Which CD Writer?

[cossack]

With about £100 to spend, which should I go for?TDK Cyclone 24X10X40X or Memorex TwentyFour Maxx 24X10X40.
Or is there a better alternative?

[timmcat]

Not familiar with either, but just make sure they have 'Burn proof' or similar technology

[BLACK RAT]

Currently using a Creative 12-10-32 writer had no problems whatsoever.

[ 03 January 2002: Message edited by: BLACK RAT ]</p>

[MikeSamuel]

I doubt there is much need to be writing CD's at 24x at the moment, and for a good while yet. Would recommend something like the Plextor PlexWriter 16/10/40 as it's a good quality brand, and the speeds are more than quick enough for home use. Uses BURNProof technology...The other two drives are OK, but for long term use the Plextor will be a better bet IMHO.

Regards,

Mike

[ 03 January 2002: Message edited by: MikeSamuel ]</p>

[Cornish Jack]

I have three different burners with three different software progs. Of these (Creative CD, Nero Burning and Win-on-CD,) the Win-on-CD, using the Assistant wizard has NEVER made a coaster... AND even my computer illiterate brain cells waltzed through the first and subsequent attempts. The others do the job OK but I had to work out what the instructions REALLY meant !!
Oh yes, and Burn-Proof is a MUST.

[Guern]

I Have an external Iomega drive (£140) which is USB connected and works greta for audio & data.

[bluskis]

I am just returning an Iomega Preditor CD-RW drive to the shop for money back. It is not compatible with Windows XP, and the web help site has the effrontery to offer a download to fix their shortcoming, but only after paying a supplement.

[FL310]

Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-R1002 for people with space problems...writes without problem and reads nearly everything, well, at least everything I had given it to eat.
Fast and reliable, good software with it,. easy to operate.

[Hamrah]

I purchased the Memorex 24x10x40 about two months ago and have found it very good. I use Roxio Easy CD creator Platinum. The high speed writing means I no longer have to wait around while the system burns CD's.

H

[Man-on-the-fence]

I have a Sony CRX160E-RP (4MB buffer), with Win-on-CD.

How can I tell if it is Burn proof?

Also when trying to copy an Audio CD (for the car) from my ancient 4x CD-ROM I always seem to get a buffer under run. I have tried the RW and ROM on the same and different IDE channels. Ant clues??.

MTIA

[fobotcso]

Motf, two thoughts:

1. Only copy at 1x so that the CD Drive delivering the signal can keep up with the CD that's doing the writing.

2. Make an image of the audio CD on your hard drive first and then write the copy from that image. Then rub out the image if you don't want to make any more copies. It'll need 6-700MB free on the HD for the image and another 2-300MB for the overheads. So you probably need 1GB free.

Both of these measures considerably increase the time it takes you to complete the process, but it beats filling the waste basket with spoiled CDs.

[Man-on-the-fence]

fobotcso

1. I have tried that and I still get underrun
2. This is the method I use but it does make it more difficult to make "compilation" CD's.

Thanks for the reply

[ 06 January 2002: Message edited by: Man-on-the-fence ]</p>

[timmcat]

MOTF, if you getting buffer underrun, then you sure aint got a BURNproof writer!

[Man-on-the-fence]

Just what i feared, never mind it seems to perform very well otherwise.

[spannersatcx]

I know it's a different model but found this at Roxio -
In order for the Sony CDU928E to work properly (with any recording software), it must be set as the Master on the Secondary IDE channel. This information was previously documented by Sony.

Buffer underruns are generally caused by a number things:

The performance of your system
Size and number of the files you're recording
Location of the temporary directory and source files
Older device drivers (8 / 16 bit drivers)
Busmastering enabled for the IDE controllers
Applications / TSRs running in the background
Quality of recordable media

General Troubleshooting Steps:

Close all running applications before launching Easy CD Creator by pressing [CTRL] + [ALT] + [DEL] and End Task on all except 'Explorer' and 'Systray.'

Run both Scandisk and Defrag on the hard disk(s) (To run click on 'Start', 'Programs', 'Accessories', and 'System Tools'.)

Clean Temp directory, in \WINDOWS\TEMP - move or delete all files and folders

Make sure no real mode drivers are loading from CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT (Rename the files to *.BAK or place a REM in front of each driver load statement)

For Win 95 & Win 98 systems: go to the settings tab in Device Manager for each IDE device on your system and remove the check mark in the DMA box. For NT systems extract the program DMACHECK.EXE from the service pack disk (service pack 3,4 or 5), and run it. You will be able to disable DMA on screen.

Update your video driver to current version - check with your video controller manufacturer for details

Make sure the firmware on the recorder is current - most manufacturers publish the latest firmware on their web site

Disable screen savers and ALL power management

Do not multi-task while recording

Do not record from a compressed drive

Log off all network connections

For Win 95 & Win 98 systems, set the following for the CD-ROM properties in Device Manager

In Control Panel, select 'System' icon
Click on the (+) on the CD-ROM
Highlight your recorder listed then click on 'Properties' button
Disable Sync Data Transfer / Enable Disconnect / Enable Auto Insert Notification on the 'Settings' tab

Make sure the C: drive has plenty of free space, recommend about 1 1/2 times the amount you want to record to CD

Try a different brand of recordable media, recommend blank disks with the green or blue dye coating

Create a temp directory on the root of the hard drive with most space available. Change the temp directory that Easy CD Creator uses as the buffer during the record process

For Win 95 & Win 98 systems - check for the following in \WINDOWS\SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS and rename if found:

atapchng.vxd (used by CD changers)
necatapi.vxd (only if you do not have a NEC brand IDE CDROM)
scsi1hlp.vxd
torisan3.vxd (used only by Torisan brand 3 CD changers)
There may be others loaded by various software packages that will conflict, generally from other CD writing or similar products.

For Win 95 & Win 98 systems set the Optimize access pattern to 'No Read ahead', if it's already at 'No Read ahead', try setting it for 'Quad Speed' or higher:

In Control Panel, select 'System' icon
Click on 'File System' button in 'Performance' tab
Change the 'Optimize access pattern for' under 'CD-ROM' tab

Additional Troubleshooting for SCSI Device :

Make sure your SCSI Termination is set properly:

Internal devices only: The device farthest from the controller and the controller must be terminated. Nothing else can be terminated.
External devices only: The device farthest from the controller and the controller must be terminated. Nothing else can be terminated.
Internal and External devices: The two devices farthest from the controller must be terminated. Nothing else can be terminated.

Set the SCSI Controller to the following :
To access Adaptec's SCSI controller setting, press [CTRL] + [A] during the boot sequence. To access non-Adaptec SCSI controller, contact your SCSI controller vendor.


Synchronous Negotiation = disabled
Wide Negotiation = disabled
Ultra or Fast SCSI = disabled
Maximum or DMA Transfer Rate = 5 MB / sec
Disconnection = enabled
<img src="wink.gif" border="0">

[fobotcso]

Good stuff, spanners, Thank You.

I've stopped making coffe mats and had good success since I changed to Win2K and ahead Nero. I also have a special "User Account" called CD Writer; when I log on as that user, the PC loads a minimum of background programs. And can I then stop the few that load anyway (except McAfee) but recently I've been forgetting to do that and the CD writer (Freecom) and Nero have worked well anyway.

[DB6]

I bought a LiteOn 40/24/10 yesterday, installed it in my relatively low spec machine (450 Mhz celeron/256 RAM) and within 30 mins of getting it home had run off 3 discs (wrote a 450 Mb disc in about 3 mins) . Truly Les Ballons Du Chien. Cost £119 from a shop so probably cheaper from the net. Didn't have the same experience with an LG CDRW/DVD drive though. The LiteOn uses Nero which could not be simpler to use; I've used WinOnCd which was a little more hassle but still OK.

[cossack]

Thanks for all the info!
I think it will be the Memorex since I read a scathing online review about the TDK which described it as "slow" even though its now available for £98.82 inc VAT at gb.buy.com with free shipping!
Memorex is £99.99 at a few places including Staples.