Reliability of CD-R's?

[shulgin78]

I've got a Hewlett Packard CD-Writer plus 9100 series, and I've recently started using DirectCD (CD-Writable software), to turn all my CD-RW into extra hard drive space. Unfortunately a couple of times of gone to use these CD's but certain programs, usually whole directories have vanished! Does anybody know what might be happening? I wasn't sure if this was the correct forum but I was told you guys are that brilliantly, you'd be able to help me (sic). I've read that part of the process of writing to CD-RW involves the use of magnetic particles, could I have erased part of my data. Thanks for all help, and I hope to here from you.

 

[Workin']

OK, first of all no magnetic anything is involved in the process of reading/writing CD-R's or CD-RW's. It's all done by laser.

CD-RW's in general suck. Especially if you use them like big floppy disks (i.e., packet writing software like Adaptec's). They seem to be relly prone to data errors when used in this fashion. I, too have lost stuff supposedly saved on a packet-written CD-RW. Works fine one day, then gone the next. <shrug>

I quit using CD-RW's and use CD-R's instead, because I've had such bad luck with CD-RW. And CD-R's are cheap enough that it doesn't matter that they can't be reused.

 

[Radarman]

Forget abour CD/RW Disks, CD-R disks are so inexpensive now, and much more reliable than CD-RWs, CD-RW are recorded with less Laser intensity ( due to the re-writable requirement ) that some CD Drives have a problem reading them. The straight CD-Recordable disks are written with greater Laser intensity, making them easier for most CD Drives to read. Use good quality CDR disks for importaint archives and backups. Just my .02c Radarman