Compatability Error

[cswinar]

I am having troubles with ecdc 4.02. It seems to think that the cd-r that I am inserting are cd-rw. Is this a problem with my software or hardware. The peculiar thing is that as I am having these problems I have been installing and uninstalling a few times, this seemed to help in the past with problems, so then out of the blue it decides to work and burn one cd which was a cd-r. The cd sounds good and plays in my older cd player. So I thought I fixed the problem. Tried to do burn another and it spit it out stating that is was a cd-rw. So I am confused. If anyone out there has any ideas I would appreciate some input.

Thanx in advance

 

Cody

[Brendon]

Hi Cody,

 

I think that's more likely to be a hardware problem than software. Drives which sold in the time of ECDC4 are reaching the end of their expected service life.

 

When you insert a disc in a drive the drive spins up and reads the disc. After a successful read it reports to the computer what sort of disc it has, and sets itself ready to operate. The drive decides what disc it has, not the software.

 

The laser unit on CD/DVD drives normally faces up, so you see the label of the disc as it goes into the machine. This is handy, but it also means that dust, fibers, and other garbage can settle on the lens over time. This can cause read and write errors. If the dust isn't firmly stuck on the lens it can move, giving sporadic errors.

 

I think it would be worth getting a lens cleaning disc and cleaning the laser lens. Cleaning kits aren't expensive and are a good investment. There's a good chance this will improve the read so your drive no longer mistakes what sort of discs you've fed it.

 

There is always an outside chance that parts of the drive are failing and cleaning won't help, but it's certainly a good thing to try first.