Mysterious DVD "coaster" incident

Foebane72

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Well, I regularly burn DVD+Rs with all manner of stuff I want to keep, or just updating my project discs and so forth. As of now, my current (new) PC has a Samsung DVD burner which works absolutely fine with the Cyberlink burning software I always use, and has produced no coasters - that is, useless discs.

Except for one hiccup, and it was a major hiccup.

I wanted to buy a whole bunch of good-quality CD-Rs and DVD+Rs to clear a backlog in my burning activities, so I went to a mobile phone shop and bought a whole bunch of JVC brand discs, made in Japan. They seemed fine to me, at least better than the cheap CD-Rs that I bought in some family-run PC shop which were awful - they worked, but they were very fragile and snapped only too easily.

So I opened the DVD+R packet and inspected the top disc in the pile to make sure of the quality, which was pristine with no dust, marks or anything at all. Then I proceeded to burn data onto it. Everything seemed fine during the process but at least once I noticed the drive whirring up and down halfway through, which it should not do. Also, a message balloon popped up during the process to inform me about a Java update.

So the process finishes, and I take a look at the completed disc. From pristine, it was scratched at the edges and even had scuff marks, and the burn areas had gaps in them. This has never happened before with the drive, so I assumed it was the discs. But where would scuff marks come from, as well as a scratch around the near edge of the disc? It was not disturbed at all!

I was concerned, naturally, but proceeded to try again, hoping it was a fluke.

It was.

I burnt over a dozen JVC CD-Rs and DVD+Rs after this dud, and they were fine as normal! I even tested a couple of them to make sure. But none of them had gaps in the data nor scratches or scuff marks.

So I wonder why this one disc went wrong? It's a mystery. :rolleyes:
 
New packets of DVDs sometimes have a thin clear plastic cover on the top disc which is removed and put on the next disc down. This cover prevents scuffing and is hard to see if you're not looking for it.

Check the disc again carefully and see if there is a clear plastic cover.
 
New packets of DVDs sometimes have a thin clear plastic cover on the top disc which is removed and put on the next disc down. This cover prevents scuffing and is hard to see if you're not looking for it.

Check the disc again carefully and see if there is a clear plastic cover.

I took it off before I put it into the burner, don't worry about that.
 
What speed do they say on them and what speed are your burning them at ?

Why are you using Cyberlink ?
 
What speed do they say on them and what speed are your burning them at ?

Why are you using Cyberlink ?

The discs are 1-16x, and I think I burnt it at that speed. But the others have been fine.

Why am I using Cyberlink? Well, because my old Nero Burning ROM doesn't work on my new PC. What's wrong with Cyberlink? What SHOULD I be using?
 
Why do you care about a caoster, just move on, it happens.
 
Why do you care about a caoster, just move on, it happens.

I wouldn't normally, but this particular one was so out-of-the-blue and so severe, yet unique, and the only one produced by the burner so far.

Put it this way, it was the first JVC disc I burned, and it didn't give a very good initial impression of the brand. :rolleyes: But this brand is quite reliable, I think I'll use them again in the future.

Also, I'd like to know where the scratches and scuff marks came from.

I think the disc may have been slightly warped, but it's still a mystery.
 
Check your event logs and if your burning app has any logs, check those as well. I'm betting it showed an interruption in the burning process.
 
I would guess the disc was warped and vibrated inside the DVD writer causing it to scratch on the sides and not be burnt properly.
 
Most discs are made at the same factories as their rivals, some of the discs cost more than others yet they're as good as the same disc... you can get coasters with any disc you're burning, sometimes it's down to your computer and the speed you burn at. Try burning at a slower speed to reduce the chances of problems if they bother you that much.
 
Why am I using Cyberlink? Well, because my old Nero Burning ROM doesn't work on my new PC. What's wrong with Cyberlink? What SHOULD I be using?

I stopped using Nero many, many moons ago. If you have Windows 7 it has some built in burning features. I know it can burn audio/data and also iso files with the in built options.

You can also right click on the file/folder and select "send to" and select your dvd drive. Stick your media in the drive and your ready to go.
 
I stopped using Nero many, many moons ago. If you have Windows 7 it has some built in burning features. I know it can burn audio/data and also iso files with the in built options.

Yeah, PixelPixel, I've tried the ISO tool and it was useful, but I was burned (pun intended) by Windows XP years ago somehow managing to burn a DVD as a CD when I did it with WinExplorer. I only hope that Win7 can tell the difference between disc types.
 
Yeah, PixelPixel, I've tried the ISO tool and it was useful, but I was burned (pun intended) by Windows XP years ago somehow managing to burn a DVD as a CD when I did it with WinExplorer. I only hope that Win7 can tell the difference between disc types.

Win7 is far different and more stable. I have had no issues from anything that I have tried with it.

Rather than doing the odd coaster you could send them to this place: Recyclingcds :: Home of the unique CD Clocks made from recycled CD's and DVD's!
 

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