Burner is a pain

[slimcan]

I have a burner that always screws up my data. I get "cyclic redundancy check". I am not sure what that means but i know the files are no good. I want to know why. I have a usb 1 with a burner that is usb 2, could that be it?

I think I may just buy a external hard drive to save my stuff, because this is not working. Is it normal to have so much trouble with a burner? And how could I have known that the files I burned were bad?

[PC_Fanatic]

What burning sofware are you using? Does the drive support buffer underrun protection? Have you tried burning the data at a slower write speed?

I'd suggest using rewritable disks until you get the bugs out.

Your burning application should give you the option to verify the data after it is written. If it doesn't, there is a DOS utility, FC (file compare), that will accomplish the same thing.

After burning a file, open Command Prompt (MS-DOS prompt).
Type:
FC /b filename1 filename2

And make sure that you type in the entire path to each file.

FC /b C:\mysong.mp3 D:\archive\mysong.mp3

This performs a binary comparison of 2 files. The files must be the same length (or they can't be equal!)

FC will respond with "no differences encountered" if the files match.

[slimcan]

I use roxio and I use the drag to disc which formatts the disc. I do a full formatt, however it sometimes has a burn error. The way I know is if I try and take the same file and put it back on the computor or try and put a song in my mp3 player. The player would also tell me the same.

Note the burner is a 2 usb and I was using my 1.0. So I now picked up a usb 2 card for my lap top. I was just guessing that was it. I am a computor novice I learned by testing things for many hours.

Not sure about the buffer under run protection? How would I find this?

[PC_Fanatic]

I don't like the 'drag and drop' method of backing up files. There is no control over HOW the burn is done.

Instead, create a data CD (or DVD). This will give you total control over the process. You'll have to wade through a myriad of options, but in the long run, you'll have no coasters.

The buffer underrun protection should be listed in the drive's specifications. Roxio should have a menu option to display the drive settings & specs.

I haven't used Roxio since version 4. It was incompatible with XP, and they offered no free upgrades. I've been using Nero 5 for the past 5 years or so.

I've burned hundreds of disks and It has NEVER let me down.

Nero is a must-have. Roxio was unreliable when I used it years ago, and it sounds like it hasn't improved much.