> I'm trying to write to my philips cdd2000 drive which I can do just fine
> under windows 95, but linux keeps complaining that the device is read
> only. It is viewed by linux to be a CDRom drive. How can I enable the
> write option? Is this a kernel parameter at compile time I may have
> missed?
You need the right [write :-) uh!] tools.
Get the cdwrite package, the mkisofs package and read the mini-howto
on recordable CD's.
I'm using a cdd200 and it works great! I've now cut over 400 CD's
using this drive. With its 1Meg buffer, you only need to be able to get
to the drive at least every 3 seconds at double speed to keep from underrunning
the transfer. With a 133 Pentium as my primary engineering workstation, I've
been running Linux with X-Windows networked to several dozen other systems,
plus run compiles on the system, all while cutting a cd (from a local drive
to the CD-R of course) and never lost a single one!
I've got a 2Gig IDE drive dedicated to just staging CD images. With
my additional IDE cdrom, I can be dumping one image from a CD to one area on
the hard drive while cutting a CD to the SCSI CD-R drive, all at the same
time. Never misses a beat. I would NOT try cutting a CD-R directly from
another CD. That WOULD be asking for trouble even if the CD drive is
several times faster than the CD-R drive!
I've tried "stress testing" the drive while operating the system with
the load average indicating 3 lines on the xload display and still not lost
a CD! I love this drive! I've now bought a second at my office. The new
one is an external we can hook up to other engineers workstations as needed
when I'm too tied up or we have rush jobs.
Only a couple of provisos...
1) The cdwrite package has a call to synchronize the buffers after
fixating. The comments around that code indicate that it's probably not
necessary but should do no harm anyways. It generates an ugly error with
the CDD2000 and is not necessary. I've removed it.
2) If you are cutting CD's for production (pressing) use the --pad
option and hope. Some CD houses insist on large pads after the file system
and the cdwrite program only puts 10K if you specify --pad. My supplier
wanted 300K and I had to modify the program to issue 30 10K blocks of zeros
following the filesystem. (No you can't just write a 300K block - buffer
limits).
3) I would like to do multisession with cdwrite and I've tried writing
the author (even volunteered some help) but gotten no response. Anyone with
any ideas?
4) I have it on my project list to enhance mkisofs for bootable CD's
(Phoenix Romeo specification) and for Windows 95 / Windows NT long file
names (Joliet specification). Have NOT contacted the author yet. Anyone
else in on this?
Advise on media:
There are three fundamental styles of CD-R media, each distinguished
by the color of the recordable layer. There are "Gold" (yellow), "Green",
and "Blue" media.
If you are cutting audio CD's - avoid the gold CD-R's like the plague!
They do not work in a lot of audio CD players. They are the cheaper blanks
and are supposed to have a longer "shelf life" than the green CD-R's (both
will outlive me).
The green CD-R's have a good track record and are probably the most
common you will encounter. That's what I end up with when I order CD-R's in
bulk (100 CD-R spindles). The are reliable and will work in all of the audio
drives (if that matters) but have a shorter shelf life than the gold CD-R's.
The blue CD-R's do not have the "track record" of the Green or Yellow
CD-R's but Verbatum (the Blue CD-R manufacturer) claims they have a longer
shelf life and better reliablility than either of the other two styles. I
believe that Fuji is also marketing these style blanks. They are my personal
preference, in unit quantities, and, actually, are not particularly expensive.
They can be had in prices and quantities approaching those of the gold CD-R's
you just have to shop around a bit more.
> Thanks for your help.
> Kambiz
Mike
-- Michael H. Warfield | (770) 985-6132 | mhw@WittsEnd.com (The Mad Wizard) | (770) 925-8248 | http://www.wittsend.com/mhw/ NIC whois: MHW9 | An optimist believes we live in the best of all PGP Key: 0xDF1DD471 | possible worlds. A pessimist is sure of it!