Need help with restoring some backups

dod

dod

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Just went to some of my backup DVD's as I need one of the images.

Installed the disk and XP asks me what I want to do, open recordable disk, burn music etc. Selected do nothing and open it and there's nothing on the disk :thinking: Tried about half a dozen others and they're all the same.

I think the problem may be to do with the fact that they were backed up while I was running W2K and EasyCD5. For some reason XP doesn't or can't recognise them. TRied reinstalling EasyCD but that caused the system not to boot, had to start from "Last known good config" to be met with a message saying EasyCD drivers were causing system instability. :bang:

Anyone got any suggestions as to how I can read these disks?
 
OOPS! That doesn't sound good, dod! Yes, it may be XP's inability to read them. But it could also be – and I think that is more likely – simple age: the CDs' and DVDs' materials are chemically unstable, and react to/with eachother, making the disk unreadable over time. Effectively destroying it's contents.

Which is why I re-burn all my backed up CDs and DVDs on brandnew disks every 3 years. I recommend you do that too with your CDs/DVDs that can still be read . . .

Have fun!
 
Thanks, but they're less than a year old :(
 
i know from experience, dvd/cd writers are a bit temperamental, could be worth checking on a friends computer to see if they work. good luck
 
Had a similar problem last year. Turned out to be a duff DVD drive. Fortunatly had older and slower USB model which could read them. Replaced drive ( or rather Dell did)

I would second the suggestion to try a second computer. I know of several instances where one computer wouldn't read disks but another would.
 
i think its a roxio thing,when i first got into photogrpahy i filled a half doz disks with photos using Roxio to burn them, and yep they come up as if they are blank disks, although they are a few years old now, they werent when i first tried to read them.
hm just had a thought, i wonder if sandisk rescue program would read them?

Fi
 
Can you remember if you 'finalized' the disk when you had finished writing to it ? - if not this could be you problem. When you create a CD the 'session' is left open so you can add to or remove data from the disk in the future, this disk will work fine on the PC you created the disk on or another PC running the same software, but there is a good chance it wont read using a different PC with a different CD creating package. To get the disks to work on other PC's the session needs to be Finalized (The CD creation software should tell you how to do this). If you can install / use a PC with easyCD5 you will probably be able to read / finalize the disk.

Paul
 
Hi Dod

got anywhere with this yet? :shrug:
I have a pc running win2k sp4
if you need assistance post me the dvd's and more importantly the application and i'll have a go for you.
pm me if required :thumbs:
 
Are you using the same writer you used to actually make the discs with? Make sure the writer supports multisessions as it sounds as though the CD session wasn't closed off.
 
Dogfish_magnet said:
Can you remember if you 'finalized' the disk when you had finished writing to it ?

Paul
Click to expand...

In honesty, no.

Dave Scanlon said:
Hi Dod

got anywhere with this yet? :shrug:
I have a pc running win2k sp4
if you need assistance post me the dvd's and more importantly the application and i'll have a go for you.
pm me if required :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Thanks Dave, we just upgraded some of the machines at work which were running W2K so I'll take one of them home and give it a go :)

HybridUK said:
Are you using the same writer you used to actually make the discs with? Make sure the writer supports multisessions as it sounds as though the CD session wasn't closed off.
Click to expand...
Same writer definitely :)Only things that have changed are the OS and the application and XP really isn't liking easyCD5. WOnder if there's an up to date trial :thinking:

Thanks for the thoughts/ideas folks :)
 
Are these RW or R dvd disks?
 
Does looking at the properties in my computer show any disk usage/ free space?
 
have you tried any other DVD/CD to rule out the drive as a problem?:thinking:
 
Did you check that the disks actually worked after creating them.

I had a problem once with Roxio, there are so many different ways to back up. I created the disk by mistake as an image.
Another time I used Roxio Back up. The problem then is knowing which app you used to create it, so that you can get it back.

Just suggestions, probably don't apply, but may help.
Good luck, Barbara
 
It might be worth trying Isobuster by Smart Projects. We have a load of archived jobs at work that were written on a Windows 2000 computer that can only be read on that computer or through Isobuster.
 
thanks for all the comments folks.

I downloaded the deepburner pro trial and that's confirming there is actually data on the disks but it wasn't able to read them. I'll try them on one of the old work PC's through the week, that should work hopefully. :)
 
If you get really stuck you are quite welcome to mail them to me.

I have approximately 20 different DVD drives in my used stock at any one time, and can set them up as external drives and I'll be happy to try them on all if needed.
 
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