Andy McFadden's CD-Recordable FAQ

There are several hardware-based solutions to this, including CD-R units that support daisy-chaining, and control units that vary from the simple (a handful of units wired together) to the complex (robotic arms to move discs around). Most cost more than a Hyundai.

See http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/duplication.html for an excellent overview of several different hardware solutions.

Subject: [3-18] Can I make copies of copies?

"I do not recommend making "copies of copies" with SNAPSHOT. The reason this does not always work is because many CDROM readers do not perform error correction of the data when doing raw sectors reads. As a result, you end up with errors on the copy that may or may not be correctable. When you make a second-generation copy of the same disc, you will make a disc that has all of the errors of the first copy, plus all of the new errors from the second reading of the disc. The cumulative errors from multiple copies will result in a disc that is no longer readable."

This problem can be avoided by using "cooked" reads and writes. Rather than creating an exact duplicate of the source sector - possibly propagating errors along the way - cooked reads pull off the error- corrected 2048 byte sector, and let the CD-R regenerate all the appropriate error correction and other headers. Ideally SNAPSHOT would be able to do the error correction in software, but apparently there's no readily available code that does this. It could also read each block twice, once in raw mode and once in cooked, but that would double the read time.

This begs the question, why not just use cooked writes all the time? First of all, some recorders (e.g. Philips CDD2000 and HP4020i) don't support cooked writes. (Some others will do cooked but can't do raw, e.g. the Pinnacle RCD-5040.) Second, not all discs use 2048-byte MODE-1 sectors. There is no true "cooked" mode for MODE-2 data tracks; even a block length of 2336 is considered raw, so using cooked reads won't prevent generation loss.

It is important to bear in mind that the error correction included in the data sector is a *second* layer of protection. The CIRC ECC encoding that keeps your audio CDs from popping every time a fingerprint is encountered will also correct most errors on data discs. The error detection and correction information included in data sectors serves to correct further errors, since most data can't tolerate errors the way audio can. (The dropped audio samples are replaced with interpolated data. This wouldn't work very well for data.)

The original version of this quote went on to comment that Plextor and Sony CDROM drives were not recommended for making copies of copies. The reason they were singled out is because they are the only drives that explicitly warned about this problem in their programming manuals. It is possible that *all* CDROM drives behave the same way. (In fact, it is arguably the correct behavior... you want raw data, you get raw data.)

The documentation for SNAPSHOT describes whether "raw" or "cooked" writes are recommended for several different CD-R drives. See the section on "USING THE /COOKED OPTION" in "snapshot.txt", found in ftp://ftp.cdarchive.com/pub/jarnold/readme.zip.

The final answer to this question is, you can safely make copies of copies, so long as the disc is a MODE-1 CDROM and you're using "cooked" writes. Copies made with "raw" writes may suffer generation loss because of uncorrected errors.

Audio tracks don't have the second layer of ECC, and will be susceptible to the same generation loss as data discs duplicated in "raw" mode.

Subject: [3-19] How can I compress or encrypt data on a CD?

A product called capaCD (see http://www.ewb.com/ewbassoc/) provides transparent compression specifically for CD-Rs. The end-user needs to have the capaCD driver installed to read the compressed data.

CRI-X2 and CRI-X3 provide similar compression capabilities. See the vague explanation at http://www.cdrominc.com/product/crix2.html.

http://www.pgp.com/ has some good encryption software, but none of it works transparently.

http://www.c-dilla.com/products/cdsecure/index.html has information on CD-Secure 2, which allows publishers to distribute network-licensed or "pay for the parts you need" products.

Subject: [3-20] Can I do backups onto CD-R?

Of course, it's not really necessary to use special software. Most CD creation programs will allow you to copy arbitrary files onto CDROM, and by using the Joliet standard you can preserve long Win95 filenames. The only disadvantage is that all files are marked as read-only (required by the ISO-9660 spec), so write permission must be re-enabled by hand.

(Linux users can su to root, mount the volume as MSDOS FAT, cd to the directory in question, and do "find . -print | xargs chmod +w" to enable write permission for all files in the current directory and in all subdirectories. If you've got the GNU utilities, use "find . -print0 | xargs -0 chmod +w" instead, especially if you're using the "vfat" fs.)

Subject: [3-21] How do I change the CD icon? How does Win95 autoplay work?

[autorun]
open=filename.exe
icon=someicon.ico

[autorun]
open = setup.exe /i
icon = setup.exe, 1
shell\configure = &Configure...
shell\configure\command = setup.exe /c
shell\install = &Install...
shell\install\command = setup.exe /i
shell\readme = &Read Me
shell\readme\command = notepad help\readme.txt
shell\help = &Help

shell\help\command = winhlp32 help\helpfile.hlp

Subject: [3-22] How can I be sure the data got written correctly?

Another way is to do a recursive file-by-file comparison. Programs that compute CRCs on files and then compare them (meant primarily for virus-checking) will work. Another way is to use the UNIX "diff" utility, which is available for Win95 at:

http://www.reedkotler.com/beta/reedkotler_shell.exe
http://www.reedkotler.com/beta/reedkotler_help.exe

If you had copied the contents of C:\MyData onto a CD-R at E:\, you would use:

    diff -q -r C:\MyData E:

Subject: [3-23] How do I copy Karaoke/CD+G discs?

"To backup KARAOKE CD+G discs, you must have a Yamaha CDR100/102 or Sony CDW-900E recorder. These are the only recorders that will write the R-W subcodes required for CD+G discs. You must also have another CDROM device that can *read* the R-W subcodes as the Yamaha and Sony can only write these subcodes.

The following CDROM drives can read CD+G discs...

  PLEXTOR 4Plex Plus
  PLEXTOR 8Plex
  PLEXTOR 12Plex
  SONY 76S
  SONY CDU920S"

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Subject: [4] Problems

Subject: [4-1] What does "buffer underrun" mean?

The CD writing process can't be interrupted in mid-session. To prevent this from happening, the makers of CD recorders put a write buffer in the drive, usually 512K or 1MB. Data read from the hard drive, tape, or another CD is stored in the buffer, and pulled out as needed by the recorder.

If the recorder requests data from the write buffer, but there's none there, it's called a buffer underrun. The disc is still spinning, but there's no data to write, so the recording process aborts.

You can still use the disc with multisession CDROM drives by closing the session and starting another, assuming there's enough space left on the CD, and assuming your pre-mastering software didn't choose to finalize the disc for you.

Advice for preventing buffer underruns is scattered throughout this FAQ. A brief summary:

• Use a fast, AV-rated hard drive (i.e. one that doesn't do slow thermal recalibrations).
• Record at a slow speed - it takes longer to empty the buffer when recording at 1x.
• Don't do anything else with the computer while recording. Don't record from a file server!
• Defragment your HD, especially if you're doing on-the-fly recording.
• Record from an ISO image file rather than on-the-fly.
• Depending on your setup, putting the recorder and your hard drive on separate SCSI controllers may be necessary.

Also watch out for things like anti-virus programs that wake up, virtual memory settings that cause swapping, screen savers that activate during the CD creation process, unusual network activity, and background downloads of data or faxes. One way to check is to run the HD defragmenter in Win95. If it restarts every few seconds, it's because something is hitting the drive.

Most Win95-based software recommends turning off Auto Insert Notification. Having this on can interfere with closing sessions or even just inserting discs into the drive. You can disable it by opening the "System" icon in the Control Panel, and selecting "Device Manager". For each item under CDROM, select the device, click on the "Settings" tab, and make sure the "Auto Insert Notification" checkbox is unchecked. [With my setup I get SCSI errors when AIN is off for my CD-R but on for my CDROM, even if the CDROM drive isn't in use at the time.]

http://www.adaptec.com/support/cdrec/bufunder.html has a comprehensive set of buffer underrun info.

Section [4-2] I can't get long Win95 filenames to work right

- Works fine in Win95 Explorer

- Under DOS the directories are visible, but instead of "dirname1" you get "dirname57". Attempting to read them results in errors.

- Typing 'cd dirname~102' may fail while 'cd "Long File Names without the ~"' will work.

It appears that Win95 and DOS 7.x are simply screwed up.

Subject: [4-3] I can't read the multisession CD I just made

(This problem was reported with an HP4020i and a Buslogic BT946C controller; if you have an HP drive you should get the c4324hlp.vxd driver from the HP web site. See section (6) for the address.)

One possible cause of this problem is writing a multisession disc in MODE-1 format. Some older CDROM drives incorrectly assume that a MODE-1 disc can't be multisession, so they don't look for additional sessions unless it's written in MODE-2 (CD-ROM XA) format.

Also, if the final session on the CD isn't closed, standard CD players may become confused (the NEC 6Xi certainly does under Win95). This doesn't mean that the *disc* must be closed, just that the *session* must be closed. (Actually, the NEC 6Xi doesn't like open discs either... sigh.)

Subject: [4-4] Write process keeps failing N minutes in

If that fails, a number of people have discovered that the problem is a hosed CD-R unit (similar behavior has been reported on Sony and HP units, which have different mechanisms). You should try 1x writing from a fast source and with different sets of data before contacting the manufacturer, since they will likely tell you to do exactly that anyway.

Be sure that there aren't environmental factors creating difficulties. CD-R units are usually built to handle small shocks, but having a set of speakers playing loud music on the same table as a CD-R may cause it to skip, resulting in a failed write. Sonic booms, heavy construction equipment, and nuclear detonations may have similar effects.

It's also possible that you simply have a bad batch of media. Try a different type and brand of disc. Some distributors (e.g. dataDisc) will exchange media that's provably defective.

Subject: [4-5] Why did my CD-R eject between the "test" and "write" passes?

Some CD-R packages allow you to start the real write pass a few seconds after the test pass has succeeded. They may not disable this even though they know that the disc will have to be ejected. Make sure the option is set to "wait until told to continue."

Subject: [4-6] My CDROM drive doesn't like *any* CD-R discs

If it fails with both green and gold media, chances are your drive simply doesn't work with CD-R discs. This is rare but not unheard of. In one case, returning the drive for an identical unit solved the problem.

Subject: [4-7] How do I avoid having a ";1" on my ISO-9660 discs?

(For the Mac, look at "ISO 9660 File Access" in the System:Extensions folder with Command-I. If the version shown is 5.0 or greater, your system should handle the version numbers just fine. If not, you should update your system software.)

Subject: [4-8] I keep getting SCSI timeout errors

• Put the writer on SCSI ID 2
• Turn off Fast SCSI, SCSI Linking, SCSI Disconnect, etc for the writer

Subject: [4-9] I'm having trouble writing a complete disc

Another user with the same setup found that doing power-up diagnostics and device reset right before burning the CD helped.

Subject: [4-10] I get a Write Append Error most of the way through a burn

The ways of dealing with this range from rational checks to the placement of chicken entrails on selected components. Reducing the DMA rate on the AdvanSys SCSI card may help, buying better SCSI cables and checking for proper termination may make a difference, or even powering off and on again right before the burn.

One user was told by Philips tech support that if error 50h (write append) occurs, it means the drive has to be returned to the repair center. Other users have been told that the error can occur when attempting to write an empty directory or zero-length file. Under Easy-CD Pro '95, this is reported as error 171-00-50-00 (see the Adaptec web site for a complete list of error codes).

This question is also covered in the HP4020i FAQ, available at http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/HP-FAQ.html.

Subject: [4-11] Getting errors reading the first (data) track on mixed-mode CD

Subject: [4-12] My CD-R ejects blank discs immediately

It may be that the system is looking at the disc, not finding a TOC (table of contents), and ejecting it as useless. You need to disable this.

Under Win95, disable auto insertion for all CDROM devices (see section (4-1)). On the Mac, you may just need more recent drivers.

If that doesn't work, make sure the CD-R drive is perfectly level. Apparently some units are sensitive to being tilted at an angle.

If nothing helps, there's a strong possibility that the drive is mis- aligned and needs to be serviced. This has been known to happen to drives during shipping.

One user reported problems when using the wrong type of caddy. It has to be a Sony-type caddy, which is the kind most commonly found in stores.

Subject: [4-13] I'm getting complaints about power calilbration

The error indicates that the CD-R drive is having trouble calibrating the power setting. Try different brands of media, and if that doesn't work you should have the drive checked.

Some versions of the firmware for the Philips CDD2000 and HP 4020i will report a power calibration error if you try to do a 1x write after a 4x read.

Subject: [4-14] My Adaptec 2940 pauses after finding my CD-R

Subject: [4-15] I can't see all the files on the CD-R

Subject: [4-16] I forgot to use "linked" multisession on my last write

Subject: [4-17] I'm getting SCSI errors or corrupted data

Bertel Schmitt wrote an excellent article on the ins and outs of proper cabling and termination. The article can be found in text form at ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/fa/fadden/avdrive.txt. Granite Digital, a company that makes high-quality cables and terminators, can be found at http://www.scsipro.com/.

If you're using an HP 4020i with the AdvanSys SCSI card, reducing the DMA transfer rate may help.

Subject: [4-18] Why doesn't the copy of an audio CD sound the same?

An extremely technical introduction to CD reading is available at http://www.tc.umn.edu/nlhome/g496/eric0139/Papers/paper.html. This may shed some light on why reading audio CDs is difficult.

If you are finding noticeable differences, try different media, a different player, and a different recorder.

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Subject: [5] Hardware

All CD-R drives are SCSI unless indicated otherwise. IDE and parallel-port CD-Rs have been announced only recently, as has the ability to write to CD-RW discs.

Many of the models listed have been discontinued in favor of newer models, and some of them have yet to be released, so you will probably not be able to find all of the models listed here for sale.

An excellent summary of CD-R features can be found about halfway down on http://www.uni-karlsruhe.de/~un60/Compatibility.html.

If you're new to SCSI, take a look at the comp.perips.scsi FAQ, http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/scsi-faq/. It covers both novice and advanced questions.

A wealth of information on Enhanced IDE and other storage technologies is available from http://thef-nym.sci.kun.nl/~pieterh/storage.html and http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/pc-hardware-faq/enhanced-IDE/top.html.

Subject: [5-1] Which CD-R unit should I buy?

1. Yamaha CDR-100/CDR-102 (also as S&F 4000/S&F 1004)
2. Sony 920S/940S (also as S&F 1002/2004)
3. Philips CDD2000/CDD2010 and CDD2600 (often as HP 4020i and 6020i)
4. Ricoh RS-1420C (also as Turtle Beach 2040R)
5. Philips CDD522 (also as Kodak PCD225)
6. Everything else

(Up & coming: Yamaha CDR-400, Ricoh MP-6200.)

These are discussed in the next few sections. See also the (somewhat Adaptec-specific but still useful) "CD RECORDABLE SUPPORT" section from ftp://ftp.adaptec.com/pub/BBS/dos/ezlist.txt. See http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Industry/Mfgrs/RecorderManufacturers.html for company contact information.

If you have specific needs, you should verify with the manufacturer that the drive will do what you need.

Many of the devices are simply OEM versions of another company's recorder. It's unwise to assume that the units are equivalent, however: in many cases the firmware has been changed, and may not work as well as related models.

External drives are preferred to internal drives because of heat problems, though this is less of a concern for newer models.

I'm not currently listing stand-alone recorders like the "CD Blaster" or "CD Dupe-It", which are boxes with a CPU, CD-R, and hard drive that can duplicate CDs without tying up a full machine. Most of these low-end CD production boxes are off-the-shelf hardware and software packaged into a single unit, so listing them separately doesn't make much sense. Besides, they're not of much interest to the average user.

Subject: [5-1-1] Yamaha

Models are the CDR-100 (4x4/512K), CDR-102 (2x4/512K), CDR-200 (2x6/1MB), CDR-400 (4x6/2MB; 'c' is caddy, 't' is tray, 'x' is external), and CD-RW 4001 (4x6/2MB;RW). The CDE-100 is just the CDR-100 in a Yamaha external case.

It has been reported that the CDR-102 is the same mechanism as the CDR-100, but with the 4x writing feature disabled. There is no known way to convert it into a 4x writer.

Note Yamaha doesn't do customer service. The dealer you purchase the drive from is expected to do this.

Yamaha CDR-100s with firmware version 1.08 may experience problems when recording audio (e.g. a click at the end of tracks recorded with the "copy prohibit" flag set to "off"). Upgrading to version 1.10 is recommended. Since the CDR-100 and CDR-102 units don't have flash ROM (and apparently the upgrade involves more than just changing a ROM chip), the drive needs to be sent back to the dealer for the upgrade.

The CDR-100 reportedly works best when writing in 4x mode, and may produce poor results when used to write at 2x or 1x.

The current firmware version for Yamaha drives is v1.12 for the CDR-100 and v1.01(?) for the CDR-102. The change was to "allow mastering in Blue Book specs". If you aren't having problems, don't get the upgrade.

The CDR-200 and CDR-400 are flash upgradeable, and support packet writing.

Subject: [5-1-2] Sony

Models are the CDW-900E (2x2/3MB), Spressa CDU920S (2x2/1MB), Spressa CDU940S (2x4/1MB), and CDU926S (2x6/512K). The 940 has replaced the 920 in Sony's lineup.

The CDW-900E has a separate connector that allows multiple "slave" drives to be daisy-chained, allowing multiple CD-Rs to be written in parallel.

The Spressa 9211 is a 920 in an external case, the 9411 is a 940 in an external case, and the 9611 is a 926. The 940S drive is actually a 924S; the 940S designation refers to the complete bundle (software, cables, etc). Looks like any particular model can have one of three numbers.

Sony drives have a special "recover" feature, accessible from programs like Easy-CD Pro '95. This allows recovery of the CD-R media after certain classes of failed writes.

Believe it or not, the CDU926 doesn't support disc-at-once recording. Instead they use "variable-gap track-at-once", which is supposed to allow TAO audio recordings with no gaps between tracks.

Subject: [5-1-3] Smart & Friendly

Models are the CDR1002 (2x2/1MB, based on the Sony CDU920S), the CDR1004 (2x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-102), the CDR2004 (2x4/1MB, based on the Sony 940S), the CDR2006 (2x6/512K, based on the Sony 926S), the CDR4000 (4x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100), and the CDR4006 (4x6/2MB, based on the Yamaha CDR-400).

The CDR2004 has replaced the CDR1002.

Subject: [5-1-4] Philips

Models are the CDD522 (2x2/2MB), CDD2000 (2x4/1MB), CDD2600 (2x6/1MB), and CDD3600 (2x6/1MB;RW). The CDD3610 is a 3600 with an IDE interface. The CDD521 (2x2/256K) is an older model; if you use one, the firmware upgrade is strongly recommended (but increasingly hard to find).

The CDD522 does not support reading of subcode-Q data. The CDD521, CDD522, and Kodak-labeled PCD225 have a sensor that can read the barcode data from the inner ring on a CD.

See the HP section for comments about the CDD2000 firmware. The firmware is kept in flash ROM, so it can be updated with software attainable over the net. You should be at version 1.25 or later for best results.

Digital audio extraction may not work correctly at higher than 2x on the CDD2600, especially near the end of the disc. The CDD2600 supports packet writing, but is NOT flash upgradeable.

CAVEAT EMPTOR - CDD2000. Some users of Philips CDD2000 and derivitive units (like the HP4020i) have reported that the drives went bad over a short period of time, often 1 to 3 months. While these cases represent the minority of users, reports have been persistent. On the plus side, in every case HP or Philips has been willing to exchange the unit for a new one. If you buy a CDD2000-based unit (of which there are many), be sure the dealer or manufacturer is aware of this problem and is willing to exchange the drive should it arise.

Drivers are available for the CDD2000 from: http://www.philips.com/sv/pcaddon/cdr/

Subject: [5-1-5] HP

Models are the SureStore 4020i (2x4/1MB, based on the Philips CDD2000) (sometimes identified as part number C4324) and 6020 (2x6/1MB, based on the Philips CDD2600; 'i' is internal, 'e' is external, 'p' is parallel).

The 6020ep appears to be the external SCSI drive with a parallel-to-SCSI converter. It appears to be usable as a SCSI device as well.

The HP 4020i got off to a rough start because of buggy firmware and problems with the AdvanSys SCSI controller shipped with the drive. Four firmware upgrades have been made available so far (v1.20, v1.25, v1.26, and v1.27), and most but not all problems with the firmware have been eliminated. HP recommends that users with the v1.20 or later firmware who aren't having problems should NOT get the upgrade. Contact HP tech support for more information.

As with the CDD2600, digital audio extraction may not work correctly at higher than 2x with the 6020, especially near the end of the disc. The 6020 supports packet writing (though there is some disagreement on this), but is NOT flash upgradeable.

CAVEAT EMPTOR - 4020i. See the notes on the CDD2000 in the previous section. Also, the AdvanSys controller continues to cause problems for some users, which is made worse by HP's refusal to support people who try to use a different card. The best approach seems to be to try the card and stick with it if it works, otherwise buy an Adaptec board (e.g. the 1522A) and use it with that. There may be a newer rev of the AdvanSys board.

A few users have reported that, after getting lots of "-24 - Target aborted" errors with jarnold's software, they successfully resolved their problems by getting a new drive from HP.

An unofficial HP 4020i FAQ maintained by Grek Volk (gvolk@umr.edu) can be found at http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/HP-FAQ.html.

Drivers and software upgrades are available from: ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/information_storage/surestore/cd-writer/

Subject: [5-1-6] Plasmon

Models are the RF4100 (2x2/1MB+, based on the Philips CDD522 but with different firmware), CDR4220 (2x4/1MB, based on the Philips CDD2000), CDR4240 (2x4/1MB, based on the Panasonic CW-7501), CDR-4400 (2x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100), and CDR480 (4x8/1MB, based on the Panasonic CW-7502). The RF4102 is an RF4100 with more memory.

The RF4100 does not support disc-at-once recording.

Subject: [5-1-7] Kodak

Models are the PCD200 (2x/256K), PCD225 (2x2/2MB, based on the Philips CDD522), PCD240 (2x4/1MB, based on the Philips CDD2000), and PCD600 (6x/2MB+).

The Philips CDD522, Kodak PCD225, and Kodak PCD600 will interface with the Kodak Disc Transporter, which supports unattended duplication of up to 75 CD-Rs, making it a useful combo for CD-R production.

Subject: [5-1-8] JVC

Models are the XR-W1001 (1x/64K), XR-W2001 (2x/1MB), XR-W2010 (2x4/1MB), XRS-201 (2x2/1MB), and XR-W2022 (2x6/1MB). The XR-W2010 is sometimes bundled as an XR-W2012.

Comes bundled with JVC "Personal Archiver" or "RomMaker" software. The XR-W2010 also comes with "CD-R Extensions" packet-writing software.

CAVEAT EMPTOR - XR-W2010. Firmware version 1.51, which is the most recent as of the time this was written, has some serious flaws that can arise when using the drive as either a writer or a reader. Until these problems are fixed, this drive should only be used with the JVC software, and should not be used as a reader.

JVC only provides support for drives purchased directly from them.

Subject: [5-1-9] Pinnacle

Models are the RCD-202 (1x, based on the JVC XR-W1001), RCD-1000 (2x, based on the JVC XR-W2001), the RCD-5020 (2x2/1MB), the RCD-5040 (2x4/1MB, based on the JVC XR-W2010), and the RCD-4X4 (4x4/1MB, based on the Teac CD-R50S).

The -1000, -5020, and -5040 models are flash ROM upgradeable.

RCD-1000 units shipped after Sept 1995 can do audio extraction if they have firmware v2.35 or later. An upgrade is available from their BBS.

Pinnacle earned a bad reputation after shipping drives with buggy firmware, a poorly ventilated enclosure, and bad customer support.

CAVEAT EMPTOR - all drives. Pinnacle customer support is reported to be almost nonexistent, except for some recent tech support via e-mail. Many owners of the RCD-5040 are perfectly happy with their drives, but most of the stories about Pinnacle's product support are negative.

Subject: [5-1-10] Ricoh

Models are the RS-9200CD (1x/1.2MB), RO-1060C (2x2/512K), RS-1060C (2x2/512K), RS-1420C (2x4/512K+), and MP-6200 (2x6/1MB;RW).

The RS1060C does not support disc-at-once recording, reading of digital audio, or subcode-Q data. (One user reported that his RO1060C *could* read digital audio, but the drive took a little convincing. Another user says that it has always been supported, but not documented, so it can be done with the right software, e.g. CDDA v1.5.)

The RS-1420C is flash upgradeable (though it can be a little tricky since there are different variants of the drive, and each requires a different ROM image). It does not support packet writing. Most of the commercial versions come with a 2MB buffer (the last digit of the firmware version will be 0, 1, or 2, indicating 512K, 1MB, and 2MB, respectively).

The MP-6200, due out shortly, has replaced the earlier models in Ricoh's lineup. It's most salient feature is the ability to write CD-RW discs.

Subject: [5-1-11] Pioneer

Model is the DW-S114X (4x4/1MB). The PDR-05 is an audio CD-R recorder, described in section (7-8).

Does not support disc-at-once recording. Mainly sold in large jukebox systems.

Subject: [5-1-12] Olympus

Models are the CDS615E (2x2/1MB, based on the Sony CDU-926S) and CDS620E (2x4/1MB, based on the Sony CDU-924S). The CD-R2 is the CDS615E in an external case. The CD-R2x4 might be the external version of the CDS620E.

Subject: [5-1-13] Optima

Model is the DisKovery 650 CD-R (2x2/1MB, based on the Sony CDU920S).

Subject: [5-1-14] Mitsumi

Models are the CR-2200CS (2x4/4MB, based on the Philips CDD2000 but with different firmware), CD-2201CS (same as CR-2200CS but with 2x4/1MB), CR-2401TS (*also* based on the Philips CDD2000), and CR-2600TE (2x6/1MB;IDE).

The CR-2401TS is flash upgradeable, but finding upgrades is difficult. (Philips flash images may work.)

Subject: [5-1-15] DynaTek Automation Systems

Models are the CDM200 (2x2/1MB), CDM240 (2x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-102), and CDM400 (4x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100). Rumor has it the newer CDM240 (CDM240J?) is based on the JVC-2010.

They also sell the CDM4000, which is a stand-alone CD burner.

Subject: [5-1-16] Microboards of America

Models are the PlayWrite 2000 (2x2/1MB, based on the Sony CDU920S), PlayWrite 2040 (2x4/512K+), and PlayWrite 4000 (4x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100).

Subject: [5-1-17] Micro Design International

Model is the Express Writer. There's no apparent model numbers. They used to sell the "old one" (2x2/1MB, based on a Pinnacle (i.e. JVC) drive), now they sell the "new one" (2x4/?).

Subject: [5-1-18]MicroNet Technology

Models are the MasterCD Plus 4x4 (4x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100) and MasterCD Plus 4x6 (4x6/2MB, based on the Yamaha CDR-400).

Subject: [5-1-19] Procom Technology

Model is the PCDR-4X (4x4/512K, based on the Yamaha CDR-100).

Subject: [5-1-20] Grundig

Model is the CDR100IPW (4x2/1MB, based on the Philips CDD2000).

Subject: [5-1-21] Plextor

Model is the PlexWriter PX-R24CS (2x4/512K, a cousin of the Ricoh 1420C).

The unit is flash upgradeable.

Subject: [5-1-22] Panasonic

Subject: [5-1-23] Teac

Model is the CD-R50S (4x4/1MB).

The unit is flash upgradeable, with updates on ftp://nemus.teac.de/cdr_up/. Apparently they need to be at 1.0E or later to do quad-speed writing reliably. Power calibration is done via a lookup table rather than adjusted dynamically, so a flash upgrade may be required before some brands of media will work.

Subject: [5-1-24] Wearnes

Model is the CDR-432 (?/?).

Subject: [5-1-25] Turtle Beach

Model is the 2040R (2x4/512K, based on the Ricoh RS-1420C).

Many users have had trouble installing the AdvanSys SCSI card that is bundled with this unit. Most of the problems can be corrected by enabling PnP installation, which is disabled by default.

Subject: [5-1-26] Creative Labs

Models are the CDR2000 (2x2/512K, based on the Ricoh RS1060C) and CDR4210 (2x4/1MB?, based on the Panasonic CW-7501?).

Subject: [5-1-27] Taiyo Yuden

Model is the EW-50 (?/?).

Subject: [5-2] How long do CD-R drives last?

Most of the drives available weren't meant for mass production; notable exceptions are the Philips CDD 522, Kodak PCD 600, and Sony CDW-900E.

Incidentally, MTBF is not an estimate of how long the drive will last. Rather, it's an estimate of the failure rate of the drives during the expected lifetime of the device... after a year or two, the anticipated failure rate increases. If you have new drives with an MTBF of 25,000 hours, and you run 1000 units for 100 hours, you can expect to see four of them fail. It does NOT mean you can expect them to run for 2.8 years and then all fail at once.

Subject: [5-3] What kind of PC is recommended?

CPU: buy a Pentium, the faster the better. This is true in general, since systems tend to be outdated after a year and obsolete after three or four. A '486 is a *minimum* configuration for a CD-R system; a Pentium gives you some breathing room. PentiumPro is probably overdoing it.

Motherboard: get one with PCI slots. Not only can PCI cards move data more quickly, they're much easier to configure.

SCSI: most CD-R drives are SCSI, not IDE/EIDE, so SCSI is still the most common choice. Whether it's built into the motherboard or on a separate card, make sure the host adapter supports ASPI and ASPI for Windows (see section (5-7)). Don't bother with Wide SCSI unless you're planning to buy a disk array or fancy devices - most 7200rpm drives don't exceed the limits of 8-bit Fast SCSI anyway. Bus mastering SCSI cards are preferred over non-bus-mastering cards.

Some vendors have started shipping parallel-port CD-R drives.

Sound: the Creative Labs SB16 and AWE32 boards are widely supported and very popular, but if you're thinking seriously about recording sound through it, you'll want to consider alternatives. See section (3-12) and (3-13) for other options.

Hard drive: needs to be reasonably fast, and large enough to hold whatever data you plan to put on a CD. IDE hard drives work fine. See section (5-6) for more details.

Video card and monitor: depends on what you want to do. A PCI-based video card is a good idea (though more expensive than an ISA-based card), and a 15" or 17" monitor will work fine for most applications. If you're planning on creating multimedia products, you'll want a PCI video card with 4MB of {D,V,W,SD,SG}RAM and a good 17" monitor.

CDROM: for a variety of reasons, you'll probably want a SCSI CDROM rather than an IDE CDROM. See section (5-5).

Subject: [5-4] What kind of Mac is recommended?

Block-by-block copies are the best way to create discs. If your pre-mastering software has to assemble files and build an ISO filesystem on the fly, you will need a high-end PowerMac. The above hardware may still be suitable for such on-the-fly mastering, but as a general case, building a prototype image to a disk or disk partition will be safer.

Using the "simulated cut" feature available on Toast and other software is also prudent. Make sure you turn off file sharing before you start a burn, or things will fail if it tries to read a file that's already open. You may also have trouble writing from the boot/system volume, since it will always have files open.

(Macintoshes - especially 68K and low-end PowerMacs - have lousy I/O, notably in the filesystem and network. Fortunately, the lack of preemptive multitasking in System 7 and before keeps things flowing at a constant rate. As an additional bonus, most internal Mac CDROM drives can do digital audio extraction with the appropriate software.)

Subject: [5-5] Which standard CDROM drives work well with CD-R?

• Does the drive support digital audio extraction?
• Does the drive hog the SCSI bus, obstructing writes to the CD-R?
• Does the drive support multisession discs?

Toshiba and Plextor SCSI models generally work well. The Plextor 6Plex and 8Plex can extract digital audio at high speeds, and come with a set of utilities that are actually useful. The 8Plex is often recommended.

NEC models tend to hog the SCSI bus. Older NEC models (especially the NEC 3x) and some Mitsumi models have trouble reading CD-Rs.

Some IDE CDROM drives can be used for direct CD-to-CD copies with some programs (e.g. Adaptec CD-Creator 2). Same story with digital audio extraction; some drives work, some don't, and the ones that do don't work with all available software. The Teac 8x has been mentioned as working with CD Creator for CD-to-CD copies of data discs.

There is one hard and fast rule for direct CD-to-CD duplication: the source drive must be faster than the target drive (i.e. source 4x if target is 2x, source 6x if target is 4x).

A performance test on some high-end models can be found at: http://www.pcmag.com/features/cdrom/cd-test.htm

Don't bother with the current set of 15x/16x drives. For details: http://www.pcworld.com/hardware/cd-rom_drives/articles/feb97/1502p072.html

A quick summary of features for several models can be found at: http://www.fwb.com/software/support/reference/cdt2.0.5_supp_devices.html

Subject: [5-6] What kind of HD should I use with CD-R? Must it be AV-rated?

The most important issue is thermal recalibration. Your basic hard drive will pause for up to half a second (or even up to a full second, depending on who you believe) every so often to adjust the head positioning to the current operating temperature. For most applications this goes unnoticed, but when recording a CD-R you must write the current track to completion without interruption. AV drives deal with the problem in a way that doesn't disrupt the disk activity.

A drive that does a quick thermal recalibration is acceptable if the system is otherwise fast enough or the buffer in the CD-R unit or in the recording software is large enough (early drives had only 64KB, while current drives have 512KB or 1MB, making it much less of an issue). You need to be sure that the recorder's write buffer won't empty during the recal period, or you'll end up with a buffer underrun.

If your recorder's buffer is less than 512KB, or you're planning to record at 4x or greater, you should seriously consider an AV drive. Otherwise, it probably won't matter. Also, don't believe everything you hear from a salesman -- verify with the manufacturer that the drive model is AV-rated.

What separates a Seagate Barracuda from a Seagate Barracuda AV is that the latter is tuned for AV performance. This is simply a software change that affects cache allocation algorithms, error correction, and other SCSI parameters that may will give better performance for transfers of large blocks of contiguous data. These sorts of optimizations are more important for digital video (which runs at a few MB/sec) than CD recording (which is only 600K/sec at 4x).

If you think AV optimizations will help you, you should take a look at "Dr. SCSI" at http://www.scsitools.com/. It will help you do the same optimizations that the AV drive sellers do, for a price that's about equal to the difference between a standard drive and an AV drive.

It's not necessary to use a SCSI hard drive. In most cases IDE will work just fine.

On a separate but related issue, all reports from people burning CDs from FAT-32 filesystems have been positive.

Subject: [5-7] What kind of SCSI adapter should I use with CD-R?

In general, the faster the better. PCI or VLB is better than ISA, and the board should support (and have enabled) SCSI disconnect. The Adaptec 2940 (PCI) is a popular choice , though some users have reported problems with the Adaptec 2840 (VLB). See the README that comes with Adaptec EZ-SCSI v4.0 and later for some things to try with SCSIBench to make sure that you're going to get enough throughput on a single SCSI bus.

The adapter MUST support the ASPI standard (ASPI provides an interface between software and the SCSI controller) for both DOS and Windows.

If you're having trouble with the 2940UW, go into the configuration menu (hit Ctrl-A while booting) and make sure the drive is set for 10MB/sec with Wide Negotiation disabled. If you're using Win95, make sure that Auto Insert Notification is disabled for all CDROM drives (see section (4-1)).

Subject: [5-8] Can I use a CD-R as a general-purpose reader?

The MTBF on CD-R units tends to be low, so it may be wise to use a different drive for general use to preserve the life of the CD-R.

In addition, if you're using Win95, some CD-R devices don't show up as readers without additional drivers, or show up as 8 separate LUNs (Logical UNits, useful for CD jukeboxes). The reason why many don't show up by default is because they're classified as "type 4" SCSI-2 devices, which is used to indicate write-once devices. Standard CDROM drives are "type 5".

HP and Philips supply drivers for their units, Corel supplies several for different devices, and the Sony 920S works as-is. If you have Adaptec Easy-CD Pro 95, you can get a patch from Adaptec at ftp://ftp.adaptec.com/pub/BBS/win95/cdr4up.exe that will allow many type 4 drives, including the Yamaha CD-R 100/102 and JVC XR-W2010, to appear as CDROM drives. (As it happens, the patch works even if you have the free Easy-CD demo, available from the Adaptec web site.)

If you don't have the drivers, you can still get it to work by loading the real-mode drivers like this (example is for an Adaptec 2940):

In Config.sys:

	DEVICEHIGH=C:\SCSI\ASPI8DOS.SYS /D
	DEVICEHIGH=C:\SCSI\ASPICD.SYS /D:ASPICD0

	LH C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\MSCDEX.EXE /D:ASPICD0 /M:12

Subject: [5-9] To caddy or not to caddy?

The advantage of a tray is convenience. If you want to put a CD in the drive, you can just drop it in, instead of buying a pile of caddies and hunting for a free one.

The advantage of a caddy is durability. CDs are less likely to be scratched if they're put into a caddy and left there (VERY important if you have children), and the internal mechanism is less likely to collect dust. The tray units usually have a worse MTBF rating, because they have more moving parts.

Which you should choose depends on your needs and circumstances.

Subject: [5-10] Can I burn CDs from a Jaz drive? Tape drive?

One user reported being able to write at 1x from a DAT tape drive using Seagate's Direct Tape Access, but this isn't recommended. Copying the data to a hard drive and doing the burn from there is much more likely to succeed.

There are no known instances of successful CD-R burns using punched card readers as the source device.

Doing a test run is strongly recommended when using any of these devices.

Subject: [5-11] What is "Running OPC"?

Running OPC goes a step farther by actively monitoring the write process and adjusting the laser power as needed. If the writer encounters dust or fingerprints, the laser power can be increased to burn through the obstacles. This is especially useful for media that is written after being used, such as CD-RW discs or multisession CD-Rs.

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Subject: [6] Software

Mac System 7.x works well. UNIX variants (notably FreeBSD and Linux) work, but there aren't a lot of people using them to create CD-Rs.

EMedia Professional has an index of CD-R hardware and software versions, with a different category featured each month. Take a look at http://www.onlineinc.com/emedia/AprEM/news4.html#index for an example.

Subject: [6-1] Which software should I use?

There's little standardization among CD-R drive manufacturers, so not all devices are supported by all programs.

Subject: [6-1-1] Adaptec - Easy-CD, Easy-CD Pro, and Easy-CD Pro MM

The software was developed by a company called Incat, which was purchased by Adaptec in 1995.

A limited version of Easy-CD is part of the Adaptec EZ-SCSI 4.0 utilities.

Easy CD Pro is generally considered to be the best of the PC software.

Can be made to work under NT4 with a little work.

Subject: [6-1-2] Adaptec - CD-Creator

The software was developed by Corel, and published by them until it was purchased by Adaptec in mid-1996.

The package includes drivers that allow several popular CD-R drives to be used as general-purpose CD readers under Win95.

Version 2.x is a considerable improvement over version 1.x. Versions older than 2.01.079 had some problems inserting "knacks" into audio CDs.

Subject: [6-1-3] Elektroson - GEAR

This is bundled with some drives. It has been described as "low end". Does not support Joliet (useful for long Win95 filenames). Will work under WinNT4 with a patch.

Subject: [6-1-4] Adaptec - Toast CD-ROM Pro

The software was developed by Astarte, and published by them until it was purchased by Adaptec in early 1997.

This package is recommended for making Mac/PC hybrids, and is the most popular package for the Mac. It has also been sold as "CDitAll".

Software updates are available on the web.

Toast is able to make audio CDs using track-at-once recording that don't have clicks between tracks (if they do, Astarte says it's the fault of your CD recorder).

Subject: [6-1-5] CeQuadrat - WinOnCD ToGo

Has been described as "low end", but has the fastest VCD (Virtual CD) database creation.

Subject: [6-1-6] Young Minds, Inc. - SimpliCD

Has been described as "low end".

See also "CD Studio" for UNIX and WinNT, and some specialized solutions for things like recording over Novell networks and working with CD-R jukeboxes.

Subject: [6-1-7] Jeff Arnold - CD utilities

These run under DOS. Contains sophisticated CDROM duplication programs, track-at-once and disc-at-once utilities for sound and data, and other goodies. Some of the software is free, the rest are relatively inexpensive.

These come highly recommended for creating audio CDs.

Updates for the software are available on the net.

Subject: [6-1-8] Optical Media International - QuickTOPiX

(The company was bought by Microtest in 1995, but the software still carries the Optical Media branding.)

Mac versions can make "shared" hybrids.

Subject: [6-1-9] Creative Digital Research - CDR Publisher

Can create Mac/PC/UNIX hybrid CDs, as well as bootable CDs for PC and UNIX.

The Solaris version should be available through Sun's Catalyst program; see http://www.sun.com/sunsoft/catlink/cdr/cdrpub.htm.

Subject: [6-1-10] mkisofs

This allows creation of a prototype ISO-9660 filesystem on disk or tape, which can then be copied to a CDR. It supports the Rock Ridge extensions, and can be configured to ignore certain facets of the ISO standard (like maximum directory depth).

The package includes a "cdwrite" program that is apparently used by Yggdrasil to produce their UN*X distributions. It requires a working worm device driver. The program was developed on a Philips CDD52x, and success has been reported with the HP 4020i under Linux and FreeBSD.

See ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/linux/docs/HOWTO/mini/CD-Writer for a "mini-HOWTO" on writing CDs under Linux.

See http://lidar.ssec.wisc.edu/~forrest/ for a copy of "cdwrite" patched for use with SGI, and ftp://viz.tamu.edu/pub/sgi/hardware/cdrom/cd-writers for the FAQ on SGI CD writing.

X-CD-Roast is a Tcl/Tk/Tix front-end for mkisofs and cdwrite. See http://www.fh-muenchen.de/home/ze/rz/services/projects/xcdroast/e_overview.html

Users without a supported drive can still write the image to an MS-DOS drive, and then use a program like Jeff Arnold's FILE2CD to write the image.

Subject: [6-1-11] Asimware Innovations - MasterISO

Your basic CD-R mastering package for the Amiga.

Subject: [6-1-12] Newtech Infosystems, Inc. (NTI) - CD-Maker and CD-Copy

CD creation and duplication software. Reportedly works very well on otherwise difficult discs.

They also make "CDR Explorer", free CD-R creation software that works like Win95 Explorer. It's available at their web site.

Subject: [6-1-13] Cirrus Technology - CDMaker

Drag-and-drop CD creation, written specifically for OS/2. Allows creation of CDs with an HPFS (OS/2) filesystem.

Subject: [6-1-14] Hohner Midia - Red Roaster

Windows-based CD-R software that has some nice features for creating audio discs, including the ability to edit the P-Q subcode data.

The "rrdemo.zip" on the web site is actually a demo of Samplitude Master from SEK�D Software. Samplitude Master is a fancy audio editing program that - among other things - allows you to create ISO images suitable for writing to a CD-R, but the demo package doesn't include software to do the actual writing.

Subject: [6-1-15] Dataware Technologies - CD Author

CD creation software aimed at the corporate user. Comes with libraries for creating custom applications.

Subject: [6-1-16] CreamWare - Triple DAT

A hardware and software combo for professional-quality sound editing, this now includes an audio CD creation tool.

Subject: [6-1-17] MicroTech - MasterMaker

Pre-mastering software that supports the RockRidge extensions. The free demo creates ISO-9660 disc images.

Subject: [6-1-18] Angela Schmidt & Patrick Ohly - MakeCD

CD-R creation software that supports AmiCDFS (which preserves the Amiga protection bits and file comments).

AmiCDFS is available from http://ftp.uni-paderborn.de/aminet/dirs/disk_cdrom.html; look for amicdfs*.lha, where '*' is a version number.

Subject: [6-1-19] Optical Media International - Audiotracer

Software intended to facilitate the creation of audio CDs compiled from other audio CDs.

Subject: [6-1-20] J�rg Schilling - CD Record

A collection of freeware software and drivers for burning CDs under UNIX.

Subject: [6-1-21] Prassi Software - CD Rep

CD mastering bundled with SCSI Rep, which allows you to write to more than one SCSI CD-R at once. See also section (3-17).

Subject: [6-1-22] Nero Software - SubIgnition

Full-featured audio CD creation.

Subject: [6-1-23] Dieter Baron and Armin Obersteiner - CD Tools

Free CD writing tools, with source code.

Subject: [6-2] What other useful software is there?

Subject: [6-2-1] Optical Media International - Disc-to-Disk

Fancy extraction from audio CDs.

Subject: [6-2-2] Gilles Vollant - WinImage

Among other things, this lets you list and extract the contents of an ISO-9660 image.

Subject: [6-2-3] Asimware Innovations - AsimCDFS

Allows the Amiga to read High Sierra, Mac HFS, and ISO-9660 (including Rock Ridge extensions).

Subject: [6-2-4] Steven Grimm - WorkMan

In addition to its primary role as an audio CD player for UNIX workstations, version 1.4 (still in beta) allows SPARC/Solaris2.4+ workstations to extract digital audio into ".au" files.

Subject: [6-2-5] Adaptec - Easy-CD Backup

Backup software designed to store data on CD-Rs. Allows incremental backups via multi-session writes.

This is currently available as part of Easy-CD Pro.

Subject: [6-2-6] Cyberdyne Software - CD Worx

Full-featured extraction and manipulation of audio data from CDs.

Subject: [6-3] What is packet writing software?

There are some problems with packet writing, mostly due to the inability of older CDROM drives to deal with the gaps between packets. CDROM drives can become confused if they read into the gap, a problem complicated by read-ahead optimizations on some models.

There are two basic "philosophies" behind packet writing, fixed-size and variable-size. With fixed-size packets, the CD recorder writes data whenever it has a full packet. All packets in the same track must have the same size. It's relatively easy for a CDROM drive to skip over the inter-packet gaps if it knows where the gaps are ahead of time, but there's a large installed base of CDROM drives that aren't that smart.

With variable-sized packets, the CDROM drive can't tell ahead of time where the gaps are. The problem can be avoided by laying out the filesystem in such a way that the drive never tries to read from the gaps. One approach is to put the entire file into a single packet, but if the size of a file exceeds the size of the CD recorder write buffer, the risk of buffer underruns returns. An alternative is to write the file in several pieces, but the Level 1 ISO-9660 filesystem supported by most operating systems doesn't support this. Replacing the "redirector" (e.g. MSCDEX) with one that supports Level 3 ISO-9660 solves the problem.

Writing to a CD-R with packets will be slower than writing with standard premastering software. Since the expected application for packet writing is "drive letter access" rather than creating an entire CD, this should not be an issue for most people.

Audio CDs can't be written with packets.

Drives based on the Sony 920S/940S/926S, Philips CDD2000/CDD2600, JVC XR-W2010, Ricoh MP-6200, and Yamaha CDR-400 mechanisms are capable of packet recording. Upgrades may be made available for other drives.

A glossy overview of packet writing software can be found here: http://www.onlineinc.com/emedia/EMtocs/emtocmay.html

Details on Adaptec's software, as well as a good overview of the benefits and limitations of packet writing and UDF, can be found at:
http://www.adaptec.com/DirectCD/

A highly technical, if somewhat dated, reference can be found here:
http://www.onlineinc.com/cdrompro/0296CP/02osborn.html

Specifications for the Sony CDR-FS stuff can be found at:
http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/ccpg/support/cdrfs/cdrfshome.html

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Subject: [7] Media

Subject: [7-1] What kinds of media are there?

There are gold/gold, green/gold, and silver/blue CD-Rs.

The silver/blue CD-Rs (metalized azo dye, also based on cynanine, with a silver alloy substrate) are relatively new. They appear to have a very low BLER (BLock Error Rate), come with a scratch-resistant coating, and are reputed to be more resistant to UV radiation, but their lifespan relative to green and gold media has yet to be determined. The process is patented by Verbatim.

Some CDs have an extra coating (e.g. Kodak's "Infoguard") that makes the CD more scratch-resistant, but doesn't affect the way information is stored. The top (label) side of the CD is the part to be most concerned about, since that's where the data lives, and it's easy to damage on a CD-R. Applying a full circular CD label will help prevent damage.

http://www.mitsuigold.com/ has some info on MTC media.

Subject: [7-2] Does the media matter?

1. Does it work with your recorder?
2. Which CD readers can use it?
3. How long does it last before it starts to decay?
4. What's the typical block error rate for the media?

Some audio CD players (like the ones you'd find in a car stereo) have worked successfully with one brand of gold media but not another. Some players fail completely with green, some fail completely with gold, some only work with blue.

Some people have found brand X CD-R units work well with media type Y, while other people with the same unit have had different results. Recording a disc at 4x may make it unreadable on some drives, even though a disc recorded at 2x on the same drive works fine.

To top it all off, someone observed that discs burned with one brand of CD-R weren't readable in cheap CDROM drives, even though the same kind of media burned in a different device worked fine.

A number of specific discoveries have been posted to Usenet, but none of them are conclusive. Many people have reported that Kenwood CD players don't deal with CD-Rs very well, while Alpine units play nearly everything.

Some users have found that the *quality* of audio recordings can vary depending on the media. Whatever the case, if you find that CD-Rs don't sound as good as the originals, it's worthwhile to try a different kind of media or a different player. See section (4-18) for other ideas.

Subject: [7-3] Who manufactures CD-R media?

Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals (MTC) made the first "gold" CDs. They are now manufactured by Kodak and possibly others as well.

Verbatim made the first "blue" CDs. They are the only manufacturer.

Most CD-R brands (e.g. Yamaha and Sony) are OEMed from one of the above manufacturers. Attempting to keep track of who makes what is a difficult proposition at best, since new manufacturing plants are being built, and resellers can switch vendors.

Subject: [7-4] Which kind should I use?

Gold media has a longer lifespan and may work better in higher speed recording. Mitsui's gold/gold discs are recommended by some vendors, and in some informal and unscientific tests were more compatible with car CD players than Kodak gold or TDK green discs.

Trying samples of blanks is strongly recommended before you make a major purchase. Remember to try them in your reader as well as your writer; they may not be so useful if you can't read them in your normal CDROM drive.

Maxell discs have been slammed repeatedly on the newsgroups, and are probably best avoided. A survey can be found at http://www.tcp.co.uk/~blades/cdr/.

See also Is There a CD-R Media Problem? by Katherine Cochrane originally published in the Feb '96 issue of CD-ROM Professional magazine.

Subject: [7-5] How long do CD-Rs last?

Exposing the disc to excessive heat, humidity, or to direct sunlight will greatly reduce the lifetime. In general, CD-Rs are far less tolerant of environmental conditions than pressed CDs, and should be treated with greater care.

One user was told by Blaupunkt that CD-R discs shouldn't be left in car CD players, because if it gets too hot in the car the CD-R will emit a gas that can blind the laser optics. However, CD-Rs are constructed much the same way and with mostly the same materials as pressed CDs, and the temperatures required to cause such an emission from the materials that are exposed would melt much of the car's interior. The dye layer is sealed into the disc, and should not present any danger to drive optics even if overheated. However, leaving a CD-R in a hot car isn't good for for the disc, and will probably shorten its effective life.

See also http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Technology/CD-R/Media/Longevity.html.

Subject: [7-6] How much data can they hold?

CD-Rs may advertise that they hold 650MB, 680MB, or even 700MB of data, even though they all claim to hold 74 minutes of audio. The reality is that they're all almost exactly the same size, and you're not going to get more data onto a 74-minute disc by buying a different brand.

Folks interested in "doing the math" should note that only 2048 of each 2352-byte sector is used for data on typical (Mode 1) discs. The rest is used for error correction and other misc fields. This is why you can only put 650MB of data on a disc that will hold 740MB of audio.

It should also be noted that hard drive manufacturers don't measure megabytes in the same way that CD-R and RAM manufacturers do. The "MB" for CD-Rs and RAM means 1024x1024, but for hard drives it means 1000x1000. Keep this in mind when purchasing a hard drive that needs to hold an entire CD. A data CD holds about 682 "disk" MB of data.

Some programs, such as Easy-CD Pro '95, will tell you the exact number of 2K blocks available on the CD. (With Easy-CD, put a blank disc in the CD-R and go to the "Disc Info / Tools" menu item.) One user reported that BASF "gold" showed 333376 sectors (651.8MB), while Mitsubishi "blue" had 335250 (654.7MB), so there's some variation possible.

The PCA (Program Calibration Area), PMA (Program Memory Area), TOC (Table of Contents), leadin, and leadout areas don't count against the 74-minute rating on single-session CDs. You really do get all the storage that the disc is rated for. Bear in mind, however, that the "cluster" size is 2K, and that the ISO-9660 filesystem may use more or less space than an MS-DOS FAT or HFS filesystem, so 650MB of files on a hard disk may occupy a different amount of space on a CD.

On a multisession disc, you lose about 23MB of space when the first session is closed, and about 14MB for each subsequent session. A common mistake when writing multisession CDs is to overestimate the amount of space that will be available for future sessions, so be sure to take this into account.

Factory-recorded CDs hold up to 74 minutes of data (but see section (3-8)).

Subject: [7-7] Is it okay to stick a label on the disc?

Specific information can sometimes be found on the back of the jewel case that the discs come in. The TDK CDR-74 discs have the following warning:

        [...]
        2. Do not attach labels or protective sheets, or apply any coating
        fluids to the disc.
        3. When writing titles and other information on the label (gold)
        side of the disc, these should be written in the printed area using
        an oil-based felt-tipped pen.
        [...]

Other brands say "use a permanent felt-tipped pen" or words to the effect that the ink shouldn't smudge. Most important part is to use a felt tip pen and not a ball-point, because the top layer is somewhat delicate. Several people have reported good luck with Sanford "Sharpie" pens, but make sure you don't etch the surface accidentally if you have an "Ultra Fine" pen.

Dixon Ticonderoga sells a water-based felt tip marker called "Redi Sharp Plus" that is both permanent and smear-proof. It's widely recommended.

So long as you keep all of the above in mind, it's okay to write directly on the top surface of the CD, label or no. If the prospect makes you nervous, just write in the clear plastic area near the hub instead.

Only use labels made specifically for recordable CDs. Attempting to remove the label once attached is probably a bad idea. ProSource Sales & Marketing, Inc. (http://www.inter-look.com/prosource/) sells labels and an applicator that are reputed to work well. See also http://www.neato.com/ for information on the NEATO CD-Label kit (complete with animated illustrations).

Subject: [7-8] What are audio CD-Rs?

The difference in price is due to licensing agreements and volume. The manufacturer pays a royalty to a studio consortium under the assumption that everything recorded to an audio CD-R is pirated material. The technology is identical; the "audio" discs just have a mark that says a royalty has been paid.

A less expensive solution for audio recording is to get a good audio digitizer, record onto a hard drive, and then write the recorded data onto a CD as digital audio data. See sections (3-12) and (3-13).

Subject: [7-9] How do CD-Rs behave when microwaved?

The basic process is, take a disc that you don't want anymore, and put it shiny-side-up on something like a mug of water so it's nowhere near the top, bottom, or sides of the microwave. (Actually, you may want to leave it right-side-up if the disc doesn't have a label, because the foil is closest to the top of the CD). Turn off the lights. Program the microwave for a 3-second burst, and watch the fireworks.

Performing this operation on replicated CDs results in blue sparks that dance along the CD, leaving fractal-ish patterns etched into the reflective aluminum. For those of you not with the program, this also renders the CD unreadable.

Trying this with a green/gold CD-R gives you a similar light show, but the destruction patterns are different. While pressed CDs don't show much of a pattern, the TDK green CD-R I'm looking at (stupid Incat error handling) shows some definite circular patterns.

On a different note, CD-Rs seem to smell worse, or at least they start to smell earlier, than replicated CDs. The materials used are non-toxic, but breathing the fumes is something best avoided.

Subject: [7-10] What can I do with CD-R discs that failed during writing?

However, that doesn't mean it's useless. Here are a few ideas:

• Fill in the center hole to avoid leaks, and use them as drink coasters.
• Create a hanging ornament or wind chime. The latter isn't all that interesting - they just sort of "clack" a little.
• Use them as mini-frisbees in an office with cubes. Since they're rather solid and may hurt when they hit, you should await a formal declaration of intra-office war before opening up with these.
• Have CD bowling tournaments where you see how far you can roll one down a narrow hallway. You'd be surprised at how hard it can be unless you get the wrist motion just right.
• Put them under a table or chair whose legs don't quite sit right.
• Run them through one of those industrial-strength paper shredders (the kind with the rapidly spinning wheels) to get shiny green or gold confetti.
• Make really, really big earrings.
• Try to convince people at the beach that it's a shell from a new species of abalone.
• Hook them into your bicycle spokes as reflectors.
• Use them as wheels on a toy car. (If you had buggy firmware, you're probably stocked for a toy 18-wheeler.)
• Build a suit of "CD-R chain mail" for laser-tag games.
• Use them as art-deco floor or ceiling tiles.
• Hang them from the rear view mirror in your car.
• Cut it into a jigsaw puzzle with a small wire saw.
• Try out the "helpful CD repair" suggestions that periodically crop on the newsgroup. Like the ones that suggest using acetone and sandpaper to refinish a scratched CD-R.

In one carefully controlled experiment it was determined that CD-Rs behave differently from pressed CDs when you slam them edge-on against the ground. The aluminum ones will chip (once you throw them hard enough, otherwise they just bounce) and create silver confetti. The gold one I tried chipped and the gold layer started peeling, leaving little gold flakes everywhere. One user reported that a Verbatim blue CD developed bubbles even though the plastic was intact. More experimentation is needed (but not around pets, small children, or hard-to-vacuum carpets).

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Subject: [8] Net Resources and vendor info

The CD-Info bibliography at http://www.cd-info.com/CDIC/Bibliography.html is updated more frequently and will probably be more accurate than this section. It also has pointers to books, magazines, relevant areas on commercial online services, and other good stuff.

Subject: [8-1] Information resources

• http://www.cd-info.com
  Information about CDs and CD-Rs, especially technology and industry stuff.

  http://www.osta.com/

  Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA); see the CD-R Q&A doc.

  http://resource.simplenet.com/

  Mike Richter's collection of files and URLs related to CD-R.

  http://www.adaptec.com/cdrec/

  Useful information on CD-R.

  http://www.westnet.com/~gsmith/cdrecord.htm

  Some practical advice and experiences with CD-R, including a lengthy discussion on transferring audio recordings from other sources.

  http://www.discmfg.com/techlib/index.html

  Disc Manufacuturing, Inc.'s technical library.

  http://www.cdarchive.com/

  Lots of information on CDs and CD-Rs.

  ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/cdrom/faq

  Information and FAQs from the alt.cd-rom group.

  http://www.araltd.com/whatscdr.html

  Product information plus some nifty graphics.

  http://www.hsv.tis.net/disc/

  Technical info.

  http://emf.net/~mal/cdplus.html

  Info on CD Plus (a/k/a CD Extra).

  http://www.tc.umn.edu/nlhome/g496/eric0139/Papers/paper.html

  Highly technical paper on CDs.

  http://www.compulink.co.uk/~xi/hp4020i.htm

  Site dedicated to the HP4020i.

  http://www.epool.com/mtc/mtc_02.html

  Information about CD-R in general and MTC media in particular.

  http://www.octave.com/ricoh/handbook.html

  Ricoh's CD Recordable Handbook in HTML form.

  http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~psyche/pc/cdrom/CDDA.html

  Information and links to software for digital audio extraction.

  http://music.digidesign.com/html/faqs/faqmlcd.html

  FAQ for MasterList CD. Has some interesting notes.

Subject: [8-2] Magazines and other publications

• http://www.onlineinc.com/emedia/index.html
  Home of EMedia Professional, formerly CDROM Professional. Some articles are available online.

  http://www.kipinet.com/

  Several publications which may be of interest.

  http://www.datadisc.com/Handbook.html

  Info on CD-ROM Professional's CD-Recordable Handbook

  http://www.cd-webstore.com/

  Home of two online trade publications, "Burning Issues" and "Pressing On".

Subject: [8-3] Net.vendors

• http://www.uvision.com/
  Internet bargain hunter.

  http://www.pricewatch.com/

  Street price search engine.

  http://www.ecsd.com/~rhhedgz1/cdr.html

  List of hardware and software vendors, with some prices.

  http://www.cdrom.com/pub/simtelnet/msdos/cdrom/

  Free or shareware utilities.

  http://www.com/mediasource/

  Hardware and media.

  http://www.cdarchive.com/

  Hardware and software.

  http://www.cddimensions.com/

  Media and some high-end hardware like networked CD-R jukeboxes.

  http://www.NCAcomputers.com/

  NCA's online catalog.

  http://www.compusa.com/

  CompUSA's online catalog. Hardware and media.

  http://www.oneoffcd.com/

  One-off CDs and CD reproduction; also hardware, software, and media.

  http://www.datares.com/creativet/

  Media and hardware.

  http://www.araltd.com/

  Media and hardware.

  http://www.inter-look.com/prosource/

  Media, hardware, and oft-recommended CD labels.

  http://sweb.srmc.com/andys/index.html

  Hardware and software.

  http://www.microtech.com/

  CD-R duplication hardware and services.

  http://www.cdrmicro.com/

  Media and hardware.

  http://www.hk.linkage.net/~metro

  Hardware, software, and media.

  http://www.octave.com/

  Hardware and software.

  http://www.pasystems.be/

  Hardware and media.

  http://www.mediasupply.com/

  Media.

  http://www.computability.com/

  Hardware.

  http://www.globalcomputersupply.com/

  Media.

  http://www.cdw.com/

  Hardware and media.

  http://www.pcconnection.com/

  Hardware and media.

  http://www.cmpexpress.com/

  Hardware and media.

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Subject: [9] Contributors

Please note that the author is NOT a CD-R expert, so sending him mail won't get you very far. Please *post* questions to comp.publish.cdrom.*.

This FAQ was assembled by:

• Andy McFadden
  fadden@netcom.com

With a great deal of help from:

• Katherine Cochrane
  katherine@cd-info.com

  Hal Rottenberg

  hal.rottenberg@mci.com

  Georges Brown

  Georges@cdarchive.com

And information and suggestions -- mostly in the form of posts to comp.publish.cdrom.* -- from:

• Pierre-Yves Andri
  PierreYves.Andri@ping.be

  Jeff Arnold

  jarnold@mainstream.net

  Jeff Aspinall

  aspinall@umich.edu

  Dave Bayer

  bayer@bway.net

  Blaine

  blam1@aol.com

  Jim Blietz

  entexse@interaccess.com

  Peter 'Pedro' Blum

  peter@microtech.com

  Patrick Boen

  patrick.boen@tip.nl

  Eric Jan van den Bogaard

  bogaard@euronet.nl

  Axel Booltink

  ab@comex-sales.com

  David Bouw

  bouw@dds.nl

  Scott Bracken

  scott@oneoffcd.com

  Simon Brownlee

  simon.brownlee@jrc.it

  Craig Burgess

  craigb@microstar-usa.com

  Mark Carde

  mcarde@nntpq30.bnr.ca

  Brian D. Chambers

  bucknife@electriciti.com

  Andrew Chiang

  andrewc@seas.ucla.edu

  Dave Chung

  dtchung@vms6.sci.csupomona.edu

  Kevin Clark

  clark@crl.com

  Christophe CLERC-RENAUD

  clerc@ntt.fr

  Jef Collin

  Jef.Collin@tornado.be

  Gary Crosby

  gacrosby@mail.socomm.net

  datta

  datta@archive.uwp.edu

  Peter DiCamillo

  peter@stanley.cis.Brown.EDU/a>

  Steven M. Dietz

  steve@burp.hboc.com

  Mike Dijkema

  m.dijkema@bureau.rug.nl

  Kurt Dommermuth

  kurtz@lanminds.com

  Russell Duffy

  rad@gulf.net

  Mark J. Dulcey

  mark@ziplink.net

  Lunatic E'Sex

  Luny@apple.com

  Jonathan Edelson

  winnie@teleport.com

  Steve Enzer

  enzer@mpi.com

  Grant Erickson

  eric0139@itlabs.umn.edu

  Martin Evans

  MARTIN@paladio.demon.co.uk

  Voytek Eymont

  voytek@ibm.net

  Tung Siu Fai

  sftung@metro.com.hk

  Frank Feder

  fwfeder@deltanet.com

  Helen Feng

  wanderer@li.net

  Joel Finkle

  jjfink@skcla.monsanto.com

  Emile Gardette

  egardett@freenet3.scri.fsu.edu

  E. Goldberg

  earl@sky.net

  Colin Gordon

  gordonc@oldpeter.agw.bt.co.uk

  Jac Goudsmit

  jacg@xs1.xs4all.nl

  Gary E. Grant

  ggrant@crl.com

  grasser

  grasser@srmc.com

  Patrick Green

  patrick@bbs.fornext.com

  Richard Green

  srcemag@gate.net

  Dave Grimes

  dgrimes@cts.com

  Ron Gustavson

  rongus@tiac.net

  Steven Duntley Halpape

  UserNAme@ix.netcom.com

  Russ Harper

  topquark@niia.net

  Matt Hartley

  hartlw@rpi.edu

  Robert Hedges

  rhhedgz1@ulkyvm.louisville.edu

  Herman Hillebrand

  hermanh@bio.vu.nl

  Steve Holzworth

  sch@unx.sas.com

  Vincent van't Hoog

  hoog@zeelandnet.nl

  Malcolm Humes

  mal@emf.net

  Andrea Invernizzi

  ainvernizzi@tinet.ch

  Curt Johnson

  cjohnson@dbtech.net

  Arnold Jones

  arnold@mdi.com

  Tapio Keihanen

  dio@snakemail.hut.fi

  Roger A. Kendall

  kendall@ucla.edu

  Jerry Kohoutek

  jerryk@rmii.com

  Alexander S. Kosiorek

  alex_audio@interramp.com

  Bernard Lang

  lang@calva.inria.fr

  Greg Legowski

  gregleg@telerama.lm.com

  Lemarcha

  lemarcha@plg.u-nancy.fr

  Barry Libenson

  barryl@visix.com

  Wee-Keong LIM

  keong@deepdene.ecr.mu.oz.au

  Linda

  linda@htp.net

  George Lindholm

  lindholm@ucs.ubc.ca

  Mike Linhart

  mlinhart@rsl.ukans.edu

  Torbj�rn Lindgren

  tl@funcom.com

  Chris HP Lovecraft

  tmservo@ksu.ksu.edu

  nelson luc

  nelson_luc@isd.toshiba.com.au

  Jean-Paul Maas

  jmaa@ictlux.com

  Bob Martin

  rtm@netgate.net

  John Marvin

  jsm@fc.hp.com

  Jean-Francois Masse

  jfmasse@teaser.fr

  Anthony McCarthy

  anthony@xi.compulink.co.uk

  Doug McFadyen

  dmcfadye@kea.bc.ca

  Michel Milano

  mmilano@tiac.net

  Gene Miller

  gmiller@vnet.ibm.com

  Mikrichter

  mikrichter@interramp.com

  Hans Mons

  Hans.Mons@iaehv.nl

  Ken Moss

  kmoss@surfnthe.net

  F.Mouta

  fernando.mouta@mail.telepac.pt

  John Navas

  JNavas@NavasGrp.Dublin.CA.US

  Niderost, B.U.

  niderost@fys.ruu.nl

  Lou Nigro

  buster@hiheels.com

  Jon nobody

  nobody@nowhere.net

  David Oseas

  davido@aimla.com

  Dana Parker

  danapark@ix.netcom.com

  Jeff Pearson

  lumpofcoal@aol.com

  Matthias Petofalvi

  mpetofal@vub.ac.be

  Jason Petrait

  petrait@u.washington.edu

  Jaap v.d. Pol

  jaap.van.de.pol@tip.nl

  Kevin Purdy

  kpurdy@voicenet.com

  Frank Racis

  racis@voicenet.com

  Paul Reeves

  reeves@guy.asimware.com

  Phillip A. Remaker

  remaker@cisco.com

  Mike Richter

  mrichter@mindspring.com

  Jim Riggs

  jriggs@verbatimcorp.com

  Danny Roos

  mayday@dataweb.nl

  Tonko de Rooy

  tderooy@raleigh.ibm.com

  Paul Rubin

  phr@netcom.com

  Michael Rubin

  mickster@li.net

  Torsten Sander

  ints@sun.rz.tu-clausthal.de

  Nick Sayer

  nsayer@quack.kfu.com

  Angela Schmidt

  Angela.Schmidt@stud.uni-karlsruhe.de

  Bertel Schmitt

  bschmitt@panix.com

  Barbara Severance

  digihorse@earthlink.net

  Shawn

  shawnl@jax.jaxnet.com

  Brett Sherris

  bsherris@li.net

  Aron Siegel

  vinylm@hotmail.com

  J. Robert Sims, III

  robsims@depeche.lvld.hp.com

  Bart Smith

  BartSmith@msn.com

  Eric Smith

  eric@brouhaha.com

  Greg Smith

  gsmith@westnet.com

  Tim Smith

  tzs@coho.halcyon.com

  Deirdre' Straughan

  74431.2004@CompuServe.COM

  Gregg Strawbridge

  audubon@felix.teclink.net

  Ron Stuurman

  rons@bart.nl

  Paula Terrell

  paula@cdr1.com

  tethys

  tethys@ml.com

  Gregory Theulings

  marcomlo.pkm@nl.cis.philips.com

  Kevin Patrick Thibedeau

  thibedek@wpi.edu

  Martin Trautmann

  traut@th-darmstadt.de

  tRIs

  sis5264@sis.port.ac.uk

  Tung Cheng Tsai

  thlx@mail.ncku.edu.tw

  Louis Tumbao

  tumbao@usa.pipeline.com

  Rich Unger

  rbu1@cec.wustl.edu

  S Valdez

  svaldez@icogsci1.ucsd.edu

  Chris Valentine

  c.p.valentine@open.ac.uk

  Vo, Charles H.

  st3wr@rosie.uh.edu

  Greg Volk

  gvolk@umr.edu

  Gilles Vollant

  100144.2636@compuserve.com

  Jon Wadelton

  eden@c031.aone.net.au

  Mark Warbington

  markoni@mindspring.com

  Gerald E. Weber

  geweber@hiwaay.net

  Jerome H. Whelan

  whelanj@oasys.dt.navy.mil

  Royce White

  cd001456@interramp.com

  Roy Worthington

  royw@octave.com

  Joachim Worringen

  zdv181@zam176.zam.KFA-Juelich.de

  Oliver Zechlin

  oliver.zechlin@erl9.siemens.de

  Zohar Ziv

  zziv@actcom.co.il

  OSTA CD-R Q&A

  http://www.osta.org/

My humble apologies to anyone I've omitted. ++ATM 970413

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