Problems with specific CD-burners

Question (Philips CDD 2600 reads incorrect data):

I have a Philips CDD 2600 and when reading audio CDs with this burner many errors occur -- especially when I try to read the outer regions of a music CD. Has this anything to do with the firmware version? I am still using the original firmware version 1.07.

Answer:

This is the official response from Philips:

Tests have shown that the CDD2600 is not 100% reliable when reading audio CDs or packet written CDs at 6x speed. This problem is caused by the hardware and can *not* be solved via a firmware upgrade.

You can get round the problem by reducing the speed for audio CDs in the settings to single or double speed.

With MakeCD you are able to get round this problem be setting the speed for audio CDs down to single or double speed in its preferences.

Question (Burner does not read short data tracks):

My HP_Burner (presumably a Philips) will not read pressed CDs with just one track (a short data track).

Answer:

This is the official response from HP:

HP is aware of an issue reading certain pressed CD-ROM disks with a single track. The most important factor relating to this problem is the data size of the disk. Disks with more than 27MB are likely not to have this problem. The less data on the disc, the bigger the chance the CD cannot be read.

Only a very small percentage of CD-ROM disks fall in this category. However there are two CD-R specific applications which may be affected:

1. Adaptec Easy CD Pro
2. Seagate Backup.

Analysis of the issue is almost complete as of mid-April. Due to component level work that needs to occur, a delivery date for the fix in not yet available. An exchange will ultimately need to occur when the fix is available.

Communication has gone out to small application developers and should minimize the issue in the long term. Updates will be communicated via the WWW at http://www.hp.com/isgsupport/cdr/ as to when the fix will be made available.

While work is being completed by HP and its partners to fix the issue, it is recommended that the disc be read by a standard CD-ROM in the system.

Thank You
Debbie
SureStore Support

Question (Write append error):

I frequently operate my HP 4020 CD-burner (or Philips CDD 2000, Grundig, or similar) in test mode and everything runs perfectly. But if I turn off the test mode, after a while the CD-Rs are trashed. MakeCD responds with: "write append error". This has never happened in test mode, but is very frequent when test mode is off. My friend has the same CD-burner. He did not have this problem when the burner was new, but now, some time later, he is getting the same problems. What has gone wrong?

Answer:

You most probably have a faulty CD-burner. You burner needs to be repaired. A new firmware or a new version of MakeCD will not help in this case. A user claimed on Internet that HP expressed surprise that a user managed to burn 200 blanks using a SureStore 4020 before this error occurred. Alexander Becker <alex@enjoy.regio.net> reported in <5eu67r$1q0@enjoy.regio.net> on 25.2.1997 that HP sent him new blanks without objection after he called them and faxed in the bill - he also claimed that he was even refunded the cost of the burner. Other users have even exchanged their burners two or three times --- without long term success -- and have eventually been refunded. One of the beta testers for MakeCD has told us that the following firm has good support for defect burners: Repair 2000 Hardware Service GmbH
Werkstrasse 5
22844 Norderstedt
Deutschland
Tel.: 040 5225031 (ask for Mr. Peter and describe the problem)
Fax: 040 5264811 If you are dexterous, you may be able to resolve the problem by thoroughly cleaning the burner yourself (remove any dust, and oil the carriage with a suitable lubricant). Any repair that you attempt is at your own risk and we cannot and will not offer you further advice on repairing units yourself.

Question (Problems with Phase 5 host adapter):

I have a Phase 5 SCSI host adapter and CD burning simply doesn't work for me. What can I do?

Answer:

Make sure that you are using at least version 8.1 of your SCSI driver. For example, type version full 1230scsi.device (you may have to replace 1230scsi.device with another name) and check if you have version 8.1 or higher. If not, obtain an update from Phase 5.

Question (All sorts of problems):

I am having all sorts of problems with my CD-burner. Sometimes fixing fails, sometimes the written data cannot be read, sometimes the wrong directory is shown, sometimes a silly error report crops up, or the burner hangs. I am totally dissatisfied. What can I do?

Answer:

There have been several people with one or more of the above problems. It is difficult to find the cause from a distance, although we have been able to help some people.

1. Use quality media only. If you have problems, try a few media of another brand. You can read about the experience of other MakeCD users with regards to certain blank brands in `doc/Compatibility'. Try those media reported as the most reliable.
2. Check your cabling and the termination of you SCSI chain. Try to shorten the SCSI chain to its minimum. Only use thick SCSI cables with good shielding. Please avoid cheap cables!
3. Boot with a virgin OS installation and without additional tools, then try MakeCD. Hacks sometimes cause programs to malfunction.
4. Do you smoke in the vicinity of your CD-burner? If yes, you should certainly try cleaning the lense of your CD-burner. A user who smokes has told us that he has burnt the first half of a CD with a dirty lense and the second half with a cleaned lense. The difference on the CD-R was clearly visible -- and CD-Rs burnt with the cleaned lense worked suddendly properly again. Similar problems can also be experienced by non-smokers -- e.g. through candles or dust.
5. Try connecting your CD-burner to another power supply unit. One user has enormous problems with his brand new Yamaha CDR 200, used with an (AMIGA and a PC. Fixing often failed and the written tracks could not be read in many drives. He was using a PC mains adapter for the CD-burner. He tried the burner with the A3000 mains adapter, and suddenly everything started working perfectly --- similar to a cleaned lense (see above). There was presumably a defect with his PC mains adapter. A similar fault is also imaginable if the mains adapter is overloaded. The nasty thing about this was that it was not obvious that the mains adapter was faulty - the burner was obviously getting power and was even burning. So this is always worth bearing in mind.
6. Put your CD-burner into its own SCSI case. Some CD-burners do not like operating at warm temperatures and can produce the most bizarre results when installed in a SCSI tower. Giving a burner its own external case with a good fan can work wonders.
7. You can clean your burner at your own risk. Dust clusters can sometimes block the mechanism so that the laser can no longer move freely on the carriage. This can produce peculiar results. Cleaning (and perhaps after oiling the mechanism with a suitable lubricant) often helps. The authors of MakeCD have never tried this and are unable to help. Do not try this if you are unsure, and remember, it is at your own risk.

Question (CD-R "cannot be written to"):

I have a Yamaha CDR100 and write a track to the second session in test mode. I then try to write for real, and the burner suddenly reports that the inserted medium cannot be written to?!

Answer:

Yamaha CDR100/102s sometimes appear to have problems with the update after writing in test mode. Existing tracks are no longer listed, and the CD-R is no longer seen as a CD-R, but as a normal CD. This was reproduced several times, and each time the output in the target CDR window was different. In this case all you can do is take out the CD-R and insert it again. Unfortunately, this means that the automatic "Write after test" is no longer possible.

Question (Ricoh loses tracks):

I have a Ricoh 1420C V1.6x. With some CDs, including my own CDs, the last track in the track list is swallowed and the Target CDR Window claims that writing was interrupted. Repeated updates of the contents does not help. Can anything be done?

Answer:

This seems to be a SCSI problem. Some people have no problems and others even have SCSI hangs. A tester has told us that he solved exactly the same problem by turning off reselection for the burner, turning off synchronous transfer mode for his hard drive, and resetting the SCSI bus. He was using the CyberSCSI controller.

Question (JVC problems):

I am using a JVC-burner and have several problems. When will there be a driver that works properly?

Answer:

The problem is not so much the driver, but rather the defective firmware of the JVC XR-W2010 V1.51. You can read more about this under: `doc/Compatibility'. The major problems are:

Reading transfers defective data without error report. If

you have a Meeting Pearls III or IV, register your JVC burner as a CD-ROM drive, insert the Meeting Pearls and click on English. An amigaguide document should appear with a link which can be used to check the CD. Try checking the CD! If faulty files are shown without a read/write error, your JVC burner is most probably transferring defective data without error reports!

Rejection of write commands

Under certain conditions some JVC CD burners apparently reject write or fix commands with ILLEGAL COMMAND. This can sometimes be solved by shortening the SCSI bus (as Patrick found) or by using another, better medium (as we were told by JVC). Try both! Also, a heat problem was reported (the burner was getting to warm in a casing with a poor fan). In one case the casing had been tightened so much that the burner was slightly warped and developed a mechanical problem.

Other errors

Please see the JVC section in `doc/Compatibility'.

Question (JVC problems with audio CDs):

I am having problems with my JVC XR-W2010 CD-burner, especially with audio CDs. What can I do about this?

Answer:

Make sure you are using the latest firmware version (V1.51 or higher). Older versions have a lot of problems with audio CDs.

Question (JVC: Medium Error):

When burning with the JVC XR-W2010, the burner reports "Medium Error: WRITE ERROR". What shall I do?

Answer:

One user experienced this error report only when writing at double speed. It was fine at single speed, although this could depend on the medium used.

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