problem with -RW DVDs

[miller1899]

If someone can help I will be very grateful. I have a load of photographs on DVD but only some of the DVDs will open on my computer. Some of them are showing as blank. I know they aren't blank and they open perfectly well on other computers. There is no rhyme or reason to it. I have two copies of identical DVDs that I made at the same time and one will open and one won't. Argggggggggggh.

Any suggestions? My computer dates from the early Devonian era but it should still work.

And sometimes the free easy burner program opens automatically and sometimes it doesn't. I have got a Roxio program in a box somewhere so if I delete the free prog and install Roxio will that make a difference.

[GetCarter]

DVD readers get old and don't work as well.

DVD's sometimes die or get scratched.

Not the best place to store photos (though I do have a set on DVD in someone elses house, just in case!)

One used to be able to buy cleaning DVDs that will clean the glass head of the laser... hold on...

yep: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hama-DVD-ROM-Laser-Cleanin...

[miller1899]

Thanks for replying so quickly. The DVDs are in perfect condition and have been kept clean and hardly used so I think they are fine. Perhaps cleaning the laser will work, which hadn't occurred to me.

What is the best place for storing?

[MartinP]

Fingers crossed cleaning the drive sorts it out.

I don't trust any storage 100%. I store my pics on an external 1TB hard drive and back that up to a 2nd one. I also burn DVD's which I store at my parents' house.

[GetCarter]

MartinP said:

Fingers crossed cleaning the drive sorts it out.

I don't trust any storage 100%. I store my pics on an external 1TB hard drive and back that up to a 2nd one. I also burn DVD's which I store at my parents' house.

/\ Almost exactly the same as me + I store some on the iCloud. Paranoia is a good thing.

[miller1899]

Thanks all. This is extremely helpful. I will try the laser cleaner. If that doesn't work, is there any reason why I couldn't buy an external DVD drive to plug into my laptop? I am pretty sure the discs themselves are fine.

I have had a look at the external storage things on Amazon and they look pretty good although will need to save a bit and that is more of a long term plan.

[Turn7]

If you can access them on a different pc, why not drop them onto a usb or upload to the web ?

[Simpo Two]

Rewriteables are more prone to issues than burn-once disks. I'd get all the photos off while you can and transfer to either DVD-R or removeable HD.

[Roop]

Could it be that just some discs have been recorded in (what I think is called) UDF format...? This is where the disc is treated as a regular disk drive allowing "drag 'n' drop" style access. In some cases, you need to install a specific UDF driver to access (both read and write) to these discs...

[miller1899]

I didn't realise that -RWs were less stable but in future will avoid them.

I tried the discs in another computer just to check that they did indeed have some content but I can't really use that computer for very long because the owner will get cross.

As for whether they are slightly different, all copies were made at exactly the same time ie disc 1 works, disc 2 doesn't but then disc 3 does (just by way of example).

Have now had a look on Amazon and I can get a new drive for 20 quid, so think that is what I will do. I will let you know how it pans out.

I have got quite a few photography questions or, more to the point, digital photography questions so I think I'll be back.

[mcflurry]

In my experience the branded discs seem to last longer. After 10 years, some of my cheapies are now coasters. My "important" shots, such as my daughter's firsts, are now on archival grade discs and in the cloud too.

[miller1899]

Quick update - having been pointed to Amazon I found that external drives were not that much more than cleaners so I bought one. It's a Samsung. And it still doesn't work. I keep getting a message that says

E:\ is not accessible

Incorrect Action

I am not sure what else I can do. I think it has been installed correctly because it can open some DVDs and I don't think it would be able to open anything if it was defective.

I wonder if I should look at getting a couple of remote storage drives as well, assuming I can ever rescue my pictures.

[LongQ]

miller1899 said:

I tried the discs in another computer just to check that they did indeed have some content but I can't really use that computer for very long because the owner will get cross.

If you get an external USB disk drive (or even a memory stick) you will only need the other computer for as long as it takes to copy the files from the (now readable?) DVD to the other storage medium. Maybe an hour per disk but hopefully less?

I would have thought it should be possible to coordinate such a need under the circumstances. Not possible? The computer could still be used whilst the copying is going on assuming that copy disks is not its only purpose ....

[miller1899]

Quick update. I 'borrowed' the other computer and also bought an external hard drive. It's by Buffalo and is 500GB. Absolute doddle to install ie you just plug it in and there was no formatting to do. I did think about a 1 or 2 TB job, but worry about things going pop and they cost a lot more money. When I've had a few spare minutes I have copied discs onto the drive and it's all worked very well. Once everything is on my 500GB drive I am going to buy another one and will then make a second copy. Not the ordeal I thought it would be. Just can't believe all those years I've been toiling away with DVDs.