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I've been trying to burn some data-dvds (in other words, dvds that contain files - not video in mpeg2). I wanted to be able to do backups in the same way I used to backup to CD; just making use of the dvd's higher capacity. Because these are data-dvds I can't make use of dvdshrink, dvd-decoder or any of the other 101 programs that exist purely for ripping and burning existing dvds. Instead I've tried to use Nero Ultra 6.6.06; Stomp Recordmax 4.5 and Ashampoo Burning Studio 5.0.3. All these programs give me the same problem which is ..
The Dvd burns fine and verify's in the program successfully. After that I run Beyond Compare 2.2.7 and perform a crc comparison (or a binary comparison) between the files on the dvd and the files on the harddisk. Half the files are OK - usually about 2GB worth. The rest of the files are unreadable. If I use the "compare with viewer" option then the editor window for the corrupt dvd file shows everything empty beneath the header. If I try to open one of the corrupt dvd files the computer locks up. Using Nero CD-DVDspeed 3.61 and performing a surface scan shows every block green until a certain, apparently random to each disc, point at which time every block after that point is red and gives a crc error.
Some specifics:
- My burner is an NEC 3500A, connected as the secondary master running in Ultra DMA2, and using the 2.C8 mod firmware.
- The computer is a winxp SP2 system with a 3200 mhz AMD cpu, 512 MB ram, a gigabyte 7N400 Pro2 motherboard
- burns are carried out with no other processes running in the background, immediately after reboot, at x4 or x2 speed - both speeds yield the same result.
- The media I'm burning to are 4.7 GB DVD-R Infinite disks (code Longten 001).
Some comments to preempt the obvious suggestions:
I'm pretty sure ppl are going to suggest I change media; although I have to say that surface inspection of the media reveals no scratches and, if it was the media, I would expect the disc not to burn at all or to burn unevenly. As it is every disc burns perfectly until a certain random point at which time everything else doesn't burn after that point. If it was some sort of set limitation I would expect the point of failure to be the same for each disc but it's not. Some discs burn 1.x amount and others 2.x amount.
Alternatively people might suggest I flash the firmware. 2.C8 has been a successful firmware for many many people with NEC 3500's based on what I've seen from forum posts. It's very stable and is really pretty much the latest firmware you can get, unless I flashed to the official 2.19 recent update which doesn't seem to address any issues like mine.
I appreciate any ideas as I'm starting to feel I've tried everything by now.
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