Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?

Cheers, Rob

"RJH" <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote

| Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
| even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
| definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
|

Maybe try them in another computer? See if you can
access all the data in Explorer? Last I saw, DVD drives
were dirt cheap, so you could also just replace it. They're
easy to swap out if you have a typical computer.

There can also be format problems. For example, Mac
formatting is not visible from PC.

On 6/16/22 09:01, this is what RJH wrote:
> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
>
> Cheers, Rob
>
Have you tried burning at a lower or lowest write speed? That sometimes works. Of course that's only covering up an
issue with the DVD writer.

On 6/16/2022 9:01 AM, RJH wrote:
> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
>
> Cheers, Rob
>

I would check the media tag and see who really made them.

I like Ritek, whereas the last lot of CMC ones ("Philips" brand)
were marginal.

You need a scanning routine that measures raw errors. Once the
raw error rate gets to 10^3 to 10^4, the powerful correction scheme
just can't handle it any more. A slightly higher error rate than
that, the groove tracking feature the drive uses, it loses
lock. And the drive generally goes nuts when that happens
(it tries to find the groove, it ignores your commands).

If you have Imgburn, look in the log output in the lower pane,
and see if the media tag is evident.

The worst media I ever had, was "Memorex", which is not made
by Memorex but by someone else. The last piece of media
in the package, it "bleached out" after three months, and
it just looked like a polycarbonate Frisbee. No sign of
anything writeable on it. The head on the drive would
skate around like it was on vacation.

It's unfortunate that the industry used middle-men -- if
the real manufacturer was known, you could just reject
all the inferior stuff on the spot, and stick with the
two or three good factories. But when you pick up a cake
box of "Philips", it's roulette. Is Philips Ritek or CMC ?
Bizzt! You lose.

Sometimes, you can damage a drive, by trying to burn 50
inferior discs and causing the laser to run at full power
because the drive doesn't even recognize the media tag.
Laser power is programmable, and the media tag helps the
drive figure out that a lower power setting is sufficient.

Paul

Try another disc brand and burner software program?

RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote:
> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?

> Cheers, Rob

--
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On Thu, 16 Jun 2022 16:07:45 -0500, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>Try another disc brand and burner software program?
>
>
>RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote:
>> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
>> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
>> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
>
>> Cheers, Rob
+1

KenW

RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote in news:t8f9ig$1ij2$1@gioia.aioe.org:

> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd
> discs even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
>
> Cheers, Rob
>

When I used to burn to DVD, I used DVD Identifier to determine the blank
media's manufacturer. Of course, you had to buy the media to figure out who
made it.

https://web.archive.org/web/20061004214453/http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.c
om/

On 16 Jun 2022 at 3:16:42 PM, Mayayana <mayayana@invalid.nospam> wrote:

> Maybe try them in another computer? See if you can
> access all the data in Explorer? Last I saw, DVD drives
> were dirt cheap, so you could also just replace it. They're
> easy to swap out if you have a typical computer.
>
> There can also be format problems. For example, Mac
> formatting is not visible from PC.

The problem is definitely the disc drive.
It's a typical desktop disc drive.
Very old.

I just wanted to test it somehow.
To make sure.

It has nothing to do with the media based on what I can tell.
And there's nothing wrong with Imgburn as a DVD reader program.

What I'm seeking is a definitive exhaustive hardware test tool.
That's all.

Cheers, Rob

On 6/16/2022 8:54 PM, RJH wrote:
> On 16 Jun 2022 at 3:16:42 PM, Mayayana <mayayana@invalid.nospam> wrote:
>
>> Maybe try them in another computer? See if you can
>> access all the data in Explorer? Last I saw, DVD drives
>> were dirt cheap, so you could also just replace it. They're
>> easy to swap out if you have a typical computer.
>>
>> There can also be format problems. For example, Mac
>> formatting is not visible from PC.
>
> The problem is definitely the disc drive.
> It's a typical desktop disc drive.
> Very old.
>
> I just wanted to test it somehow.
> To make sure.
>
> It has nothing to do with the media based on what I can tell.
> And there's nothing wrong with Imgburn as a DVD reader program.
>
> What I'm seeking is a definitive exhaustive hardware test tool.
> That's all.
>
> Cheers, Rob
>

They make a test disc. This would be the idea of a golden disc,
in the sense that it is pressed. You would do a read verify test
with it. The price is such, it would only be attractive to
DVD drive factories (test multiple drives in parallel). A factory
might need spares, in case a drive suffered a balance failure and
caused the polycarbonate to crack and the disc "explodes". Perhaps
the disc is rated at 16x or 22x playback etc (unlike computer
store 8x media).

https://www.passmark.com/products/testcddvd/price.php

I think Passmark may have made other hardware testers, like
loopback test devices. I've never read of any accounts of
using these products.

The consumer test strategy is (apparently) "buy another drive".
I might not agree with such a strategy, but it's the KISS principle
at work. Try another drive, if you like it, retire the first.

People in the past have used KProbe, for raw error rate testing,
but the developer of it uses Liteon brand drives. And I don't know
if you can buy "scanner"-type drives any more (it's just a drive
that happens to pin out the info in firmware). The target drive
burns a DVD+R or DVD-R, and the Liteon drive scans for raw errors.

There are a couple error counters for three dimensional
Reed Solomon error correction on the drive. A competing tool,
only has access to one of the error counters. But this is
typically a test strategy for testing media. CDFreaks used to
do reviews of new drives, but such activity has all but died out.
Once you get a "good firmware" in a drive, any subsequent tests
are then classed as "media quality tests".

In a factory scenario, you would want the fine drive itself supporting
a self test of its own. But again, I've never seen an account of
how factories make these drives. There was more info about hard
drive manufacturing, than anything about optical drives. (Hard
drives are tested in large environmental chambers. They didn't
show photos of servo writers or the manufacturing at the factory.)

Optical drive transports (the mechanical bits) were made by one or
two giant factories. You might them make a PCB with a MediaTek
chipset on it, write firmware, and prepare media tag info, if
you wanted to be in the drive business. The mechanical bits,
geared tray ejector, the motor and so on, might cost a couple
bucks. The lasers were in the vicinity of around a buck a piece.
A BD player would have three lasers and a complicated optical
array to suit (with high NA optics for BR).

Paul

"RJH" <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote in message
news:t8f9ig$1ij2$1@gioia.aioe.org...
> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
>
>

One reason to give the make & model of your faulty hardware is that there
may be known faults.

Have you tried cleaning the laser lens (IPA on a cotton swab?

2006 article
-
https://web.archive.org/web/20061018090550/http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/290

--
Regards
wasbit

On Thu, 16 Jun 2022 15:11:10 -0600, KenW <ken1943@invalid.net> wrote:

>On Thu, 16 Jun 2022 16:07:45 -0500, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>
>>Try another disc brand and burner software program?
>>
>>
>>RJH <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote:
>>> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
>>> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
>>> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?

All of you keep assuming he's having a problem writing to the drive,
but his message didn't make it clear whether his problem was writing
or reading.

My interpretation of his message is that his problem is reading, but
I'm not sure.

On Fri, 17 Jun 2022 09:53:51 +0100, "wasbit"
<wasbitREMOVE@hotmail.com> wrote:

>"RJH" <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote in message
>news:t8f9ig$1ij2$1@gioia.aioe.org...
>> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
>> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
>> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
>>
>>
>
>One reason to give the make & model of your faulty hardware is that there
>may be known faults.
>
>Have you tried cleaning the laser lens (IPA on a cotton swab?

How do you put the International Phonetic Alphabet on a cotton swab?

On 6/17/2022 10:07 AM, Ken Blake wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Jun 2022 09:53:51 +0100, "wasbit"
> <wasbitREMOVE@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> "RJH" <patchmoney@gmx.com> wrote in message
>> news:t8f9ig$1ij2$1@gioia.aioe.org...
>>> Imgburn reports read errors which happened on the last few of my dvd discs
>>> even those that aren't visibly scratched but is there any way to
>>> definitively check that a built in dvd drive is not working correctly?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> One reason to give the make & model of your faulty hardware is that there
>> may be known faults.
>>
>> Have you tried cleaning the laser lens (IPA on a cotton swab?
>
>
> How do you put the International Phonetic Alphabet on a cotton swab?
>

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol

Preferred IUPAC name
Propan-2-ol[2]

Other names
2-Propanol
Isopropanol[1]
Rubbing alcohol
sec-Propyl alcohol
2-Hydroxypropane
i-PrOH
Dimethyl carbinol
IPA <==== India Pale Ale

One of the local breweries back home, made India Pale Ale.

This oughta confuse Wasbit :-) A picture of a six-pack of
beer, with "IPA" in big letters on the box :-) Does that
make you want to drink that, or what ? Knowing is is "IPA"
and all.

https://amsprod.blob.core.windows.net/assets/5667ee6f-49a4-45a3-854c-b9d03b5f518e_0_400.jpeg

If the optics in your drive are so dirty they need
cleaning with a cotton swab, um... what are you doing ?

Paul

On 6/17/22 09:07, Ken Blake wrote:

[snip]

>> Have you tried cleaning the laser lens (IPA on a cotton swab?
>
>
> How do you put the International Phonetic Alphabet on a cotton swab?

That's the second thing in the wikipedia article. The first is India
Pale Ale.