Argggh! LG 8141b. I just cant figure CD-R recorders out!

[majbach]

These things are my nemesis.
WinME, 128 Meg, 533 Celeron. Roxio software-latest
I replaced my HP7200 (2x-6x) quite some time ago with this LG 8141b. It works, but I think there is something wrong.
first question:

1. when i right click in the systray and get options, I shows me the max read and write speed, and it caries from Cd to Cd. Almost all commercial CDs say 48x & 48x. However, the highest I have got for a write speed is 40x. Today, I just bought some bulk Mitsumi CDs that state max write 48x, but roxio shows max write of 40x and max read of 8x! whats up with that?

2. When i do write [packet style - this is drag and drop, correct?] to these cds, or any Cds for that matter, the drive CONSTANTLY speeds up and winds down throughout the write process. I'm talking every2-3 second intervals too. For example, I just copied a directory through powerdesk(like windows explorer). it contained 27 files totaling 37 Meg. Took just under 3 minutes. sound right? HELP

3. the help file states that the read and write speeds are user configureable but i cannot see where i change these settings.

4. should DMA be checked or not?

5 Are there any other forums like this one?

6.Does anyone know of websites that compare or review CD-R quality?


Thanks to ALL in advance!

[CDRecorder]

Do you have the LG 8481B CD-RW drive? I don't recall an 8141B.

1. Are you clicking on the DirectCD icon in the systray? The fact that you are only getting 40x write speeds may be due to the fact that your drive doesn't think the media can be written to at 48x. This can be true even if the media says 48x on it. You could try updating your firmware to improve the drive's media recognition capability.

2. I'm not sure if the packet writing with CD-Rs should spin up and down like that; I only packet-write with CD-RWs. However, it shouldn't be taking anywhere near 3 minutes to burn 37MB to CD-R. This may be a DMA-related problem. I'll explain below.

3. In DirectCD 5.3.2, there is no option for me to change the write speed. It just uses whatever speed it wants. I am assuming it is the same with your version.

4. DMA definitely should be checked, especially with an older system like yours (no offense, I own a Celeron-366 machine among others). It makes it so that the computer can transfer data to and from the drive faster.

5. There is a forum at CD Freaks.

6. You can read reviews of CD-R media quality at http://www.digitaldolphin.netfirms.com/.

I hope this information helps!

[majbach]

Do you have the LG 8481B CD-RW drive? I don't recall an 8141B.

1. Are you clicking on the DirectCD icon in the systray? The fact that you are only getting 40x write speeds may be due to the fact that your drive doesn't think the media can be written to at 48x. This can be true even if the media says 48x on it. You could try updating your firmware to improve the drive's media recognition capability.

2. I'm not sure if the packet writing with CD-Rs should spin up and down like that; I only packet-write with CD-RWs. However, it shouldn't be taking anywhere near 3 minutes to burn 37MB to CD-R. This may be a DMA-related problem. I'll explain below

Yes, it does help. There is an LG 8481B = 48x24x48x.
I did just recently notice that the 8x read speed i spoke of quickly changed to 40x once i closed the session.
I am currently reinstalling Roxio - says it cant find a supported drive. Hmm, wonder how i got past this before.
Finally, I always use a doubple pane explorer style program for moving and copying files. So I naturally copy files over to a CD or CD-rw. This is packet writing, correct?
What is the alternative?

[banzibaby]

U will need 2 update the roxio s/w 4 it 2 detect a new drive, the only time i had that message was from Direct CD

Go 2 www.roxio.com & look 4 the supprt section(U might have 2 register, but it's free)& d/l the latest patches 4 whatever version U own

Yep that is packet writing if U use Direct CD, the only other 1 i can think off is InCD, but that can't be installed with Direct CD

Have U ever thought of Using Nero, it does most of what Easy Cd Cremator, but gives U a lot more control & options

Hope it helps

BaNzI

[majbach]

Yeah, I've thought about using nero. I have had both installed simotaneously too - I just know how to disable them during startup so as to not have a conflict. My understanding is, however, InCD cannot perform packet writing. Isn't this what we are all doing if we're not making an audio CD?

[CDRecorder]

You won't need to disable anything during startup; just make sure that you don't have InCD and DirectCD installed at the same time. InCD can perform packet writing. Packet writing is when you write to a CD by dragging the files onto the drive in Windows Explorer. Session writing is when you use an application like Easy CD Creator or Nero to write the files to the CD. Technically, I don't think that you can use Packet Writing with a CD-R, but DirectCD allows you to do something like Packet Writing with CD-R discs. InCD only allows you to use CD-RW discs. So, when you use Nero or ECDC, you're not using Packet Writing, but you are Packet Writing if you use DirectCD or InCD.

[majbach]

this is what i mean. disableing them at start-up allows me to have both installed.

[Inertia]

majbach,

See Posting to multiple sites simultaneously.

[CDRecorder]

It's still best not to have both InCD and DirectCD on one machine simultaneously. They both have drivers which load at boot even if the InCD EXE or DirectCD EXE file isn't started up.

[pranav81]

It is certainly not advisable to install and run both the packet writing softwares.Also I would prefer DirectCD as packet writing software because it can packet write a CD-R while InCD can packet write only CD-RW.
See ya guys later,


::Pranav::

[majbach]

This is stuff I should have learned a long time ago - as I have had a CD-R drive now for years. My first one was only a 2x, so I was used to slow burns and I was also used to only writing by drag and drop without realizing it performs the task much differently. I only desired to learn more when my 24x writer didn't seem to go much faster. I also quickly noticed that my orginal CD-R drive DOES NOT read a CD-RW written on my new drive, although it reads a regular disc written from the new drive fine - even with the new roxio software that automatically writes the UDF software onto the CD-RW for reading packet written software on PCs that do not have it already installed. What made this even more perplexing was that my very old CD-ROM could AND my old CD Writer could read regular discs. Someone told me that old CD writers can not read packet written CD-RWs written by newer CD writers. I still don't understand that.
After reading the posts here, I tried using Adaptec Easy CD creator to write to a disc. To me, it appeared to be 'drag-and- drop' for idiots so I always did it manually. I was very surprised to see the drive writing at 48 times speed and a continuous speed, not intermittent like I stated earlier. These discs were also more quickly read on other drives. So now, I will try uninstalling Roxio and try the Nero as suggested, just to experiment.
One final question: can CD_RWs ONLy be packet written?

MajBach

[cfitz]

One final question: can CD_RWs ONLy be packet written?

No. You can write them any way you write a CD-R, including ISO 9660 data discs, CD-A discs, VCD discs, etc.

cfitz

[CDRecorder]

It took me a while to understand the difference between DirectCD and ECDC, too. Yes, you can write to CD-RW in ways other than packet writing. You can't to this with a formatted CD-RW, though, until you erase (not format) it.

[cfitz]

You can't to this with a formatted CD-RW, though, until you erase (not format) it.

Good point. Sometimes I forget that the basics aren't always obvious. Here is how to erase a CD-RW in Nero:

Start Nero Burning Rom. Select "Choose Recorder"->"Erase ReWritable..."

Alternatively, start Nero Express, click "More <<" at the bottom, then press the "Erase Disc" button that shows up after you press "More <<".

cfitz