So I burned some files to a cd-r so that I can put them on my dos machine and I noticed that when I changed directories to the cd-r it loads really slow. In contrast a softkey cdrom game collection that I have loads almost immediately. Does anybody have any ideas on how I can burn cd-r discs to load better?
You need to burn your CD-Rs at a slower (ideally, the slowest you can choose in whatever burning software you're using) speed; old CD-ROM drives can't read CD-Rs and CD-RWs very well, if even at all, depending on the model and manufacture date of the drives.
Also, see this thread.
Thanks, I'll give that a try. I should have mentioned the drive. It's a 4x NEC that came packaged with a packard bell computer.
4x? I'd just get a modern one instead. They cost like 20 bucks, they can write at 32x or something like that, but they usually need 16x to write at the best quality possible. Too slow or too fast will compromise the write quality. Most drives would produce best results at 16x or 8x. Very old drivers (and a 4x drive definitely sounds very old) always had write quality issues for me.
It also depends on the media you write to. Some discs are much better than others. I lost touch with CD writing in the last years, but I remember Verbatim discs as being the most compatible due to the material they used.
Too slow will compromise the write quality?
I've not heard that before
Guardian of the Sacred Five Terabyte's of Gaming Goodness
wrote:Too slow will compromise the write quality?
I've not heard that before
Modern discs don't like being written to slowly. They actually include information modern CD writers can read that specify what the optimal laser strength and speed is. 16x tended to produce the best burns. Vintage CD writers produce poor results with today's discs.
Burning CDs was actually such a large topic, that whole online communities formed around it, discussing the best methods. There's still FAQ's out there on how to burn discs in a way that makes them last longer and keeps them readable at full speed by most CD-ROM drives. It can get pretty complicated too with things like CAV vs CLV and how it affects the discs 🤣
There's also software that can test the quality of a disc (if the drive supports error reporting) after you write it, so that you can determine the best parameters for each brand. Too many errors cause the drive to re-read the data multiple times and reduce its speed, which is what causes the slow read speeds.
Many years ago, I've got that stuff obsessively nailed down, doing perfect burns, including perfect duplication of my copy protected originals without needing "no cd" cracks to play from the backups. The funny thing is, I now remember next to nothing other than 16x being best in most cases 😵
wrote:Many years ago, I've got that stuff obsessively nailed down, doing perfect burns, including perfect duplication of my copy protected originals without needing "no cd" cracks to play from the backups. The funny thing is, I now remember next to nothing other than 16x being best in most cases 😵
That's one of the reasons why I write down stuff 😜
But of course the next challenge will be to not forget where you left the written down notes 😵
wrote:Many years ago, I've got that stuff obsessively nailed down, doing perfect burns, including perfect duplication of my copy protected originals without needing "no cd" cracks to play from the backups. The funny thing is, I now remember next to nothing other than 16x being best in most cases 😵
Same here. Add to that hunting down the best firmware for drives. I also remember back in the early 2000s snatching up some 100-disc spindles from a lot-sale of taiyo yuden's that had been mislabeled (and were subsequently blue-coated); they were practically giving them away. The discs burned flawlessly everytime, and could be read in cars, stereos, etc without issue.
