Are some PC CDs unreadable by VPC?
I have a number of PC CDs and I have never had any problems before,
apart from having to put up with the clunky way Windoze runs. Now I
have a problem which may be due to the CD being damaged but I am not
sure. The full story is below.
I wonder if it is caused because Windows 98 SE supplied with VPC 5 is
not 'real' Windows but a special edition for the Mac. Should I use my
'real' Windows 98 disk which came with VPC 2.1 to create a new drive?
Diana
*****
I have a CD from an English Family History Society which arrived
damaged. My efforts to get them to replace it have failed. The main
reason is because I told them I was running it on a Mac using Virtual
PC and they say this is the problem, not the damage to the CD.
The CD was posted with a small booklet in an envelope, no proper
packing (they have admitted this should not have happened). The jewel
case is broken along one edge and the CD has a short deep cut near
the middle which only just runs into the data area. Originally I
tried it on my PowerBook using VPC 2.1, it was very slow but at least
I knew it would run.
But on my Quicksilver G4 512 M Ram, System 9.2.2, Pioneer DVD-RW
DVR-104 (MMC3) Drive and VPC 5 it would not run at all.
The Mac can see the CD but the PC can't, tells me the drive is not
ready. I tried the CD on a PC at the local genealogy society (WAGS)
and it runs but very slowly, compared to the WAGS copy of the same CD.
WAGS Mine
Surname Search: < 5 sec 27 sec
Enum. Notebook: < 5 sec 30 sec
Having given up hope of a replacement I used Toast 5 to make a copy
of the CD and VPC 5 can see it! Using it I could not run SETUP.EXE
from the prompt but when I opened the CD I could double click it and
it installed. And the program will run but very slowly.
When I looked at the CD in VPC I realised that some of the files did
not have extensions, including all the .EXE files, and one file was
missing (hidden maybe?). The Mac can see all the files are there,
with extensions.
I tried copying all the CD files to my hard disk and burning a Data
CD, in Mac OS and PC (Hybrid) CD format. This does not run, VPC tells
me to put the correct disk in the drive. I tried re-installing but
got the same error message.
I would be pleased to hear any suggestions as I would like to buy the
next CD this FHS are about to produce. Next time I will only order
one thing and it should be sent in the proper packing. They offered
to save on postage for me but I said not to, and sent the full
postage for both items. So they saved a few pence for themselves! The
woman who runs the show has a bad reputation as far as giving value
for money is concerned, very commercially oriented. I would not buy
anything else from her except this is the only source of the
information apart from spending hours reading census films!
*****
