Back to Dye Printing Tricks & Tips
Tell me about it! How come I got this new fancy dancy G4 with a CD burner and I burn a CD only to have it not work? Or how about all those CDs I get from clients "that work fine on their computer" but won't even be recognized as CDs once they get here?
Why? Why? Why?!
I spent several hours fighting with search engines to find out why CDs will burn, show up on screen, then refuse to work on another computer. Apple.com was as useful as a ham sandwich on Passover. Finally I got some info from a link of a link of a link that had several different sites full of comments. There are many reasons why I can get a CD from Client A and have it not even boot up on the G4, or the old G4, nor the older G3, but it will show up on the ancient PowerPC.
Experts agree that the brand you use makes a difference--but here's the kicker--the price tag could mean nothing to your burner. Just because you pay $1 each doesn't mean you will succeed. In fact, I get really cheap ones from Office Depot and they work great, but the mid- to high-range ones don't always work. One website noted that the author could get a pack of Brand X one week and a new batch the next week would not work. So we need to set up a network of blank CD swaps!! So you're stuck--to find out if a brand is good you have to buy one. But if you buy just one it'll work great. When you go back and buy the cheaper by bulk 50-CD can of the same brand--they won't work.
There are some things you can watch for when burning CDs:
Cheap CD-ROM readers don't necessarily work well with quality CDs.
Make sure you have enough RAM to do a proper burn (if the data isn't being "fed" fast enough you get this thing called "Buffer Underrun" and the CD is not getting all those little ones and zeros in the right order at the right time, leading to errors.) Allocate as much memory as you can to your burning application.
This is rather time consuming, but you can run Norton Speed Disk first to put all your files in an easy to read, easy to find track on your hard drive, then as the burner accesses the data "stream" it doesn't have to go looking for the beginning, middle and end of your file. If you don't have Norton, use whatever "defrag" application you have.
Some burners would rather do a bunch of small files one at a time, than all at once--"bursty" effect that leads to errors in reading and copying too much data at once. (Sounds like voodoo to me...)
If you have the option, try burning at a slower speed. It may take longer, but the quality could be more accurate. Remember these CDs will last for years, so go ahead and spend the extra few minutes creating them.
Reboot the whole system after each new burn. I know this sounds LONG and BORING but it can help.
Don't do anything else while burning your CDs. Let the computer concentrate on your precious archive and not have to run iTunes, Jedi Starfighter, or open your email to keep you entertained too. In fact you might want to quit out of every other application first, before running your burner.
Partition your drive for your files to be burned. (If all else fails.)
CDs are promised to last 75 to 200 years depending on the manufacturer's claims. But that doesn't mean the crew of the Enterprise will be able to see your letter to them if you don't take care of the delicate media. They do need some care.
First--use some anti-virus software regularly to keep from saving a virus to your CDs.
If you scratch the plastic you may make a sector unreadable (the plastic doesn't hold the data, it protects it--but if the scratch causes the laser to refract the wrong way, the data can't be read). If you do have a shallow scratch that is causing a problem GENTLY try to buff it out with white toothpaste or furniture polish. Just put a bit on a soft, lint free cloth then use a radial stroke (round and round motion). Get all of the polish off with a clean cloth. Did I mention you have to do this gently?
If that doesn't work, SOME people say a few molecules of car polish can be gently buffed into the scratch. I don't like the idea so don't quote me--this is only if you have an emergency situation. There are also commercially available "disk washing" solutions. Then get the files off the CD as fast as possible and consider the scratched CD DEAD! Get rid of it. The polish, wash or toothpaste will eventually fall out and down into your CD drive. You don't want to wreck your CD drive with a gunked up CD. Consider how long it will take to recreate or retrieve a file versus the cost of replacing your CD drive.Don't let heat get to them! They can melt, buckle, or warp.
A hard drop on the edge can crack the plastic. That can lead to all kinds of problems like the metal media getting contaminated, warped or buckled. Don't try gluing a shattered CD back together.
Avoid static situations when handling CDs. When in doubt, touch a metal leg of a chair or table with one hand, then pick up the CD with the other. This will ground your electro-static tendencies as a carbon-based unit.
Keep your CDs clean. Those jewel cases and paper sleeves do have a purpose. If you grind dust and dirt into the plastic you will scratch them.
Writing on CDs with ball point pens CAN damage the data pits in the metallic media--use soft fine tip felt markers (avoid those with the metal casings right at the end that can scratch). "Sharpie" brands are good from Sandford.
Commercial firms do recover lost data. You may not like the price. They can have a high success rate, but it might be cheaper to recreate, re-scan, or leave the country.
My first gut reaction is to destroy them, but if you are more civilized you can:
Use a little dab of model glue or Super glue to affix a one inch in diameter piece of plastic to the center of said dead CD; Coffee Cup Coaster!
Very hip but annoying pinky rings.
Hang them from your rear view mirrors to deflect radar gun radiation. It makes your car invisible to the police; just exactly like the Romulan cloaking device in the TV show Star Trek (are you catching onto my tongue in cheek delivery here?).
String them up in your vegetable garden. The highly reflective nature of the silver side attracts and repels birds.
Make a "fabulous" rainbow-reflecting mobile with string and coat hangers.
At your next campfire heat them over the flames (don't use your fingers!!), pull them away from the fire, then let them drip and sag. Call the fire department first, so when your goofus cousin manages to drip hot plastic and aluminum on his thigh and runs screaming into the coals, help can already be on the way.
Use them as "practice CDs" for applying those new Avery custom labels. Centering them is the trickiest part.
If you just have to make silver confetti USE EYE PROTECTION. You never know just when the plastic will finally give as you fold a CD in half. You don't want aluminum in your eyes (or your dog's eyes, or in the new carpet).
After-hours office hallway bowling. Go for distance, you aren't allowed to hit the wall, it's harder than it looks.
Stack them neatly in a really tall CD tower and label them "Interview with the President" "JPEGs from European Vacations 1998-2000" "Star Wars Episode III Outtakes" "Harvard Law School Notes" and "Complete Hebrew Translation of Septuagint by S. Custer, verbatim." Impress your friends and clients by waving them off as "oh, those?"