Re: [expert] Any issues with Cyber Drive CD writer?
Phil wrote: At long last I have made a move to buy a CD R/W drive. A local store sells a Cyber Drive that is affordable. It is an IDE device and according to the box, and Cyber Drive's web site, it Linux compatible. I was wondering if anyone knows of any issues that I should be aware of? Do a test: Ynder Linux, write a CR-RW from an image file using cdrecord directly, then do an md5sum on both the image file and the device (/dev/scd0?). You cannot do this under Windows because the Windows md5sum has no ability to operate at the device level. If they match, you are in luck. If the device check always ends in a read error, don't buy it. Recent changes to the CD writer firmware across all manufacturers have implemented a read-ahead feature that errors at the last sector as it tries to read ahead past the end of data. Stupid, eh? I have been through 4 drives from different manufacturers all of which showed this problem. Older drives are OK. -- Ron. [au] Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
[expert] Any issues with Cyber Drive CD writer?
Hello All, At long last I have made a move to buy a CD R/W drive. A local store sells a Cyber Drive that is affordable. It is an IDE device and according to the box, and Cyber Drive's web site, it Linux compatible. I was wondering if anyone knows of any issues that I should be aware of? -- Regards, Phil [EMAIL PROTECTED] Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
RE: [expert] Any issues with Cyber Drive CD writer?
Hi Phil, I tried a cheap Cyberdrive CD-RW (CW038D) with a Mandrake 8.1 box and had absolutely no joy whatsoever. It may not have been Linux that was the problem but I'm not convinced. Couldn't get a test CD to mount at all never mind doing any burning. Tried tweaking the BIOS and disabling DMA but to no avail. Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole but as I say it may have been a motherboard problem (Asus A7M266-D) I just didn't have the expertise or the time to nail it down. Paul. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Phil Sent: Friday, April 12, 2002 12:15 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [expert] Any issues with Cyber Drive CD writer? Hello All, At long last I have made a move to buy a CD R/W drive. A local store sells a Cyber Drive that is affordable. It is an IDE device and according to the box, and Cyber Drive's web site, it Linux compatible. I was wondering if anyone knows of any issues that I should be aware of? -- Regards, Phil [EMAIL PROTECTED] Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
Re: [expert] Any issues with Cyber Drive CD writer?
On Friday 12 April 2002 08:29 am, Paul Fotheringham wrote: Hi Phil, I tried a cheap Cyberdrive CD-RW (CW038D) with a Mandrake 8.1 box and had absolutely no joy whatsoever. It may not have been Linux that was the problem but I'm not convinced. Couldn't get a test CD to mount at all never mind doing any burning. Tried tweaking the BIOS and disabling DMA but to no avail. Personally I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole but as I say it may have been a motherboard problem (Asus A7M266-D) I just didn't have the expertise or the time to nail it down. Get a Plextor, I've been the junk (Ricoh) route too. The plex has survived several different hardware configs (p2,then p3/BX chipset, Tbird/VIA, 3 mobo's, all overclocked) with never a bother, rock solid performance. Speakin of which, don't be impressed by drives that claim writing at above 8x. The best media (cdr's) you can get won't do it very well. Cheap ones ($15/50 spindle) burn reliably at 8x. Most important tho is not to get a rebagded cd-rw, ie, manufactured by someone other than the brand it's sold under. Many are. Checking on the Cyberdrive CD-RW (CW038D), it's only got a 2mb (fifo) buffer. Most good drives have 4mb, and it's (ie, 4mb ..all) that's needed. Bottom line is cheap drives will work with linux, ide or scsi, the question is how well, and how long. If you use it a lot, the media will become the cost factor. -- Tom Brinkman Corpus Christi, Texas Want to buy your Pack or Services from MandrakeSoft? Go to http://www.mandrakestore.com
