Can't burn Acronis or Paragon bootable rescue CD

[Bob]

Hi,
I'm using Windows 7 Pro x64. While attempting to burn Acronis bootable
CD, the process goes near to the end then stops. The drive continue to
run at high speed an I have no other means to recover my desktop than
shutting down the PC.
On the other hand, while attempting to do the same in Paragon Bacup &
Recovery, the burning process doesn't start at all. In both cases, the
CDs are no longer writable after failing.
I can't find anything in help files.
Any ideas ? Thank you.
Bob

 

[Stan Brown]

I'm using Windows 7 Pro x64. While attempting to burn Acronis bootable
CD, the process goes near to the end then stops. The drive continue to
run at high speed an I have no other means to recover my desktop than
shutting down the PC.

On the other hand, while attempting to do the same in Paragon Bacup &
Recovery, the burning process doesn't start at all. In both cases, the
CDs are no longer writable after failing.
I can't find anything in help files.
Any ideas ? Thank you.

It might be relevant which versions of those programs you have, and
whether you are able to burn an ordinary data CD successfully.

Possibly you have a bad driver; possibly you have a bad drive;
possibly you have outdated versions of both programs, though I think
that's less likely.

 

[Flint]

Hi,
I'm using Windows 7 Pro x64. While attempting to burn Acronis bootable
CD, the process goes near to the end then stops. The drive continue to
run at high speed an I have no other means to recover my desktop than
shutting down the PC.
On the other hand, while attempting to do the same in Paragon Bacup&
Recovery, the burning process doesn't start at all. In both cases, the
CDs are no longer writable after failing.
I can't find anything in help files.
Any ideas ? Thank you.
Bob

Sounds like either a bad drive or bad media.

 

[Paul]

Hi,
I'm using Windows 7 Pro x64. While attempting to burn Acronis bootable
CD, the process goes near to the end then stops. The drive continue to
run at high speed an I have no other means to recover my desktop than
shutting down the PC.
On the other hand, while attempting to do the same in Paragon Bacup &
Recovery, the burning process doesn't start at all. In both cases, the
CDs are no longer writable after failing.
I can't find anything in help files.
Any ideas ? Thank you.
Bob

To analyze the partially-burned coaster you're holding in your hand,
you could use the free Nero CD-DVD Speed. I have version 4.7.7.13 on my
desktop and this is version 4.7.7.16. As far as I know, this is written
by Eric Deppe, and was also distributed from his web site.

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/cd_dvd/dvd_tools/nero_cd_speed.cfm

There was a name change for the tool at some point. It's called
Nero DiscSpeed now.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download118.html

Another name that comes to mind is KProbe, but it is supposed to be limited
to Liteon burners. I used some version of that years ago. Some media
burning experts, burn with one drive, and they keep a second (known good)
drive just for scanning and rating burn quality.

There are various symptoms of "bad burn". I'm not an expert on diagnosing
these. Sometimes, when you buy a new burner, you really need to update the
firmware on the drive, before dialing it in and testing what media works.
I've only owned one burner, were it couldn't burn worth a damn until
I did a firmware upgrade, and that added more media tags to it. My latest
two LG drives "just work".

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6750/necdvdrwnd3540a1w906sepyk6.png

If you look for a review of your optical burner on the net, sometimes
that will give you some idea whether bad burns are endemic.

*******

You can try another burning tool, but if it's a drive/media issue, no
burner program can possibly fix that for you. I've used this tool on
my older OSes, with good results. Before wasting any more media, I'd
scan first, and if the scan looks good, then install another burning
tool for a test. If the scan looks bad, check for a firmware update,
install new burner program, and test.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imgburn

When drives cost $20 for a desktop drive, you can easily waste another
$20 on small packages of media, testing for compatibility. Done right,
it can take the better part of a week, before your new burner is operating
sweetly, and you know what brand to buy a spindle of.

Paul

 

[Bob]

It might be relevant which versions of those programs you have, and
whether you are able to burn an ordinary data CD successfully.

Possibly you have a bad driver; possibly you have a bad drive;
possibly you have outdated versions of both programs, though I think
that's less likely.

Thanks for your prompt answer. I forgot to say that, on the other
hand, I'm perfectly able to burn multisession CDs and DVDs through
CDBurnerXP software. Strange, isn't it ? Do you know what Windows 7
burning program is involved in the direct process used by Acronis and
Paragon ?

 

[Bob]

To analyze the partially-burned coaster you're holding in your hand,
you could use the free Nero CD-DVD Speed. I have version 4.7.7.13 on my
desktop and this is version 4.7.7.16. As far as I know, this is written
by Eric Deppe, and was also distributed from his web site.

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/cd_dvd/dvd_tools/nero_cd_speed.cfm

There was a name change for the tool at some point. It's called
Nero DiscSpeed now.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download118.html

Another name that comes to mind is KProbe, but it is supposed to be limited
to Liteon burners. I used some version of that years ago. Some media
burning experts, burn with one drive, and they keep a second (known good)
drive just for scanning and rating burn quality.

There are various symptoms of "bad burn". I'm not an expert on diagnosing
these. Sometimes, when you buy a new burner, you really need to update the
firmware on the drive, before dialing it in and testing what media works.
I've only owned one burner, were it couldn't burn worth a damn until
I did a firmware upgrade, and that added more media tags to it. My latest
two LG drives "just work".

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6750/necdvdrwnd3540a1w906sepyk6.png

If you look for a review of your optical burner on the net, sometimes
that will give you some idea whether bad burns are endemic.

*******

You can try another burning tool, but if it's a drive/media issue, no
burner program can possibly fix that for you. I've used this tool on
my older OSes, with good results. Before wasting any more media, I'd
scan first, and if the scan looks good, then install another burning
tool for a test. If the scan looks bad, check for a firmware update,
install new burner program, and test.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imgburn

When drives cost $20 for a desktop drive, you can easily waste another
$20 on small packages of media, testing for compatibility. Done right,
it can take the better part of a week, before your new burner is operating
sweetly, and you know what brand to buy a spindle of.

Paul

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your prompt answer. Here are the results :

Nero CD Speed Test results



General Information

Operating System Professional (6.01.7601 Service Pack 1)
Drive TSSTcorpCDDVDW SH-S223C
Firmware Version SB04
Serial Number
Disc Data CD
MID 97m15s17f
Capacity 18:50.74



Transfer Rate

Start 17.93x
End 25.61x
Average 22.11x
Type CAV







Seek Times

Random 69 ms
1/3 70 ms
Full 100 ms



CPU Usage

1X 0 %
2X 1 %
4X 2 %
8X 5 %



Interface

Burst Rate 64221 KB/sec



Spin Up/Down Times

Spin Up Time 1.37 sec
Spin Down Time 3.14 sec



Load/Eject Times

Load Time 1.29 sec
Eject Time 1.67 sec
Recognition Time 12.40 sec



Log

Time Elapsed Action
[17:04:10] Drive: TSSTcorpCDDVDW SH-S223C SB04
[17:04:29] Drive: TSSTcorpCDDVDW SH-S223C SB04
[17:05:41] Disc: Data CD, 18:50.74, 97m15s17f
[17:05:56] Starting transfer rate test
[17:06:48] 0:51 Speed:18-26 X CAV (22.11 X average)
[17:06:48] Starting access times test
[17:06:55] Random Access: 69 ms
[17:07:02] 1/3 Access: 70 ms
[17:07:12] 0:25 Full Access: 100 ms
[17:07:12] Starting CPU usage test
[17:07:28] CPU usage at 1X: 0 %
[17:07:43] CPU usage at 2X: 1 %
[17:07:58] CPU usage at 4X: 2 %
[17:08:13] 1:01 CPU usage at 8X: 5 %
[17:08:13] Starting burst rate test
[17:08:16] 0:03 Interface burst rate: 63 MB/sec (64221 KB/sec)
[17:08:16] Starting spin-up/down test
[17:08:20] Spin-up time: 1.37 seconds
[17:08:33] 0:18 Spin-down time: 3.14 seconds
[17:08:33] Starting load/eject test
[17:08:35] Eject time: 1.67 seconds
[17:08:36] Load time: 1.29 seconds
[17:08:49] 0:15 Recognition time: 12.40 seconds

 

[John Aldred]

Hi,
I'm using Windows 7 Pro x64. While attempting to burn Acronis bootable
CD, the process goes near to the end then stops. The drive continue to
run at high speed an I have no other means to recover my desktop than
shutting down the PC.
On the other hand, while attempting to do the same in Paragon Bacup &
Recovery, the burning process doesn't start at all. In both cases, the
CDs are no longer writable after failing.
I can't find anything in help files.
Any ideas ? Thank you.
Bob

I've had no problems burning the Acronis bootable CD from True Image 2011
using Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit.
I have also burnt a bootable CD from a Paragon product (Hard Disk Manager).

However a few months ago I did have problems burning iso images. I was using
a new spool of CD-R 52X with printable backs made by Memorex. I hadn't used
this brand/type before. They seemed to work OK in my older desktops, but not
in my new Dell Inspiron 580 with the TSST corp TS-H653H drive.
I obtained a spool of Maxell CD-R 52X (non-printable) which work fine.

I can only suggest that you try a different brand of CD-R.

 

[Paul]

Thanks for your prompt answer. Here are the results :

Nero CD Speed Test results
<< snip >>

Try the "Disc Quality" tab of the tool. Scan the coaster CD
and see if it has a high error rate.

Optical disc readers use error correction, as the media is
never error free. The media tends to have trouble, when it
hits raw error counts in the thousands to tens of thousands level.
The error correction scheme is multi-dimensional Reed-Solomon,
but not all dimensions of that scheme may be implemented. The
error correction is powerful enough, that some CDs survive even
when scratched.

(Don't read all of this )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed–Solomon_error_correction

"The result is a CIRC that can completely correct error bursts
up to 4000 bits, or about 2.5 mm on the disc surface. This code
is so strong that most CD playback errors are almost certainly
caused by tracking errors that cause the laser to jump track,
not by uncorrectable error bursts."

My results here, show my burn is far from perfect. None of the
CDs of this brand I've burned, have caused a problem. The fact
that the C2 level is zero, indicates I'm not in trouble. The panel
on the right, is intended to indicate the drive does support the
logging of C2 errors.

(Two free Nero tools, side by side)

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/5893/nerotoolserrorscan.gif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C2_error

There can be endless debates about optical media scanning
techniques, and my only intention when showing you this feature,
is to provide a means to explain bad burn results.

http://club.myce.com/f96/precision-accuracy-reliability-disc-quality-pi-po-jitter-tests-163379/

Paul