All PC Tips

Using DVDs and CDs have become integral part of using computers these days. Hence you can rarely buy any computer without a DVD / CD reader and most of them comes with DVD / CD writers. Soon floppy disks will be obsolete. There are many reasons for the demise of the floppy disks. Firstly the storage capacity of the floppy disks as compared to other storage media such as CD and thumb drive is very very small. Secondly, the files stored in a floppy is not guaranteed to be read by other computers. In comparison, files written to CD or DVD have longer storage life. Moreover the file size in today’s computer use have increased tremendously and therefore they cannot be stored in a floppy.

It is no doubt that CD / DVDs are better than floppy disks, but there are many problems faced by computer users while copying (burning) files to a CD or a DVD. Here you will see solutions for most of the common problems faced in CD / DVD burning (writing).

1. My CD / DVD burner software program hangs half way or exits suddenly
   This problem occurs quit often in some CD / DVD writers. There are many reasons why this may happen. Especially if there are many other programs running when you are burning the disk then at times the CPU may not be able to handle this additional load. Therefore it is advisable to close all the other programs and applications before you start writing to the CD / DVD. Other background applications such as anti-virus software or instant messengers should also be closed. Other utilities that you may have installed but are running in the background (usually visible at the right side of the task bar) may also interrupt the burning process. So better to stop all these programs and run your CD/DVD writing software alone.
   
   For some CD/DVD writers, it may not support all types of CD / DVDs. So before you buy your blank CDs or bland DVDs, its a good practice to check the website of your CD / DVD writer manufacturer if it supports only specific type of CD / DVD and then buy only those type of blank CD / DVD.

   Another possible reason is maybe your CD/DVD writer is a ‘slave’. If it is slave then CPU gives more attention to the ‘master’ and may ignore the ‘slave’ when there are more tasks pending for the master. Its a better practice if you are going to burn cd / dvd quite often then put your cd/ dvd drive as the ‘master’.

2. My CD / DVD cannot be read after burning
   You may have successfully written to the CD / DVD. But when you try to read this new CD / DVD sometimes the CD / DVD drive may not read it properly. If this happens then while writing to the CD / DVD there has been some errors. Maybe after writing to the CD / DVD, the CD / DVD may not have been closed properly. To rectify this problem in your CD / DVD burning software, choose the ‘Finalize Disk‘ setting before starting the burning process. If you do this, the disk will be closed properly after writing.
   
   Another reason for this may be the speed of copying. In your CD/DVD burner software check the ‘Burning Speed’ setting. Choosing lower speed as burning speed will reduce the chances of errors while burning.
   
   Another possible reason is the ‘Firmware‘ problem in your CD / DVD writer. You can visit the manufacturer’s website and for your cd / dvd writer model, see if you can upgrade the firmware.
   
   Another reason may be your CD / DVD writing software. Try to upgrade your application to the latest version or try a different burning software.

   ISO Bustor is a good utility to retrieve and read the content from unreadable CD / DVD. You can get this utility fromwww.smartprojects.net/isobuster

DVD is the latest mass data storage device after floppy disk and CDs. The price of the DVD writer is also very affordable these days. Have you decided to buy a DVD writer? Then read the DVD writer buying tips below before making your choice.

The data and information we have in our computers are our treasure. That is the reason why we take all steps to secure this data. If the software installed in our computer gets corrupt or somehow doesn’t function properly we can always reinstall these software. But if our data such as documents, images, videos etc are lost then our hard work will be lost. We may even lose money in certain cases. Therefore we should take all steps to keep our data safe and secure.

To backup our information file we can use the Digital Audio Tape (DAT). To use this we need to buy the required driver. But this is very expensive. Ordinary people cannot afford this. Only big firms and companies use this type of tape drives to backup their data.

When backing up in a smaller scale CDs or DVDs. Using CD Writers we can copy data into CD R or CD RW disks. But in CDs you can only store upto 650MB or 700MB of data. So the CDs are losing their popularity these days.

In a DVD you can store upto 4.7GB of data. That is why DVDs have become popular. The price of DVD writers are also very affordable. So here are some buying tips for DVD Writers.

• You can categorize DVD writers into two. The internal DVD writer that is permanently fitted inside the computer or the external DVD writer that can be carried with your anywhere you go.
• DVD writers also have single layer DVD writer or Dual layer DVD writer. The DVDs useds in a single layer DVD drive can store upto 4.3GB. The DVDs in a dual layer DVD drive can store upto 8.5GB. The Single layer DVD drive is cheaper than the dual layer DVD drive.
• See if the DVD writer supports the Mt. Rainier standard. Because if it supports Mt. Rainier then you don’t require software such as In CD, Direct to Disk etc.
• DVD drive’s buffer memory should be high. At least 8MB buffer should be there.
• Check the DVD drive supports CDR, CDRW, DVDR, DVD+R, DVD RW, DVD +RW etc.
• The speed of the DVD writer should be fast. This will affect the reading and writing speed.
• If you buy an external DVD writer then you should have USB interface or Firewire interface.