4x is probably too low for modern media, 8x would probably be a better burn, but even if the drive could read CD-R ok at one time, laser degradation could eat into that margin

I also tried with 10x. Same result.

Weren't those drives also picky about the capacity of the discs ?

Like, 640MB (74 minutes) would work but anything else is out of spec.

weedeewee wrote on 2025-08-14, 15:35:

Weren't those drives also picky about the capacity of the discs ?

Like, 640MB (74 minutes) would work but anything else is out of spec.

I think that was only an issue with VERY old drives. In this case, I tried Day of the Tentacle, which is less than 300MB, so should be no issue. It really seems to be the kind of media, which is troubling.

Modern pickups are supposed to be more sensitive and need less light back, resulting in cheapening the reflective coating on "modern" media. Meaning it is thinner. Some people have had success getting older drives to read this type of disc by applying a label to it, thus getting a couple more percent return signal and stopping the laser shining right through it and having confusing back reflections from elsewhere.

Wow, that sounds... wacky! The issue is: the CD-Rs in question already have a solid print on them. The blue one even a really thick one. A sticker won't help at all in that case... I guess that the Mitsumi is just not made for CD-R... I will have to look out for another drive, but I will keep it, because my first CD-ROM was a Mitsumi. 😀

My FX001D can read japanese JVC/Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs quite reliably, burned at 16x I think? So I believe media quality matters a lot in these cases, I also use these CD-Rs to burn backups on consoles like PS1, Saturn, etc. with great success.

TheMobRules wrote on 2025-08-14, 18:17:

My FX001D can read japanese JVC/Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs quite reliably, burned at 16x I think? So I believe media quality matters a lot in these cases, I also use these CD-Rs to burn backups on consoles like PS1, Saturn, etc. with great success.

Do you have a source for those? On eBay I only find UK listings. Anything inside the EU…?

root42 wrote on 2025-08-14, 19:03:

TheMobRules wrote on 2025-08-14, 18:17:

My FX001D can read japanese JVC/Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs quite reliably, burned at 16x I think? So I believe media quality matters a lot in these cases, I also use these CD-Rs to burn backups on consoles like PS1, Saturn, etc. with great success.

Do you have a source for those? On eBay I only find UK listings. Anything inside the EU…?

Unfortunately not, last time I bought a pack of 100 from a US eBay seller but he no longer has in stock. I also had found some on Amazon, but for some reason it wouldn't even ship to my US courier address (Amazon is nearly unusable to me at this point with all its enshittification, but you may find EU links for these CD-Rs there also).

Laser degradation is probably the #1 cause of this worsening over lifetime of a drive. Open it and clean it. Note if there is a teeny tiny potentiometer accesible somewhere on the side of the optical pickup. Try moving it a tiny bit one way, or if that didn't work, the opposite way. Usually at least some improvement is possible this way.

bertrammatrix wrote on 2025-08-14, 19:34:

Laser degradation is probably the #1 cause of this worsening over lifetime of a drive. Open it and clean it. Note if there is a teeny tiny potentiometer accesible somewhere on the side of the optical pickup. Try moving it a tiny bit one way, or if that didn't work, the opposite way. Usually at least some improvement is possible this way.

Be warned, hotrodding the laser drive will further shorten what little remaining life the laser has.

In my experience dying laser is one of the least common types of failure on older drives, usually the problems reading discs are due to mechanical issues (broken gears, stuck motors, poor lubrication), poor media quality or leaking SMD capacitors. So I would try to discard all possible problems with the laser assembly mechanism before tweaking the pots as that will definitely affect the laser life.

I had a SoundBlaster 2x IDE which I think was a Mitsumi, that one only liked gold colored CDRWs burned DAO of course.

BitWrangler wrote on 2025-08-14, 20:18:

I had a SoundBlaster 2x IDE which I think was a Mitsumi, that one only liked gold colored CDRWs burned DAO of course.

Yes! I have a few 25 year old Kodak gold CD-R. Those still work fine! I guess those aren’t manufactured anymore…?

TheMobRules wrote on 2025-08-14, 19:23:

root42 wrote on 2025-08-14, 19:03:

TheMobRules wrote on 2025-08-14, 18:17:

My FX001D can read japanese JVC/Taiyo Yuden CD-Rs quite reliably, burned at 16x I think? So I believe media quality matters a lot in these cases, I also use these CD-Rs to burn backups on consoles like PS1, Saturn, etc. with great success.

Do you have a source for those? On eBay I only find UK listings. Anything inside the EU…?

Unfortunately not, last time I bought a pack of 100 from a US eBay seller but he no longer has in stock. I also had found some on Amazon, but for some reason it wouldn't even ship to my US courier address (Amazon is nearly unusable to me at this point with all its enshittification, but you may find EU links for these CD-Rs there also).

Do you have any model/type or photo?

BitWrangler wrote on 2025-08-14, 17:23:

Modern pickups are supposed to be more sensitive and need less light back, resulting in cheapening the reflective coating on "modern" media. Meaning it is thinner. Some people have had success getting older drives to read this type of disc by applying a label to it, thus getting a couple more percent return signal and stopping the laser shining right through it and having confusing back reflections from elsewhere.

Didn’t CDROMS gradually change to redder and redder frequency lasers?

I thought most of the sensitivity was a combination of better optics and moving from “far infrared” to “near infrared” light which reduced the losses in the reflection. AKA going from 780+/-25 to 760 +/-10 on late drives

root42 wrote on 2025-08-14, 20:23:

Do you have any model/type or photo?

Yes! It was a 100 pack just like this one:

rmay635703 wrote on 2025-08-14, 20:44:

BitWrangler wrote on 2025-08-14, 17:23:

Modern pickups are supposed to be more sensitive and need less light back, resulting in cheapening the reflective coating on "modern" media. Meaning it is thinner. Some people have had success getting older drives to read this type of disc by applying a label to it, thus getting a couple more percent return signal and stopping the laser shining right through it and having confusing back reflections from elsewhere.

Didn’t CDROMS gradually change to redder and redder frequency lasers?

I thought most of the sensitivity was a combination of better optics and moving from “far infrared” to “near infrared” light which reduced the losses in the reflection. AKA going from 780+/-25 to 760 +/-10 on late drives

Yeah maybe, specifics got lost to time and my brains lossy compression. Seems sensible that whichever way, throwing tennis balls into mug sized pits, you'd have to get 'em more perfectly lined up, whereas changing to golf balls there was a bit more error tolerance.

I only remember having older Verbatim CD-Rs read in those FX400 mitsumis