Cannot Make Appendable Discs With Creator Classic

[ColdBurn]

Hi. I'm a longtime user of the Easy CD / Media Creator suite since v3. I'm having a problem with my new Sony DRU-810A (rebranded BenQ DW1640) DVD/CD writer. I've tried the most recent 1.0d firmware available from the Sony Storage support site, and even cross-flashed to the latest BenQ firmware vBSNB, given Sony's apparent foot-dragging in releasing better firmware, but I still cannot create an appendable DVD-R in either the latest version 7.1.1.189 or 8.05 of Creator Classic when using this drive. After the disc is ejected, the disc is not even _readable_ in the same Sony DRU-810A drive, so importing a previous session is a mute point. The disc can be read fine in a Pioneer reader drive installed in the same computer, so it's not like the disc creation was a complete failure. I'm using Sony name-brand 8x DVD-R media at 8x and FujiFilm 16x DVD-R's at 16x, but to no avail. If I try to proceed anyway with a previously recorded disc in Creator Classic, the disc is ejected and a prompt appears requesting that a blank disc be inserted, which of course is beyond annoying since I'm trying to append to an existing data disc. The problem seems that as soon as the disc is ejected following a successful first burn in Creator Classic, the drive marks the disc as no longer appendable, and additionally it is also no longer readable either by the burner drive. Bizarre!!!

 

Interestingly, the simple Sonic part of the EMC8 Home Data Disc menu does seem to work, allowing one to create an appendable DVD-R that can be reloaded in the same Sony DRU-810A drive and have previous sessions imported automatically. Unlike discs created in Creator Classic, discs created in the Sonic Data Disc window can also be read in the writer drive in Windows Explorer. So, this seems to indicate that the hardware is working properly but the Creator Classic software v7 and v8, for whatever reason, is not fully compatible with this Sony drive, which is heavily advertised and sold around here. I've been using the Creator app for many years, so this is very disappointing.

 

I have a Sony DRU-710A drive in another computer with EMC7, and I don't seem to have the same appendable problem as with the Sony DRU-810A drive with EMC7 or EMC8, using the same media. So, perhaps the question is whether or not roxio/Sonic will be updating the EMC8 Creator Classic software to work correctly with this drive model.

 

As I searched this forum, I saw only the past few weeks' worth of Q&A. How do we go back several months to review solutions posted back then? I know this used to be possible, but I don't understand the shocking default brevity of the current forum message retention policy.

 

If this appendable issue has been covered before here, if someone could just briefly restate it for the present time, I would be grateful.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Sanford

 

 

Windows XP Pro SP2

Intel D875PBZ

Intel P4 2.8 Ghz

2GB RAM

nVidia GeForce 5900XT

PC-Cillin Internet Security 2005

[twinsandy]

What I meant is that having written about 3.6 Gb in the first session, there was plenty of space in the DVD for the additional files (about 100 Mb) I wanted to append... but not if the software calculated the whole project again.

[twinsandy]

I am new to this forum but they do appear to diverge from their original title without resolving the issue...

 

I am willing to accept that I missed the point (I am not a software engineer either) but...

 

I created a DVD with Creator Classic (about 3.6 Gb).

 

It says it is appendable. First session is closed.

 

I could import the session (at least that wasn't greyed out!) I then added a few files to the bottom window to exisitng directories (plenty of space remaining) but it says that it cannot burn because it needs more space (the original session again!! plus the new one) what is going on? Doesn't it know that the files on the oroginal session need no be-rewritten or have I done something stupid?

[ejm999]

Just thought I would let you know that it is a registry problem. Haven't found the solution yet.

 

ejm999

[ggrussell]

Launch Creator Classic

Create a data project

Burn

 

Creator Classic defaults to appendable. When you want to add more:

 

Launch Creator Classic

Insert the appendable disc and you should be prompted if you want to import the previous session.

Add more files to the project and burn

 

This disc will STILL be appendable until it's full. This works on both my machines with all the burners listed in my signature. The ONLY way a disc is not appendable would be is if you checked READ ONLY. That closes the disc.

 

Sonic will be updating the EMC8 Creator Classic software to work correctly with this drive model.

Version 7 & 8 no longer keep a database of drives. There's simply too many. Instead, EMC 7 & 8 completely rely on the burner to recognize the media that has been inserted. It in turn passes that info on to EMC. If your Sony drive does not recognize the media, then neither will EMC. The only suggestion I have would be to purchase different media that the drive does properly recognize. Check Sony's website to see what media they recommend or have tested with that drive.

[ColdBurn]

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

 

When I insert what should have been an appendable disc from an immediately previous burn attempt in Creator Classic, there is NO prompt to import the previous session, and the disc is not even readable in the Sony DRU-810A burner. However, the disc can be read fine in a Pioneer reader. We're talking about a Sony branded DVD-R, mind you.

 

As for making sure that the READ ONLY check box isn't checked, it certainly isn't, which makes this so very frustrating. The scenario you described is indeed the way that this should all work if it did, which it doesn't with this drive. It is worth noting that the disc actually APPEARS appendable and can have its session imported BEFORE the disc is ejected, at which point it turns into a coaster as far as the burner is concerned. Why this is, I surely don't know, but it's not terribly practical. In addition, the drive still ejects the supposedly appendable disc once it sees any data on it, requesting a blank disc instead. Reinserting the same disc is thoroughly useless as it can't be read by the burner again anyway. So, Creator Classic thus is only good for making Read Only discs with this drive model.

 

The Sony support website has a spartan list of compatible media, with only a couple of realistic purchase options for the average consumer. I will buy some Verbatim DVD-R's to see if that helps any. Still, I would like to know why the Sonic Data Disc simple burning app in the EMC8 menu works to create and import appendable discs, but Creator Classic does not. This seems to imply a software problem, not a hardware or media one. I did download and run the Sony DriveCheck diagnostic program, and the burner passed the read/write tests.

 

If the Verbatim DVD-R's fail to solve the problem, I will see if the relatively simplistic Sonic Data Disc app is good enough for what I need. If not, I may have to try another software product altogether unless/until the Creator Classic software gets updated to resolve this scenario. Why CC works to create appendable discs with the Sony DRU-710A but not the Sony DRU-810A with the same Sony DVD-R media isn't clear.

[ejm999]

Hi james_hardin

 

2 ide burners

1 SCSI CdRom

1 software created

 

Has always been like that for the past 3 mother boards. At one stage I had 3 burners (scsi/ide) and 2 cd-roms (scsi/ide), and it all worked perfectly.

 

ejm

[victormc]

I'm having the same issue as sandfordhwhite is. Yet, my burner is an NEC, dvd 16x writer. The simple burn utility will import a previous session, add, etc. Yet, the classic creator will not create an appendable disk no matter what the settings and options taken. Other parts of this program are also having problems. I'm a certified microsoft engineer and have been supporting many companies/customers for many years. This program has many issues, it is a shame to see what used to be a good reliable program become so "unreliable". Roxio, or Sonic for that matter should bring fixes sooner for their customers. Yes, all updates for the os, this program have been installed. It still does not work.

[ejm999]

Hi james_hardin

 

Yea, I tried that.

SONY DVD RW DRU-710A Firmware byx5

SONY CD-RW CRX175E Firmware 1.0j

 

Uninstalled it all including Roxio.

 

I'm starting to believe that it is the new mother board causing the problems, and that will not be first time either. I also have a sneaky feeling that I did those cd's on the other m/b.

 

Here are some of the specs, that way you won't have to ask that question.

 

Computer Manufacturer ASUS

Computer Model P5GDC-V DELUXE

Chassis Type Desktop

Processor / CPU Intel® Pentium® 4 CPU 3.60GHz, 3612MHz

BIOS Version A M I - 9000426

Ports 1 x Serial, 1 x Parallel, 8 x USB, 2 x Firewire (IEEE 1394)

.

STORAGE

 

Total Memory / RAM 1023 MB RAM

Installed Harddisk(s) Unknown, Unknown, 122.9 GB, 120.0 GB, 0.3 GB, 250.1 GB

.

OPERATING SYSTEM

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Build Number 2600, Multiprocessor Free, Service Pack 2

.

DISPLAY

Display Adapter(s) RADEON X300 Series, RADEON X300 Series Secondary

Monitor Fujitsu ICL ErgoPro e173

.

MULTIMEDIA DEVICES

 

Sound Adapter(s) C-Media High Definition Audio Device

CD-ROM Drive(s) MATSHITA CD-ROM CR-508 SCSI CdRom Device, SONY DVD RW DRU-710A, SONY CD-RW CRX175E, Generic DVD-ROM SCSI CdRom Device

 

ejm999

[james_hardin]

What I meant is that having written about 3.6 Gb in the first session, there was plenty of space in the DVD for the additional files (about 100 Mb) I wanted to append... but not if the software calculated the whole project again.

 

Thanks for the update. I tried it and didn't really have a problem.

 

I burned a 4.7gb DVD with 3.7gb of data. It shows 711.7mb remaining.

 

Ejected and reinserted the disc. Added a 430.66mb file and burned it. Shows 281.01mb remaining.

 

That is about as far as one should ever push Sessions as there is disc Overhead that has to be considered.

 

Of course XP shows no free space on it. Since XP cannot write to a DVD it considers it un-writable.

[ggrussell]

why the Sonic Data Disc simple burning app in the EMC8 menu works to create and import appendable discs, but Creator Classic does not.

 

Sonic purchased the software part of Roxio last year and they are still in the process merging product lines. The 'HOME' application uses teh Sonic RecordNow technology and the other apps are based on the previous Roxio programs. I'm not familiar with RecordNow, but most of the competiting software makes certain assumptions of the inserted media without actually querying the drive. Roxio software always queries the drive before burning thereby totally dependant on the drive for a successful burn. It has created some confusion.

 

Why CC works to create appendable discs with the Sony DRU-710A but not the Sony DRU-810A with the same Sony DVD-R media isn't clear.

 

Sony used to make their own drives, but in recent years, has turned to OEMs manufacturers to stay competitively priced.

DRU710a = Liteon SOHW-1633S (16x+R, 4x+RW, 2.4x+R9, 8x-R, 4x-RW) OEM

DRU810a = BENQ DW1640

 

 

You could use firmware from the OEM, but it would probably nullify your warantee. Using them would be at your own risk. You can read more about that at THE FIRMWARE PAGE.

[james_hardin]

Something is not right in that PC… I am not the hardware guy so I cannot be of much help in that area.

 

In your specs, you list 4 optical drives. Is that correct???

 

Have you tried it with only one connected?

[ejm999]

For your information, I have the same problem with 2 different Sony burners. This problem only happend recently as the cd's that I made appendable were made by the same burners/roxio. When you check the media it says media closed.

Now the same loaded on my laptop, I can append the cd's.

Going by this I would have to say that something in the registry is wrong or corrupt.

As no one seems to know what is going on, I recon I'll un-install and re-install roxio.

 

ejm

[ColdBurn]

The explanation of the ongoing integration of the Sonic and roxio apps makes sense given the appearance of the EMC8 Home menu vs. the individual "legacy" roxio apps. Perhaps then there would be a way in the future for a software fix to allow Creator Classic to work with burners the way that RecordNow does?

 

As stated at the beginning of the first post on this topic, the "Sony" DRU-810A drive already has been crossflashed to the latest OEM BenQ DW1640 firmware. Unfortunately, that did not resolve the problem.

 

Thanks for the help and advice!

[ggrussell]

Keep an eye on THE firmware Page. Sometimes people will post a fix or other solution that may help. There are a lot of Benq drives out there and surely someone else has run across this before.

[pvancleef]

I am having the same problems with appendable discs and am convinced that this is a bug in the Creator Classic application. When I insert an appendable disc in my drive the “Import Data Icon” is grayed out on the Creator Classic interface. There is no problem with my drives or the disc because I can append files to the same disc if I use Creator 8 Suite Home and then select Data – Data Disc – Add Data. I think that Roxio should provide a patch for this problem or they should have left the Creator Classic (which I really liked) out altogether if it does not work properly.

[grandpabruce]

I am having the same problems with appendable discs and am convinced that this is a bug in the Creator Classic application. When I insert an appendable disc in my drive the “Import Data Icon” is grayed out on the Creator Classic interface. There is no problem with my drives or the disc because I can append files to the same disc if I use Creator 8 Suite Home and then select Data – Data Disc – Add Data. I think that Roxio should provide a patch for this problem or they should have left the Creator Classic (which I really liked) out altogether if it does not work properly.

 

I guess you must have missed what Gary said, above. Read the first sentence in the 2nd paragraph of his last post.

[ggrussell]

When one section of a software program works with the hardware it interfaces with "the record now data" program, it tells ME that all is well with my hardware AS IS.

 

No it doesn't. The RecordNow technology works entirely different. Written by a totally different design team. How RecordNow gets information from the drive or about the drive can be (and probably is) totally different. Creator Classic actually queries the drive EVERYTIME it tries to access the drive. It makes no assumptions about the drive or any assumptions about the media inserted. Creator Classic gets that information directly from the drive. That's why it is extremely important that the drive have updated firmware.

 

 

Going by this I would have to say that something in the registry is wrong or corrupt. As no one seems to know what is going on, I recon I'll un-install and re-install roxio.

 

By the way, Sony no longer makes their own drives and uses OEMs like Liteon or Benq. Some Sony drives may work fine as is while others may need firmware updates. Before going through all that, make sure your burner firmware is up to date. Sometimes uninstalling/reinstalling can mess up the registry even more or that part that is corrupt, may not get fixed just by doing that.

 

Do you have something like Norton's WinDoctor that can check the registry? Tools like that can come in handy.

[ejm999]

Hi ggrussell

 

"When you check the media it says media closed.

Now the same loaded on my laptop, I can append the cd's."

 

Both my cd & dvd burner are both Sony, not OEM and all firmware updates have been done.

 

No changes have been made to the hardware/firmware or software on this computer since it was working (burning correctly) and than not working (burning incorrectly). All that has happend, is that updates for other programs have been installed.

 

A few programs have been added and a few of those have been removed, I have also run as per usual Nortons Win doctor on a regular basis.

 

I'm not trying to be a pain in the rear, I have been building computers and testing programs and teaching others to use their computers for just over 20 years now. I get phone calls from IT managers and the likes when they run into problems, and 9 out of 10 times I sort them out.

 

ejm999

[james_hardin]

Hi ggrussell

 

"When you check the media it says media closed.

Now the same loaded on my laptop, I can append the cd's."

 

Both my cd & dvd burner are both Sony, not OEM and all firmware updates have been done.

 

No changes have been made to the hardware/firmware or software on this computer since it was working (burning correctly) and than not working (burning incorrectly). All that has happend, is that updates for other programs have been installed.

 

A few programs have been added and a few of those have been removed, I have also run as per usual Nortons Win doctor on a regular basis.

 

I'm not trying to be a pain in the rear, I have been building computers and testing programs and teaching others to use their computers for just over 20 years now. I get phone calls from IT managers and the likes when they run into problems, and 9 out of 10 times I sort them out.

 

ejm999

 

The same disc is appendable in one drive but not in another, yet the same software is being used on both PCs…

 

To me, that indicates the drive is the problem.

 

What is the make/model of the drive? What firmware is on that drive? (Disk & Device Utility)

 

Have you tried the usual XP cure of deleting the drive and the Upper/Lower filters?

[james_hardin]

I am new to this forum but they do appear to diverge from their original title without resolving the issue...

 

I am willing to accept that I missed the point (I am not a software engineer either) but...

 

I created a DVD with Creator Classic (about 3.6 Gb).

 

It says it is appendable. First session is closed.

 

I could import the session (at least that wasn't greyed out!) I then added a few files to the bottom window to exisitng directories (plenty of space remaining) but it says that it cannot burn because it needs more space (the original session again!! plus the new one) what is going on? Doesn't it know that the files on the oroginal session need no be-rewritten or have I done something stupid?

 

Define “plenty of space”???

[REDWAGON]

So which drive does it work correctly on ? And which drive does it NOT work right on ? What conclusion did you come to to know that it is a registry problem ? Have you tried removing the SCSI devices and then tried to see if that makes a difference ? I build around a dozen computers a year for others too and although I am not getting calls from IT Managers (I'm not that hardware literate yet, but wished I was) I've had a few problems before running SCSI devices, but it was never a registry problem.

 

Frank...

[ggrussell]

I am having the same problems with appendable discs and am convinced that this is a bug in the Creator Classic application.

 

Like I stated above, I can indeed create and burn appendable CD/DVDs just fine on three different burners on two machines. Make sure your burner has the lastest firmware. Creator Classic depends on the drive to properly recognize the media inserted.

[grandpabruce]

The explanation of the ongoing integration of the Sonic and roxio apps makes sense given the appearance of the EMC8 Home menu vs. the individual "legacy" roxio apps. Perhaps then there would be a way in the future for a software fix to allow Creator Classic to work with burners the way that RecordNow does?

 

As stated at the beginning of the first post on this topic, the "Sony" DRU-810A drive already has been crossflashed to the latest OEM BenQ DW1640 firmware. Unfortunately, that did not resolve the problem.

 

Thanks for the help and advice!

 

That BenQ DW1640 has been a rock solid burner for those who own it, no matter what badge-name it has. It is possible that you have a bad one.

 

The unfortunate thing is, you can't find them anymore. I don't have one. I have used Plextor since the beginning of time, but I am close to getting the BenQ 1655, just to see if it will live up to the BenQ quality.

[victormc]

When one section of a software program works with the hardware it interfaces with "the record now data" program, it tells ME that all is well with my hardware AS IS. The creator classic program does not work properly with the same hardware. My machine does not have dual hardware profiles, only one. Enough of this, this will be the last version of roxio I purchase, and thats fine with me.

[james_hardin]

When one section of a software program works with the hardware it interfaces with "the record now data" program, it tells ME that all is well with my hardware AS IS. The creator classic program does not work properly with the same hardware. My machine does not have dual hardware profiles, only one. Enough of this, this will be the last version of roxio I purchase, and thats fine with me.

 

Aside from the fact that the 2 programs you cited are completely different programs what does this tell you…

 

I make a disc using one PC. Place the disc in a second PC and add more files. Then place the same disc in a second burner on PC and add more files. All of this was done with Classic V8.

 

Why does mine and the vast majority of other users work and yours does not?

 

I do have problems with my Sony burner being recognized correctly from time to time and have to reboot to get it properly recognized. When it isn't working, it will not import or even read media in it.