Notebook DVD-drive thinks data disc is audio

[MediumRare]

A colleague just got a new notebook and is installing various required tools.

Here's the problem: installing DEC Visual Fortran (yes we do use that ) from a backup CD is not possible. The drive detects this as an audio disc . All other discs we've tried are recognized correctly (original or backups).

Here's what Nero Infotool has to say about the drive:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
------------------
Drive                      : QSI      DVD+-RW SDW-082S
Type                       : DVD±R/RW Recorder
Firmware Version           : LX10
Buffer Size                : 2 MB
Date                       : ?
Serial Number
Vendor Specific            : 
Drive Letter               : E:\
Location                   : 1:0
Mechanism                  : Tray
Read Speed                 : 24 , 16 , 12  X
Write Speed                : 24 , 20 , 16 , 12 , 8  X


and

Code: Select all

Adapter 2
---------
Description           : Secondary IDE Channel

Driver
Description           : System32\DRIVERS\atapi.sys
Company               : Microsoft Corporation
Version               : 5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)
Description           : IDE/ATAPI Port Driver

Attached Devices
Description           : Master: QSI DVD+-RW SDW-082S
Type                  : CD-Rom Drive
DMA                   : On
Autorun               : On


and the CD:

Code: Select all

Disc Information (E:\)
-------------------
Type                   : Audio CD
Capacity               : 54:05.47  (546 MB)
Tracks                 : 1
Sessions               : 1
CD-R(W) Info           : TDK,  CD-R, 74:15.00

File System            : Audio
Title                  : n/a
Artist                 : n/a
Disc ID                : n/a
UPC/EAN Code           : n/a


Here's what the CD shows up as on my drive (and all others we've tried it in):

Code: Select all

Disc Information (J:\)
-------------------
Type                   : Data CD (Mode 1)
Capacity               : 54:05.47  (475 MB)
Tracks                 : 1
Sessions               : 1
CD-R(W) Info           : TDK,  CD-R, 74:15.00

File System            : ISO9660, Joliet
Title                  : DVF_PRO_INTEL_V6
Date                   : 3 December 1998
Publisher              : DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP.
Application            : n/a


We can work around this one, but the problem could recur under other less favourable circumstances.

Has anyone else seen this behaviour? Any ideas what's causing it?

G

[NoLimit]

i had this problem on an older cdrom,it wasnt able to read that specific disc and it showed up as an audio cd,sometimes restarting the machine solved the problem and others the only solution was to copy the disc again.

[cfitz]

Has anyone else seen this behaviour? Any ideas what's causing it?

Possibly copy protection on the Fortran disc? Is there a separate install program on floppy that is supposed to be used with it? What does ISO Buster say about it?

cfitz

[MediumRare]

i had this problem on an older cdrom,it wasnt able to read that specific disc and it showed up as an audio cd,sometimes restarting the machine solved the problem and others the only solution was to copy the disc again.

That doesn't augur well for this drive. As I mentioned, we worked around this one- but the worry of similar problems is there! The notebook will be used for business purposes and this sort of behaviour is just plain inacceptable.

Has anyone else seen this behaviour? Any ideas what's causing it?

Possibly copy protection on the Fortran disc? Is there a separate install program on floppy that is supposed to be used with it? What does ISO Buster say about it?

cfitz

There's no copy protection. The installation procedure requires a valid serial number printed on the original packaging. The install routine is integrated. I've used this same CD to install Fortran on my computer and there were no problems. I'll try a different backup (and the original) tomorrow.

I've never used Isobuster- does it have diagnostic capabilities in addition to rescuing data? I'll give it a try in any case.

The funny thing is, if I look at the start of the disc, e.g. with a READ10 command, it looks normal- I just can't see what would make it appear to be audio! And no, we didn't use an audio CDR to make the backup.

G

[dodecahedron]

installing DEC Visual Fortran (yes we do use that )

duh!
physicists and engineers stuck in the 70s!

[MediumRare]

installing DEC Visual Fortran (yes we do use that )

duh!
physicists and engineers stuck in the 70s!

(somewhat off topic) I knew someone would make snide remarks. Fortran is still one of my 2 "Languages of Choice" (the other is Perl). I you want to discuss the pros and cons of Fortran, let's please move that to another thread. I would really try to solve the reading problem!

G

[dolphinius_rex]

I've had this problem before with burned CD-Rs, where the disc was old and had degraded in quality SIGNIFICANTLY. Then Data CDs became Audio CDs in some drives, and yet other drives could still tell them as Data.

So..... my suggestion is run a K-Probe scan on the disc.

Of course, making a copy of the disc SHOULD solve the problem... assuming the copying drive can read it ok.

[dodecahedron]

sorry. all in good humor.

[MediumRare]

I've had this problem before with burned CD-Rs, where the disc was old and had degraded in quality SIGNIFICANTLY. Then Data CDs became Audio CDs in some drives, and yet other drives could still tell them as Data.

So..... my suggestion is run a K-Probe scan on the disc.

Will do so when I'm back at work tomorrow. The TDK discs we used at the time have held very well, so I'd be surprised if it's deteriorated.

Of course, making a copy of the disc SHOULD solve the problem... assuming the copying drive can read it ok.

Not necessary- as I said, we do have the original (in a safe).

sorry. all in good humor.

NP.

G

[MediumRare]

I've had this problem before with burned CD-Rs, where the disc was old and had degraded in quality SIGNIFICANTLY. Then Data CDs became Audio CDs in some drives, and yet other drives could still tell them as Data.

So..... my suggestion is run a K-Probe scan on the disc.

OK, I tried a KProbe scan. Excellent disc: C1 max/mean= 8, 0.43. So unfortunately that scenario is ruled out.



I can't upload images from work, so I replaced the text summary with the image above after I got home.

Isobuster thinks this an audio CD too and offers various related options. I don't see an option to force it to read this as a data CD.

I haven't checked other versions of the installation disc yet- too much else going on today. More on this later.

all in good humor.

OK, here's a tidbit: since this is supposed to be an audio disc, I let EAC loose on it and it successfully extracted the "music". Here's the log file:

Code: Select all

EAC extraction logfile from 3. February 2005, 11:48 for CD
Unknown Artist / Unknown Title

Used drive  : QSI     DVD+-RW SDW-082S   Adapter: 1  ID: 0
Read mode   : Burst
Read offset correction : 0
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No

Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
                     44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo

Other options      :
    Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
    Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
    Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000


Range status and errors
Selected range
     Filename D:\eac\fortran6.wav

     Timing problem 0:00:19

     Peak level 100.0 %
     CRC 40F7555A
     Copy finished

No errors occured

End of status report

If anyone is interested in what Fortran sounds like, I could code a small sample as an MP3 later on.

G

Edit: replaced text summary with scan image

[dolphinius_rex]

in the same line of weirdness, I just burned a Verbatim 4x DVD+R (made in Singapore) at 4x in my LG 4163B, and my BenQ DW1620 decided it was a REALLY big Data CD, and crashed Nero CD/DVD Speed when attempting to test it... My PX-712a was able to see it as a DVD, but the Beta was *SO* high, and the test (run at 2x) was not even able to be completed on the disc (it failed near the end). Of course my trusty LiteON 832s thought the disc was fine, giving it a score of:

PI Max = 139
PI Avg = 2.06

PIF Max = 2
PIF Avg = 0.00

Thank goodness I don't trust my LiteON 832s for testing results that much!

[MediumRare]

It's definitely not a media quality problem.
I tried another backup disc, this one on some (apparently) low quality Prodisc media- in fact there are some black spots near the inner edge. It's quite readable though, and has a passable C1 count (max/mean: 30 / 4.46). Same behaviour- the notebook drive sees it as audio, all others treat it normally. Furthermore, the second disc from the package also shows up as audio on the notebook.

Something on these discs must be confusing the drive. Here's the start of the data a READ(10) returns:



I think this shows the start of the disc (the MMC draft I have doesn't give details about this command and I don't have the referenced standard).

The information starting at byte 08 is blank. Other data discs have a "WIN32" (DEC Fortran 5) or "Solaris" (c't shareware disc). But MS Visual Studio 6 is also blank at byte 08, and that was read correctly.

Anyone have more ideas?

G