puzzling difficulty burning CDs

Have been unable to successfully burn some music CDs.  The media is some Verbatim Vinyl CD-R disks that have been in the cabinet for maybe 10 years, but in the same condition as when purchased--a box of 5 jewel cases with cello wrapper unopened.

I have been using Windows Media Player and also NCH Express Burn.  Consistently, when I use the Verbatim Vinyl, the burning ends with an error code and an unplayable disk.  But when I use some Sony CD-R blanks there is no problem. 

Scouring the Verbatim online info, it says they create disks that cannot be recorded over and so are safe for music.

Using Windows Media Player, I've tried "formatting" for one-time use and also tried going right to burning when that menu did not appear.  The Verbatims still end with an error code. 

Using Express Burn, you just select Burn CD or Burn mp3 CD.  The software makes no mention of whether the disk will be for music ("one time") or use like a flash drive that can be added to.  The Verbatims end with an error code.

When using the Sony blanks on Windows Media Player or Express Burn, you just enter the tracks from the location on the hard drive then start the process and it completes.  

I have read about people having similar frustrations.  Anything else I should try?  I don't want to buy more Verbatim Vinyl style CD-R blanks if it's just going to be a waste.

Thanks.

Edited by !@@**##, 16 July 2024 - 11:45 PM.

...........................Verbatim Vinyl CD-R disks that have been in the cabinet for maybe 10 years...........................But when I use some Sony CD-R blanks there is no problem

I think you've answered your own question. Your findings prove that there's nothing wrong with your computer's hardware or software.

Over time, the reflective coating can degrade, and storage conditions can affect the lifespan of recordable optical media as well. Unused CD-R disks that are still packaged have a lifespan of five to ten years. However, paradoxically, disks that have been written to and contain data last much much longer.

Edited by Secret-Squirrel, 17 July 2024 - 01:42 AM.

CD and DVD Burners can have disk requirements from certain vendors.

So, you're implying that Verbatim disks only work with some burners. Really? Don't be daft.

CD and DVD Burners can have disk requirements from certain vendors.

So, you're implying that Verbatim disks only work with some burners. Really? Don't be daft.

Dan is correct.

Remember that CD/DVD storage is almost archaic technology now, comparatively few people use it anymore. Streaming, mp3, mp4 and other digital formats that are saved to USB or SSD drives have pretty much replaced DVD disk storage. That means that as technology advances there are going to be increasing glitches like you and others are experiencing, because manufacturers are squeezing the last bit of profit to be made from what they already have and are not spending money on R&D because the profit is not there.

Both the squirrel and the kitten are correct.

1) Certain microorganisms are known to eat the materials that make up CD/DVDs.  Plus, the conditions that optical media are stored in can make them more, or less, prone to degradation over the long haul.  Some brands, given they use different materials to make their products, can be more prone to loss of integrity over time due to chemical or biological breakdown.

2) Not all optical disk media are created equal, even when they have the same category (CD-R, DVD-R, etc.).  Firmware bugs, and out-of-spec media, and hardware tolerances can make it such that some brands won't work with some hardware.  This is something I've personally seen.  Also, the older a mechanical device gets, the more likely it is to itself become sufficiently out of spec that it has trouble writing or reading to media.  Again, the more out-of-spec or marginally-speced the media is, the more likely it is to cause a concern because errors will compound each other.

It's quite likely either or/both problems are what you're encountering here as it doesn't seem to be an outright mechanical drive failure.

Edit to add:  Regardless of the above, bad manufacturing batches are and always will be a Thing. 

Edited by h_b_s, 17 July 2024 - 10:06 AM.

I've had plenty of burn-failures too but I've always attributed them to disks from a bad batch, left out in the sun too long, etc rather than them being from a specific manufacturer.

Anyway, returning to what Dan said in his first post, I'm astonished (can you tell?) that a company would manufacture a burner than doesn't work with disks from Verbatim - probably the best and most popular company.  Hopefully someone will provide a link to an optical-drive manufacturer's support page or FAQ that confirms this issue. There must be something out there - surely? No anecdotes please.  I'll then accept, with good grace, that this is indeed a thing.

CD and DVD Burners can have disk requirements from certain vendors.

Use a different type of disc
If your computer cannot burn discs, try using a different type of disc. The type of disc you use for burning must be compatible with the type of disc drive in your computer. For example, you cannot burn a DVD-R disc in a drive that does not support DVD-R technology.

For testing purposes, try a few different brands of compact disc recordable (CD-R). CD-R discs are supported by all recordable disc drives.

Why try another disc? There are many different brands and types of writable discs with unique burning properties - some perform better than others. Your disc drive can adjust various properties of the laser and disc rotation to match the properties of the disc, but it might not be able to find a match with some batches of recordable media.

If the drive cannot burn discs of other brands, decrease the disc burning speed.

Edited by cryptodan, 17 July 2024 - 01:33 PM.

This is a thread about Verbatim disks.

I had the same issue with the Verbatim Digital Vinyl CDs. I tried using Windows Media Player, iTunes, and Cyberlink Media Suite, and it seems to be that my drive just can't read these specific CDs because I've never had this issue with any others, including other Verbatim ones.