CD Burning

General Topics
1

Should I use Lighter Fluid and a match … or a Flamethrower?
Nah! Just Kidding! ;D

But, seriously … I of course normally Burn all my CDs on MY computer using Easy CD Creator. As I mentioned on the avast! Home / Pro Forum, today I burned a CD on a neighbor’s computer. And it was read fine by MY computer. On that neighbor’s computer, I burned it with this software App of which I had never even heard — Nero Essentials Express. Aside of it being a different CD Burning App, I noticed that my neighbor’s computer also burned the CD wayyy extremely FASTER than my computer. I believe my CD Burner burns CDs at around Single Digit x Rate. My neighbor’s computer burned the CD at I believe 48x.

Question: COULD I now actually take the CD that I burned on my neighbor’s computer with Nero Essentials Express at the Writing Rate of 48x … and add Files to it with MY computer and its Easy CD Creator with the Single Digit Writing Rate? Or does one have to stick with whatever CD Writing App one originally Burned it. And would the 48x Writing Rate with which the CD was originally burned now cause a conflict of interest with my CD Burner’s much slower Writing Rate?

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Nero files won’t speed up your Easy CD Creator installation.
You can try other freeware CD burners…

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Uhhh, I think we misconnected here. Oh no, I wasn’t thinking the Nero-Burned CD would speed up anything. My question is basically:
Would mixing CD Burning Sessions by different CD Burning Apps … on ONE CD result in a Big Ole ERROR? In other words, on that ONE CD on which I Burned the avast! SetUpEng File with my neighbor’s Nero Essentials Express … can I now add more Files with my Easy CD Creator without getting some sort of ERROR informing me that the different CD Burning Apps’ formats don’t match?

4

It could happen indeed… there are tons of CD write patterns…

Only testing will answer, imho.

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With a little of trepidation, I went ahead and tried it. I stuck the Nero-Burned CD into my CD Burner and with my Easy CD Creator added Files to it without a problem, without any Errors.

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Writing speed simply determines how long it will take to complete your burning project.
It has nothing to do with anything else. Certainly not how it’s read. :slight_smile:

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I believe, though, that I HAVE seen on the labels of CDs that this brand or that brand are ONLY for CD Drives that can Write at a certain x amount of Speed. So, I figured Writing Speed COULD possibly affect something. But, I was more concerned whether the 2 different CD Burning Apps would write in different formats somehow. You know … sorta like Blu-Ray vs. whatever the other competing Disc format was. Similar CDs, but different formats. True, I had already seen that my computer READ the Nero-Burned CD just fine. But, I just didn’t know whether mixing different WRITING processes would be a different animal. I didn’t know whether there was going to be some Code that would get triggered when different CD Burning Apps were being attempted to be mixed.

Another example of that would be like when I KNOW for a FACT that my Gateway System Restore CD # 2 is the one that has Windows 98SE. Yet when I get prompted during a Windows Reinstall for the Windows 98SE CD, it will NOT take my Gateway Disk # 2. It KNOWS that it is NOT the Real Deal. That’s later on when Windows 98SE has actually already been installed from that Gateway # 2 CD.

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CD labels tell you the max spped they can be burned at. So if I try to force 16x CDs to burn at 52x in my 52x writer then I am asking for trouble. I am not aware of any disks that specify a minimum speed of writer.

Most seem to work at the same writing standard these days (though I cannot swear that you could not find differences somewhere) - since the intent is that all CDs should be readable on all systems.

Your Gateway Restore CD story puzzles me - does it have anything to do with writing CDs? I assume there is a Restore CD #1 missing from the narrative.

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<< Another example of that would be like when I KNOW for a FACT that my Gateway System Restore CD # 2 is the one that has Windows 98SE. Yet when I get prompted during a Windows Reinstall for the Windows 98SE CD, it will NOT take my Gateway Disk # 2. It KNOWS that it is NOT the Real Deal. That’s later on when Windows 98SE has actually already been installed from that Gateway # 2 CD. >>

Here is the mysterious deal with my Gateway System Restore CDs.
CD #1 - Hardware Drivers … Partial Backup of Applications … NT 4.0 Driver Locator Utility

CD #2 - Operating System Restoration Program

CD #3 - Backup of Applications

Now … you would THINK that the CDs were numbered in the absolute sequence in which they’re going to be utilized. But, Noooooooo! As per the instructions in my Gateway User’s Manual, the System Restore Process begins with CD #2. :::Shrug::: Go Figure. So yes, CD #2 Reimages the Hard Drive / Installs Windows 98SE. THEN I am prompted for CD #1. After it does its thing, I am prompted for CD #3. This last stage has several, about 7 or so Steps, some of which require a Restart. At about Step #5 of this last stage from CD #3 … (Definitely AFTER Windows 98SE has already been installed), I am then out of the blue prompted to insert the Windows 98SE CD. On my very first Windows Reinstall ever, I leisurely thought, “Ohhh, it wants CD #2.” But, Nooooooo! I am instantly prompted with the reiteration of - “Please insert the Windows 98 SE CD.” You can keep trying to fool it and force CD #2 down its throat since that CD has Windows 98SE on it, but the System Restore process KNOWS that that Gateway CD #2 is NOT the Windows 98SE REAL Deal. Imagine my horror on my debut Windows Reinstall when I am up to my elbows in the middle of my very first Windows Reinstall EVER on ANY computer … and I am being prompted for a CD that I didn’t have and never did have as it wasn’t supplied with my computer. I was seriously literally sweating some ;D as I thought I had just screwed up my computer. With some major trepidation and almost closing my eyes for fear of what the result would be, I finally clicked on Cancel.

Well, the System Restore process just skipped that Step and resumed with the next Step. But, SEE? At that step that I am always forced to Cancel out of, I can see that some CAB Files are about to be installed. And they DON’T get installed because I always Cancel out of there. Consequently, all these 7½ years, it is a FACT that I’ve been operating with a Non-100% Fully-Restored computer. So yes, my computer, after that debut Windows Reinstall and all subsequent Windows Reinstalls … has been MISSING Files! :o Just exactly how MANY Files are missing and what their function is, I don’t know. But, I guess it should be no surprise that I encounter mystery glitches here and there. It’s a wonder my computer has worked all this time and for as long as it has. It’s outlasted computers that do have their FULL arsenal of Files.

One time when I took my computer to the Gateway store to have the CD Burner replaced under warranty, I had them reinstall Windows. I also took my CDs along and asked them to take a look at them and tell me if they were the correct ones and Latest version for my computer. They swore they were the correct and Latest version CDs. I asked if the entire System Restore process could be done with absolutely ONLY those 3 CDs without any need for any other CDs. They claimed - Yes! Well, I have to accuse them of lying and they must have cheated and used an additional Genuine Windows 98SE CD when prompted. I say this because when they did the Windows Reinstall, the Character Map WAS intact and available from Windows as I had always used it. Yet when I do Windows Reinstalls by the numbers as per all the prompts thrown my way … the Character Map is NOT available.

I say Flawed Gateway System Restore CDs. But, Gateway didn’t admit to it. I guess ultimately, be it the avast! Web Shield / Opera Fix Update NOT working on my computer … or any other problem I ever encounter, I can never rule out the Missing Files possibly being the culprit.

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CD #2 - Operating System Restoration Program
If I remember correctly from the last time I needed to restore my daughters Gateway, this is an image restoration utilizing Norton Ghost. :) Which also explains why it's not recognized by Windows.
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When that Reimaging of the Hard Drive is being done, it does mention a Name on there for what that Program / Utility is. On mine though, it’s some other Name, NOT Norton Ghost.

But, you might have a point as to why my Gateway CD #2 is NOT recognized as a genuine Windows 98SE CD. Be it Norton Ghost or whatever other Reimaging Program is on there … the fact is, there IS something ELSE on there.

Question: Say I WERE to have had a Genuine Windows 98SE CD. On THAT CD, there’s no built in Reimaging process on there? One has to on our own separately format the Hard Drive or what?

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One has to on our own separately format the Hard Drive or what?
Unfortunately that's what you have to do. One of the reasons why a regular backup or imaging regiment should always be used.