shlomofu99
asked on
Help finding the right burn speed
Hi
I read that all burns done on a cd-r or cd-rw disc have errors, but the software is able to correct for these errors, and that there usually aren't enough errors to throw off the software.
I also read that to get the least amount of errors in a burn, you should burn at below the maximum speed. The rule of thumb, I read, is to burn at a third of the maximum speed that the disc and the drive is able to do (assuming your os and cpu can handle it). To burn slower than that will only marginally reduce the errors, and thus isn't worth the cost in time of waiting for the burn to end. I know, also, that not all burners are equal- some create more errors than others. I also know that not all burning software is equal- here, too, some create more errors than others.
I have two computers, with each one using different burn software, and different cd-rw drives. I'm looking for a program that will tell me how many errors exist in the disc I just burned. That way, I can compare a few burns, and then I'll know in the future what burn speed to use, which of my two cd-rw drives to use, and which burning software to use.
Does such a program exist? And is there a website that can tell me which cd-rw drives or which burn software produce the least errors?
Thanks
-Shlomo
I read that all burns done on a cd-r or cd-rw disc have errors, but the software is able to correct for these errors, and that there usually aren't enough errors to throw off the software.
I also read that to get the least amount of errors in a burn, you should burn at below the maximum speed. The rule of thumb, I read, is to burn at a third of the maximum speed that the disc and the drive is able to do (assuming your os and cpu can handle it). To burn slower than that will only marginally reduce the errors, and thus isn't worth the cost in time of waiting for the burn to end. I know, also, that not all burners are equal- some create more errors than others. I also know that not all burning software is equal- here, too, some create more errors than others.
I have two computers, with each one using different burn software, and different cd-rw drives. I'm looking for a program that will tell me how many errors exist in the disc I just burned. That way, I can compare a few burns, and then I'll know in the future what burn speed to use, which of my two cd-rw drives to use, and which burning software to use.
Does such a program exist? And is there a website that can tell me which cd-rw drives or which burn software produce the least errors?
Thanks
-Shlomo
rindi
The nero burning package includes nero infotool and nero CD-DVD speed which does a pretty good test of your drive and CD-R's.
ASKER
Thanks, but neither of those programs give me what I'm looking for.
(I did find, though, that the CD-DVD Speed program was very helpful- it showed me which of my cd-r and cd-rw discs were damaged.)
(I did find, though, that the CD-DVD Speed program was very helpful- it showed me which of my cd-r and cd-rw discs were damaged.)
I have spent a lot of time looking for something along these lines and I do not believe it currently exists. Nero is great at finding out if there are too many errors during the verification stage, but this doesn't give you an exact number. I have heard rumors that the souped up version of Nero gives you more options, but who wants to spend that much money when you can get freeware or trial versions that work just fine.
I can offer the following suggestion for burn speed though, from personal experience. I have a Lite-On 52/32/52 drive and have found that you can burn up to 48X with out any issues. If I went to 52, I started having problems with errors. If I had a CD that went up to 32X, I burned at the max for the CD and have not had issues. I use Nero myself, but only the free version that came with the drive
ASKER
Thanks for the input.
I'm running Windows 98 so I can't use the full nero program anyway.
I'm running Windows 98 so I can't use the full nero program anyway.
General rule is to burn things as slow as possible.
I know it should'nt be that way but it is. Believe it or not, this even happens when burning music CD's! The songs can skip if you burn it too fast.
Regardless of what the drive or disk is "rated" to do, burn it as slow as you can deal with.
I normally burn most of my stuff at 4 or 8x. Takes a bit longer however I dont get any errors or dropouts that way.
I know it should'nt be that way but it is. Believe it or not, this even happens when burning music CD's! The songs can skip if you burn it too fast.
Regardless of what the drive or disk is "rated" to do, burn it as slow as you can deal with.
I normally burn most of my stuff at 4 or 8x. Takes a bit longer however I dont get any errors or dropouts that way.
ASKER
Thanks for your input.
The cd-rw drive I use most often, is able to burn at most at 8x. I never get errors when I burn at that speed. However, to be sure I won't have errors when I read the disc in the future, I've been burning at 2x and waiting the extra minutes. The slowest my drive can burn is 1x.
Surely there must be a way to see how slow I really have to go to avoid future read errors. Just to burn at the slowest burn speed isn't an answer for me. You burn at 4x- maybe you should be doing it at 1x? There's got to be a way to see just how slow you really have to go.
The cd-rw drive I use most often, is able to burn at most at 8x. I never get errors when I burn at that speed. However, to be sure I won't have errors when I read the disc in the future, I've been burning at 2x and waiting the extra minutes. The slowest my drive can burn is 1x.
Surely there must be a way to see how slow I really have to go to avoid future read errors. Just to burn at the slowest burn speed isn't an answer for me. You burn at 4x- maybe you should be doing it at 1x? There's got to be a way to see just how slow you really have to go.
The only way to really find out is by try and error. There are too many variants, like the quality of the media and of course also the fact that you are using w98, which is an unreliable OS and can cause problems when burning CD's more often than if you were using 2k, XP or linux.
ASKER
Rindi,
What do you mean by 'trial and error'? You told me today about the CD-DVD Speed program which I can use to test my cd-r's and cd-rw's. That was really helpful. Guess what happened today when I used the program to do a read test on the surface area of all seven cd-rw discs I use to backup my system– one of them had 70% of it's sectors rated as bad, and another had 30% of it's sectors rated as bad (all the other cd's tested 100% fine). (I did this test a few times to be sure it was true, and each time got the same result). I erased the files on the cd that was 70% bad, and again got the same result. In fact, when I accessed my cd drive to see which files are there, half the files the burn program I use ('Burnquick') supposedly put there were just not there! Interestingly, Burnquick didn't report any errors in the burning. So I can see from here that this program, anyway, has no idea how well it is actually burning its files. Other burn programs may be different, I don't know. But I wish there was a way I can test this.
I also tried the Cheetah burn program on both of the bad cd-rw discs, and it too did not report any burn errors on either cd. And when I accessed my cd drive to see which files are there, i saw that Cheetah had indeedput all of the files there. But who wants to use a cd with so many bad sectors? And i doubt there were no errors if the cd's were in such bad shape.
I have a feeling that burn errors are only allowed to stop a burn when a lot of errors occur. But I dont want any errors (or at least very few). Trial and error is not the solution. I dont want to wait for the error to arrive- I want to burn so well that I can rest assured that two years later that disc (kept out of sun and moisture) will definitey be readable, and to do that i want to burn at the slowest speed that wont take too long.
Surely there must be a program that compares the source file with the file that was burned and tells you how many errors occurred.
Thanks everyone for your help
What do you mean by 'trial and error'? You told me today about the CD-DVD Speed program which I can use to test my cd-r's and cd-rw's. That was really helpful. Guess what happened today when I used the program to do a read test on the surface area of all seven cd-rw discs I use to backup my system– one of them had 70% of it's sectors rated as bad, and another had 30% of it's sectors rated as bad (all the other cd's tested 100% fine). (I did this test a few times to be sure it was true, and each time got the same result). I erased the files on the cd that was 70% bad, and again got the same result. In fact, when I accessed my cd drive to see which files are there, half the files the burn program I use ('Burnquick') supposedly put there were just not there! Interestingly, Burnquick didn't report any errors in the burning. So I can see from here that this program, anyway, has no idea how well it is actually burning its files. Other burn programs may be different, I don't know. But I wish there was a way I can test this.
I also tried the Cheetah burn program on both of the bad cd-rw discs, and it too did not report any burn errors on either cd. And when I accessed my cd drive to see which files are there, i saw that Cheetah had indeedput all of the files there. But who wants to use a cd with so many bad sectors? And i doubt there were no errors if the cd's were in such bad shape.
I have a feeling that burn errors are only allowed to stop a burn when a lot of errors occur. But I dont want any errors (or at least very few). Trial and error is not the solution. I dont want to wait for the error to arrive- I want to burn so well that I can rest assured that two years later that disc (kept out of sun and moisture) will definitey be readable, and to do that i want to burn at the slowest speed that wont take too long.
Surely there must be a program that compares the source file with the file that was burned and tells you how many errors occurred.
Thanks everyone for your help
The best speed for writing to disks is trial and error because there are many factors that can influence this. The program I told you about might give you some idea, and as you have noticed, it'll show you bad sectors. But for a 100% writing speed you won't be able to use it. Also, you would have to run every disk through this test before writing, this takes time, so you might as well leave that out and burn at 4x speed. Something else, I don't recommend using RW media, as these are generally much less reliable than than CD-R's. There is also a lot of difference in the media, usually the writers like one or two brands best, but this can also change from batch to batch.
ASKER
To use only CD-R's is a good idea
If i do use cd-rw's, though, why do you assume 4x is safe? I can also burn at 1x. Bear in mind that on one of my old cd-rw drives, the max burn speed the drive can do for cd-rw discs is 4x, so I'm asking it to do the most it can (i.e. 4x is strecthing it to its capacity). Perhaps 1x is safer? How am i supposed to know?
Thanks
If i do use cd-rw's, though, why do you assume 4x is safe? I can also burn at 1x. Bear in mind that on one of my old cd-rw drives, the max burn speed the drive can do for cd-rw discs is 4x, so I'm asking it to do the most it can (i.e. 4x is strecthing it to its capacity). Perhaps 1x is safer? How am i supposed to know?
Thanks
Sure, 1x is safer, but that will really take a long time to burn. But anyway, with a drive that only runs at that speed you'll have to expect that drive to quit service rather soon, as it must be very old and I haven't seen many burners last that long. Also, being so old, this drive probably doesn't yet support burn-free, so there will be other problems, mainly if the PC can't keep up with supplying the data to the drive.
ASKER
It's lasting long bec I don't use it often-say 10 times a week.
You're right that it has no burnfree support. Yet I've never got an error burning to it at 4x (which is its max burn speed for cd-rw's)
You're right that it has no burnfree support. Yet I've never got an error burning to it at 4x (which is its max burn speed for cd-rw's)
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Gary
Wow! What a great answer. Thanks very much. You've been really helpful.
Wow! What a great answer. Thanks very much. You've been really helpful.
You're most welcome.