage for a FAQ or support.
Or live with it. Nero did poll the flo0py drive like that...no
biggie...minor annoyance.

Message has been deleted

glee

unread,
Oct 19, 2009, 2:21:08 PM10/19/09
to
"Meat Plow" <me...@petitmorte.net> wrote in message
news:37eult....@news.alt.net...
> On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:39:31 -0600, S??hw0??
> <snuh...@yahoo.com>wrote:

>
>>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>>> In message <hbf8r2$c37$1...@tioat.net>, S??hW0??
> Nero polled the floppy? I don't think I ever noticed that and it
> doesn't seem logical unless Nero had a backup to floppy feature.

I've never seen Nero do it, in 10 years, but I have seen it with some
other apps....can't recall which anymore.

�n�hw��f

unread,
Oct 19, 2009, 6:11:49 PM10/19/09
to
"glee" <gle...@spamindspring.com> wrote in news:ug75WkOUKHA.1792
@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl:

The version I had did. Came bundeled with an external CD/RW drive.
w98 to Win2000

J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 19, 2009, 6:22:03 PM10/19/09
to
In message <hbhtn3$ak$5...@news.eternal-september.org>,
=?UTF-8?B?U+KIqeKIqmh3MM62xpI=?= <snuh...@yahoo.com> writes:
[]

>You'd be better off looking at their webpage for a FAQ or support.

I fear there isn't much support; fair enough, it's free software.

>Or live with it. Nero did poll the flo0py drive like that...no
>biggie...minor annoyance.
>

Interesting! No, the floppy access is indeed only a minor annoyance: I
just wasn't sure it had been doing it before, and wondered if it might
be related.


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

"Bother," said Pooh, as he tasted the bacon in his sandwich.

Message has been deleted

PCR

unread,
Oct 20, 2009, 9:14:59 PM10/20/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> On an elderly PC I help a friend with, where he's copying a lot of his
> old LPs to CD, we use burn4free (though I think the problem is not
> with burn4free itself).
>
> More often than not, when hitting the "burn" button, it says "please
> insert a disc" - even if there's one in. When, by fiddling, ejecting,
> closing and reopening b4f, and so on, it finally decides that there
> _is_ a blank disc in, it does the burn fine.
>
> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the
> writer (from within b4f, that is).

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=216752
Floppy Disk Drive Is Active When Opening or Saving Files
............Quote..................
To resolve this issue, change the command line reference in the
Properties of the shortcut, or delete the shortcut:

(1) Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
(2) In the Named box, type *.lnk, click the location you want
to search in the Look In box, and then click Find Now.
(3) Right-click a shortcut on the list of found files, click Properties,
and then click the Program tab.
(4) Delete any reference to drive A or drive B on the Command
box or Working section, and then click OK. For example,
if the command line reads a:\edit.com, change the line to read
edit.com.
(5) Repeat steps 3-4, performing these steps on the next shortcut
on the list of found files until you have corrected all the
shortcuts,
and then quit the Find tool.
.........EOQ.................

Sort the Find box by folder. Look especially at .lnk's & .pif's in
folder(s) that pertain to burn4free & any in "C:\Windows\Recent". You
may add a search for .pif's by adding ".pif" in the Named box, separated
by a comma from ".lnk".. Look in their Program tab. Delete any .pif's in
"C:\Windows\PIF".

> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up
> in explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that
> is so often missed.
>
> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
Should things get worse after this,
PCR
pcr...@netzero.net


J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 21, 2009, 2:01:00 AM10/21/09
to
In message <37gv60....@news.alt.net>, Meat Plow
<me...@petitmorte.net> writes:
>On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:21:08 -0400, "glee"
><gle...@spamindspring.com>wrote:

>
>>"Meat Plow" <me...@petitmorte.net> wrote in message
>>news:37eult....@news.alt.net...
[]

>>> Nero polled the floppy? I don't think I ever noticed that and it
>>> doesn't seem logical unless Nero had a backup to floppy feature.
>>
>>I've never seen Nero do it, in 10 years, but I have seen it with some
>>other apps....can't recall which anymore.
>
>Can you at least recall if they were cd recording apps? It just
>doesn't make sense for an app that records in ISO9660 to bother
>polling a floppy controller.

Depends at what level it is written; I could imagine a prog. written at
a higher level just going through all drive letters and mapping the ones
that respond as a writer.


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

Lewis: ... d'you think there's a god?
Morse: ... There are times when I wish to god there was one. (Inspector Morse.)

J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 21, 2009, 2:07:04 AM10/21/09
to
In message <eEkBlve...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, PCR
<pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
[]

>> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the
>> writer (from within b4f, that is).
>
>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=216752
>Floppy Disk Drive Is Active When Opening or Saving Files
>............Quote..................
>To resolve this issue, change the command line reference in the
>Properties of the shortcut, or delete the shortcut:
>
>(1) Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.

Assuming this means the shortcut via which we start Burn4free, I know
where that is, as it's on the desktop.
[]


>(4) Delete any reference to drive A or drive B on the Command
> box or Working section, and then click OK. For example,
> if the command line reads a:\edit.com, change the line to read
>edit.com.

[]


>Sort the Find box by folder. Look especially at .lnk's & .pif's in
>folder(s) that pertain to burn4free & any in "C:\Windows\Recent". You

I don't think there will be any such reference, but I will certainly
look; thanks for the tip.

>may add a search for .pif's by adding ".pif" in the Named box, separated
>by a comma from ".lnk".. Look in their Program tab. Delete any .pif's in
>"C:\Windows\PIF".

I hadn't thought of .pifs either. (Aren't they just for DOS prog.s?) Why
delete the ones in ..\PIF; sounds like a good place for them!


>
>> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows up
>> in explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it that
>> is so often missed.
>>
>> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?
>
--

Message has been deleted

PCR

unread,
Oct 21, 2009, 9:17:44 PM10/21/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message <eEkBlve...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, PCR
> <pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
>>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> []
>>> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the
>>> writer (from within b4f, that is).
>>
>>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=216752
>>Floppy Disk Drive Is Active When Opening or Saving Files
>>............Quote..................
>>To resolve this issue, change the command line reference in the
>>Properties of the shortcut, or delete the shortcut:
>>
>>(1) Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
>
> Assuming this means the shortcut via which we start Burn4free, I know
> where that is, as it's on the desktop.

Yea, look in that one & also in any in the folder(s) mentioned in its
Target field or any folders to do with the app..

> []
>>(4) Delete any reference to drive A or drive B on the Command
>> box or Working section, and then click OK. For example,
>> if the command line reads a:\edit.com, change the line to read
>>edit.com.
> []
>>Sort the Find box by folder. Look especially at .lnk's & .pif's in
>>folder(s) that pertain to burn4free & any in "C:\Windows\Recent". You
>
> I don't think there will be any such reference, but I will certainly
> look; thanks for the tip.

You are welcome.

>
>>may add a search for .pif's by adding ".pif" in the Named box,
>>separated by a comma from ".lnk".. Look in their Program tab. Delete
>>any .pif's in "C:\Windows\PIF".
>
> I hadn't thought of .pifs either. (Aren't they just for DOS prog.s?)
> Why delete the ones in ..\PIF; sounds like a good place for them!

All right. Maybe don't delete them all, just any mentioning A:\ or
B:\ -- & inform us of any others. (I have none in there.)

A complex Windows app may have DOS commands & .pif's in its folder(s).
(I don't have or know Burn4Free.)

C:\Windows\PIF\ is used to hold .pif's that Windows creates when they
cannot be put anywhere else. A .pif (shortcut to a DOS command) is
created when a DOS command is clicked to execute. Normally, the .pif
will be put into the folder of the command that is clicked. I suppose if
one is clicked on a write-protected A:\drive, Windows might put the .pif
into
C:\Windows\PIF\.

>>
>>> It isn't the _drive_ that's not being detected - that always shows
>>> up in explorer; it's only the fact that there's a blank disc in it
>>> that is so often missed.
>>>
>>> Any ideas what's causing it, and what will improve it?

--

J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 24, 2009, 6:30:30 PM10/24/09
to
In message <eje9yVrU...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, PCR
<pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>> In message <eEkBlve...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, PCR
>> <pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
>>>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>> []
>>>> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the
>>>> writer (from within b4f, that is).
>>>
>>>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=216752
>>>Floppy Disk Drive Is Active When Opening or Saving Files
>>>............Quote..................
>>>To resolve this issue, change the command line reference in the
>>>Properties of the shortcut, or delete the shortcut:
>>>
>>>(1) Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
>>
>> Assuming this means the shortcut via which we start Burn4free, I know
>> where that is, as it's on the desktop.
>
>Yea, look in that one & also in any in the folder(s) mentioned in its
>Target field or any folders to do with the app..

Followup for general interest: There was no mention of A: or B: in the
properties of the desktop shortcut we used to get to burn4free ...
[]


>>>may add a search for .pif's by adding ".pif" in the Named box,
>>>separated by a comma from ".lnk".. Look in their Program tab. Delete
>>>any .pif's in "C:\Windows\PIF".

... and Windows\PIF existed, but was completely empty.
[]
However, we've decided to upgrade to a different PC (still '98SElite);
the one this was on has had intermittent and infuriatingly untraceable
problems for a year or two. I already rebuilt it once (formatting the
HD) sometime in (I think) the last year. Could be software (though a
format and reinstall suggests not!), or hardware, but if so it's a rare
fault: could be PSU not up to it for brief instants, or HD throwing
brief funnies, or RAM, or mobo - basically it's too much to try
replacing on an investigative basis, and it's not as if I'm exactly
short of '98 systems! The only reason I've held out this long is that I
didn't want to make such a big change for the elderly chap who uses it;
however, this evening he agreed with me (after burn4free had shown its
decidedly erratic behaviour again actually detecting the presence of the
CD-R blank, despite actually writing two perfectly OK audio discs when
fiddling did actually make it accept there was a disc there, the first
one done at maximum speed).


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

Mathematics is the language with which God has written the universe. -Galileo
Galilei, physicist and astronomer (1564-1642)

PCR

unread,
Oct 26, 2009, 7:38:00 PM10/26/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message <eje9yVrU...@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl>, PCR
> <pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
>>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>>> In message <eEkBlve...@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl>, PCR
>>> <pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
>>>>J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
>>> []
>>>>> While looking, it rattles the floppy drive before it "finds" the
>>>>> writer (from within b4f, that is).
>>>>
>>>>http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=216752
>>>>Floppy Disk Drive Is Active When Opening or Saving Files
>>>>............Quote..................
>>>>To resolve this issue, change the command line reference in the
>>>>Properties of the shortcut, or delete the shortcut:
>>>>
>>>>(1) Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
>>>
>>> Assuming this means the shortcut via which we start Burn4free, I
>>> know where that is, as it's on the desktop.
>>
>>Yea, look in that one & also in any in the folder(s) mentioned in its
>>Target field or any folders to do with the app..
>
> Followup for general interest: There was no mention of A: or B: in the
> properties of the desktop shortcut we used to get to burn4free ...

OK. I presume you've looked through Burn4Free's docs & FAQs & menus for
any mention of an option to use the floppy. I guess it's possible the
product is looking for something to burn to, since it has trouble
finding the CD. But I really have nothing left to recommend. Maybe post
the machine's Config.sys & Autoexec.bat from "START, Run, SysEdit" to
see whether any shenanigan is going on their that could cause a
confusion between the floppy & CD-ROM.

> []
>>>>may add a search for .pif's by adding ".pif" in the Named box,
>>>>separated by a comma from ".lnk".. Look in their Program tab. Delete
>>>>any .pif's in "C:\Windows\PIF".
>
> ... and Windows\PIF existed, but was completely empty.

OK. That's normal.

> []
> However, we've decided to upgrade to a different PC (still '98SElite);
> the one this was on has had intermittent and infuriatingly untraceable
> problems for a year or two. I already rebuilt it once (formatting the
> HD) sometime in (I think) the last year. Could be software (though a
> format and reinstall suggests not!), or hardware, but if so it's a
> rare fault: could be PSU not up to it for brief instants, or HD
> throwing brief funnies, or RAM, or mobo - basically it's too much to
> try replacing on an investigative basis, and it's not as if I'm
> exactly short of '98 systems! The only reason I've held out this long
> is that I didn't want to make such a big change for the elderly chap
> who uses it; however, this evening he agreed with me (after burn4free
> had shown its decidedly erratic behaviour again actually detecting
> the presence of the CD-R blank, despite actually writing two
> perfectly OK audio discs when fiddling did actually make it accept
> there was a disc there, the first one done at maximum speed).

That may be best, if there are a lot of intermittent problems that a
fresh install hasn't cured. You could test the hard drive with its
manufacturer's utility first, if you suspect that. Get it from the WEB
site. To test RAM...

http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp RAM tester
http://www.memtest86.com/ RAM tester
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp RAM tester

J. P. Gilliver (John)

unread,
Oct 27, 2009, 7:20:40 PM10/27/09
to
In message <uxjePVpV...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, PCR
<pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
[]

>OK. I presume you've looked through Burn4Free's docs & FAQs & menus for
>any mention of an option to use the floppy. I guess it's possible the

I don't _think_ it had such an option - it's a CD-writer prog., really.

>product is looking for something to burn to, since it has trouble
>finding the CD. But I really have nothing left to recommend. Maybe post
>the machine's Config.sys & Autoexec.bat from "START, Run, SysEdit" to
>see whether any shenanigan is going on their that could cause a
>confusion between the floppy & CD-ROM.

I'm half-way through transferring the user to another PC ATM ... (-:
[]


>That may be best, if there are a lot of intermittent problems that a
>fresh install hasn't cured. You could test the hard drive with its
>manufacturer's utility first, if you suspect that. Get it from the WEB
>site. To test RAM...
>
>http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp RAM tester
>http://www.memtest86.com/ RAM tester
>http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp RAM tester
>
>

Thanks, I knew about simmtester and memtest86 at least, not sure about
the last one. But probably not going to bother - as I said, this PC had
been a little grumpy for some years, and I'm part way through
transferring to another machine anyway.


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL-IS-P--Ch++(p)Ar@T0H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for ludicrously
outdated thoughts on PCs. **

"Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum." Translation: "Garbage in, garbage out."

PCR

unread,
Oct 28, 2009, 7:17:34 PM10/28/09
to
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
> In message <uxjePVpV...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, PCR
> <pcr...@netzero.net> writes:
> []
>>OK. I presume you've looked through Burn4Free's docs & FAQs & menus
>>for any mention of an option to use the floppy. I guess it's possible
>>the
>
> I don't _think_ it had such an option - it's a CD-writer prog.,
> really.
>
>>product is looking for something to burn to, since it has trouble
>>finding the CD. But I really have nothing left to recommend. Maybe
>>post the machine's Config.sys & Autoexec.bat from "START, Run,
>>SysEdit" to see whether any shenanigan is going on their that could
>>cause a confusion between the floppy & CD-ROM.
>
> I'm half-way through transferring the user to another PC ATM ... (-:

All right. Chances are the solution wasn't there, anyhow.

> []
>>That may be best, if there are a lot of intermittent problems that a
>>fresh install hasn't cured. You could test the hard drive with its
>>manufacturer's utility first, if you suspect that. Get it from the WEB
>>site. To test RAM...
>>
>>http://www.simmtester.com/PAGE/products/doc/docinfo.asp RAM tester
>>http://www.memtest86.com/ RAM tester
>>http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp RAM tester
>>
>>
> Thanks, I knew about simmtester and memtest86 at least, not sure about
> the last one. But probably not going to bother - as I said, this PC
> had been a little grumpy for some years, and I'm part way through
> transferring to another machine anyway.

OK. Maybe that's best. Keep us informed.

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