computer question cdrw problem

[dweller]

I started saving webpages, links, photos, cartoons, etc that were interesting to me here on DU to a cdrw many months ago, and moved all the previous saves from my hard drive to the cdrw also. Didn't want it taking up room on my hard drive, plus had a drive fail etc, so thought it would be safer.
I used the cdrw yesterday, was saving files as usual, and then when i went back to read some of the pages today, all of a sudden it shows 0 bytes in one view, but the properties of the disk show 656 mbs there (it's a 650 mb capacity disk).
I have tried to copy it (failed) back it up (0 bytes backed up) and am ready to give it up.
I hate that i've lost all these articles on the BFEE, all the political essays, every cartoon, and other important data backup files for my pc, etc.
:(

I talked to a buddy who gave me some advice, mainly trying to check it out on a Mac (i use a pc) to see if it can be read and then copied, etc. which i'll do sometime when i can gain access to one.
In the meatime, does anyone have a suggestion on how to get around the problem (which seems to be on the disk, not the drive). The disk does not look scratched (i keep it in a case when not using it), the drive reads other cdrs and cdrws fine. I don't know if i loaded too much on it and therefore it's maybe written over the FAT or something. Somewhere along the way of trying to access it i got a message that it was 'read only' and can't find how to change that or even if i should.

any help would be appreciated, and i'll check back later to respond. I'm just totally bummed now and have been messing around with this for several hours now and am just walking away from the computer for now.

thanks in advance.
dp

[slor]

1. There are CD doctor..

software packages out there. I cannot say how effective they are. to change from "read-only" right click and you can change the properties, but not sure if that will help. Also, did you try to copy the data back to a known good HDD? Good Luck! Hope this may help.

[dweller]

3. thanks, any recommendations?

i'll take a look around on the internet.
i did try to back it up on to the hdd, the problem is since i can't 'see' any files, i can't choose them to copy, move etc.
i did try to save a file to the cdrw but once said it was full, then the read only message popped up.

maybe others have dealt with it.
I also ran Norton AV on it, and it didn't see any files, so it's pretty confusing, since it's (over)full and nothing is there at the same time.

dp

[short bus president]

2. have you changed any software?

If you use directCD to access a CDRW drive like a regular partition (under windows), it requires a UDF reader for accessing the data - if you've uninstalled directCD for any reason, you may have lost that.

Aside from that, if you were writing sessions with "normal" cd burning software and now can't read, you may end up either losing the disc contents or paying someone to try to recover it for you.

Trying on a few different machines first is a great idea.

[dweller]

4. i installed a firewall the other day

but haven't changed anything that i had previously.

i use Nero to burn cds, and the computer saves files to the cdrws just like it's a drive. another person told me that it uses 'packet writing' and so that may have caused the problem...i admit i don't understand why.

i have to believe that if the 656 mbs on the disk, it's still there. But for what ever reason, i can't see it or access it, scan it copy it or back it up.

i remember a similar problem with floppies and pcs, where the FAT would somehow get lost, and a pc would see the disk as unformatted. Placing the floppie in a Mac would allow the mac to write its own FAT and then all the files could be copied off, the disk reformatted for a pc, and then files copied back. Saved many a student's disk that way.

thanks for your help

dp

[dweller]

5. geeks and techies

i'm just :kick: my own thread.

i'm going to hate losing every file, cartoon, everything i have saved from my experiences and links from du from the last 8 months.
it's history as we are seeing it develop.

does anyone have a sure tip to the problem above?

sigh,
dp

[DS1]

6. hmm, don't panic too much, yet

I can burn discs, but the burner refuses to read them when done, it's the weirdest and most irritating pc thing ever. Take the discs to a different system and see if that can access them, if so, network the data that you need back over to your pc.

[dweller]

7. i'll try not to panic

it's just a big disappointment since i haven't even read some of the files yet. I had an e-book or two (or 3 or 4) there that i'd not even started.
and all those cartoons, thanks nostamj, i can get those again. They were great and really are the telling of the history of the *moron's limited days in office.

i'll never find all the links again that i've saved tho, nor most of the pictures.
Funny, once i had the resources to free print the material, and did so until i ended up with reams of material that took up space i didn't have. And i tired of cataloging it all, and guilt tripped over the paper waste. The computer seemed the more practical, efficient way.

I'll get to another computer at some point and see what comes up. Otherwise, the cd is but skeet target potential.

thanks
dp