So what IS the deal with CD-RW?

GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
edited September 2006 in Hardware
Ever since CD-RWs came out, I've had nothing but problems. I originally assumed it was because I was using bad media, bad software, or bad drives, but over the years I've experienced the same problem with all kinds of combinations of media/software/drives.

The problem that's always plagued me is that some data CD-RWs written in one computer can't seem to be read by another. Just this morning I used the Windows XP burn engine (fresh install, it's all I had) to wipe a CD-RW and burn one file to it. I take it to another computer, and after trying for about a minute, it says Windows can't read the disc. What gives? Are some CD writers just doomed to write CDs that are unintelligible to other drives?

Comments

  • GrayFoxGrayFox /dev/urandom Member
    edited September 2006
    Welcome to the world of CD-RW's.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Does it really matter? CD-R media is only about 25 cents a piece when purchased in 50 or 100-pack. Why even bother with ~RW?
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited September 2006
    I gave up on them since cheap CD-Rs dropped under $0.25 each.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Never used CD-RW myself... well maybe once while at school, don't recall any problems... I would buy 100packs for $4 at Microcenter that worked just fine, but didn't last much longer than a year :P
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    Does it really matter? CD-R media is only about 25 cents a piece when purchased in 50 or 100-pack. Why even bother with ~RW?
    Because if CD-RWs worked liked they were supposed to, the 5-pack of high-speed discs I just bought would probably cover all my CD-burning needs for a long time. I don't archive things on CDs anymore (since they last a few years, if you're lucky), so almost everything I burn is temporary in nature.

    My car cd-player plays CD Audio off RW's, so it's nice to be able to burn some tracks, wipe the cd, and burn on some new ones. I don't have any problem doing that, but burning data and reading it in another comptuer? No luck there.

    Luckily, USB memory sticks are cheap these days. Unfortunately, the only one I have is a 256mb one that I was issued at work. Once I get a bigger one, I suppose I can let most of my CD-RW issues fade into distant, unpleasant memories.
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    my yearbook teacher is gonna buy some, and I told her that wasnt a good idea, but she never listens to me. So im gonna let her buy them.
  • zero-counterzero-counter Linux Lubber San Antonio Member
    edited September 2006
    Gargoyle wrote:
    Ever since CD-RWs came out, I've had nothing but problems. I originally assumed it was because I was using bad media, bad software, or bad drives, but over the years I've experienced the same problem with all kinds of combinations of media/software/drives.

    The problem that's always plagued me is that some data CD-RWs written in one computer can't seem to be read by another. Just this morning I used the Windows XP burn engine (fresh install, it's all I had) to wipe a CD-RW and burn one file to it. I take it to another computer, and after trying for about a minute, it says Windows can't read the disc. What gives? Are some CD writers just doomed to write CDs that are unintelligible to other drives?
    Multiread is the key word here for reading across various disks and drives. To ensure compatability, use a packet writing program (UDF). :)
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    I've never had an issue with any of my CD-RWs being used on other machines. Are you sure you closed the disc? If you didn't then it will only work on other CD-RW drives, not basic CD drives.
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