Lost & Corrupt Images

[gene thornton]

<p>I have searched this subject and found only 4 year old responses. I also am a victim of the ghost that steals images from CD's. Having discussed this issue with my computer wizard he allowed how I should use the recording program to exit or remove the CD from the drive, not to push the open button on the drive.<br>

Having that in mind I was confident my problems were over, however that did not seem to make any difference. Files were still lost, as a matter of fact the entire disk trashed.<br>

Having read some of the old responses to this problem regarding the expense of recovery my question is; <strong>What is causing this?</strong><br>

I know someone will ask, I am using the software from roxio, it does not seem to matter who's brand of CD I use the problems are still there.<br>

I am now busy saving all images to an external hard drive, and finding more corrupt images along the way. Some of these CD's have not been touched in a year or more. They live in a climate controlled room, in individual hard plastic boxes like the used to come in. (I think they were called jewel boxes)</p>

<p>Thanks, any suggestions are welcome</p>

[john_deerfield]

<p>Any number of factors. "Burning" data to a disc is more complicated than most (including myself) could ever imagine. For quick burns on my Mac I use Toast which gives me the following options:</p>

<p>Mac Only<br /> Mac & PC<br /> DVD-ROM (UDF)<br /> ISO 9660</p>

<p>Really? And all I wanted was a burned disc! I am not much of a Windows persons, but I can tell you that you should have your images in some sort of directory (IE: a folder). Don't burn images directory free (no folder) to a disc. Use good blank media, burn at a slower rate than the maximum rate (middle of the road), CLOSE the session, and verify the burn. Many people think the slower burn isn't relevant: digital information is just 1's & 0's. And while that is true enough, it isn't the information I am worried about. I am worried about the ability of a future device being able to <em><strong>read</strong></em> the information. Burning a disc is more of a bleaching process, the laser "burns" the dye. The slower the burn, the more accurately the dye is burned, enabling other readers to more accurately read the information. Keep in mind that this is an oversimplified explanation and all disc readers have error correction technology built into them. We want to keep those unknown/hidden errors to a minimum.</p>

<p>You want to use good media because like anything else, the dye will fade over time. Cheap media = cheap dye = problems later as the dye fades making the reading of the disc problematic. Now this can happen with the best of media as well. But all else being equal, better dye, better media, will last longer.</p>

<p>Keep the disc burning as generic as possible. Keep the data in folders, don't choose to add backgrounds or whatever other option you might have: keep it generic. Since I don't burn on a PC, I can't be specific, but I wouldn't want my burning software to make a disc that say automatically launches on insert.... what if those instructions don't work in the future?</p>

<p>So.... good media, generic burning (images in a folder), slower speed, verified, and well stored. Then make another copy.</p>

[bgelfand]

<p>There are two general areas where the corruption could have occurred:</p>

<p>1) When the files were burned to disc, your drive could have dropped bits. It is not likely but it could happen. Both Roxio and Nero software have an option of verifying the files after write. They go back and read the files from your hard drive and the file just burned to disc and do a bit for bit comparison. This does increase the time it takes to create a disc, but I always do it.</p>

<p>2) Your CD/DVD disc could deteriorate over time, but for any decent disc usually not in a year or less. You seem to store your discs properly, in the original jewel boxes in a climate controlled room. I assume they are not subjected to strong sun light. But, how do you label your discs? Some labeling systems can damage the top silver layer that reflects the laser light and causes data to drop.</p>

 

[gene thornton]

<p>Thanks guys.</p>

<p>John, what media would you suggest?</p>

<p>Brooks, I have been marking the disks with a black Sharpie CD/DVD marker</p>

[jpb]

Never use a sharpie. There are nasty chemicals in there that fail any notion of being archival (except permanence). Instead

I suggest a similar but gentler pen called Archival Gold (it has no solvents that can damage a disc). Always label your cd

before burning it. This will limit damage to data.

 

I use what I consider to be the best and most consistently manufactured discs. They are made by Taio Yuden and I buy

them from the supermediastore.com. The ones I use are the plain silver. This company makes such a good product that, in

fact, many of the name brand discs out there are made by Taio Yuden and branded for those more recognizable

companies.

[john_deerfield]

<p>I have heard good things about Taio Yuden though personally I use Verbatim's. I always use inkjet printable discs which, IMHO, offers another protective layer topside! I usually use an inkjet printer to label my discs, but if I am in a hurry I will scribble with a CD/DVD marker. But be sure it is a CD/DVD marker to avoid the "nasty" chemicals. I get all of my supplies from B&H.... as a NAPP member you can get free shipping.</p>

[gene thornton]

<p>James, thank you for your reply. However your answers brings up another question in my mind.<br>

Having begun my photography back in 1950 I can say one thing, I never <strong>lost</strong> a negative. Now with that said I have files of type written marine survey reports and reports for insurance claims stored on plain old el cheapo Office Depot RW CD's, each CD's containing perhaps 40 - 60 individual reports. All of which are marked with a Sharpie, and most likely the early ones with just a plain old marker, as I don't recall special markers from Sharpie for CD's way back then.<br>

These first photo CD's were burned when I began using them back in 2000, I used an external HP CD reader/writer, I have checked a few of the 24 such CD's that contain photos of which most of them are full, and I found none of the disks that I randomly checked have lost any files.<br>

Another thought, the present day (Office Depot) CD's may have a poor quality as compared to those of earlier years.<br>

My point is, none of these old files are corrupt and the oldest is now 10 years old and they surely were not treated as you suggest. The only difference is after they were full they were stored away and haven't been touched until today.<br>

I am open for suggestions, ideas and what ever information anyone may be willing to share.<br>

BTW, Taiyo Yuden disks and Archival Gold pens are on order.</p>

<p> </p>

[bgelfand]

<p>Gene,</p>

<p>It sounds as though your drive or the software is dropping bits. I suggest you set the software to verify the files after write.</p>

<p>Have you tried reading the files on a different computer (just to insure this is a write problem and not a read problem)?</p>