Hi, I have a 1999 PC with Windows 98 and Matshita DVD ROM which will
not playback movies copied onto CD-Read/Writable discs. When I insert
the disc into the drive I get the error message 'D:\ is not
accessible, the device is not ready'. When I click on properties I see
that the disc has no label and the disc display is all blue to
indicate that all space has been used up however the capacity reads '0
bytes'. I have downloaded drivers but this has made no difference.
Also, when I click on the disc icon in MY COMPUTER the D drive makes
three attempts to play the disc and then stops. I think the problem is
software related because I bought the PC in 1999 just before CD-RW
disc drives became available so the software may not be configured to
read the new CD-RW typeof disc. Please advise if this problem can be
fixed or do I need to buy a new CD-RW drive?

---

Request for Question Clarification by jjb-ga on 28 Oct 2002 11:10 PST

Hi phill,

It would be handy to know what format the videos on the CD-RW are. 
Also, have you been able to try the disks in a different machine to
determine if the data did in fact write properly to the disk?  It
sounds a lot like the data isn't even being written to the disks, to
me.

thanks,
jjb

---

Request for Question Clarification by alexander-ga on 28 Oct 2002 21:27 PST

Are you able to read any CD-RW discs at all? Have you tried other
CD-RWs? Does the disc you're trying to use mount on other, more recent
computers?

phill-ga,
   Your problem, unforunately, cannot be fixed.  But there are three
possible reasons for such an error:
1. Your Matshita DVD ROM is not a multi-read CD-ROM.  In simplest
terms, a multi-read CD-ROM has the ability to read a variety of media,
including CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, SVCD and most recently, DVD-ROM and
DVD-RAM.  The specifications for it are outlined here:
http://www.osta.org/specs/pdf/mrs.pdf
The reason why you cannot read the disk is that the formatting of the
data, as well as the way the data is written on the a CD-RW disk is
different from a regular disk.  In a normal CD, the CD is actually
made duplicating a master and is not 'burned' like they are in the
home.  The result if this is actually physical bumps in the CD
(http://www.howstuffworks.com/cd.htm).  However, in a CD-RW, since it
is created in the home and it is meant to be erased, the bumps are
replaced by dark marks created by a laser.  That means modifications
must be made to the reading laser in order to correct for this
different method of recording.  It is a modification that your DVD-ROM
may not have.  The easiest way to check for this is to see if your DVD
drive has 'Multiread' written on it. If not, then you're out of luck
and you need a new drive to read CD-RW's.

2. There is a possibility that though your DVD-ROM drive can read
CD-RW's, the CD-RW format may not conform to ISO 9660 standards for
cross-platform use.
http://biology.fullerton.edu/techtips/reading_problematic_cd-rom.html
I this case, you need to get a copy of the disc that was burned in
accordance to ISO 9660 standards.  Most burning software nowadays
default to this standard.

3. The CD-RW may be corrupt.  There is a limit to how many times
CD-RW's can be erased and rewritten.  This is because with each
writing, the laser must mark a different part of the CD-RW.  When
formatting the CD-RW, the drive basically tries to wipe of all the
marks, though usually there is so residue.  Over time, this can build
up and make the CD unreadable. In this case, you need to obtain a
fresh copy of the CD-RW.

Hopefully, this helps you solve your problem.  Good Luck.

-Tox-ga

It sounds like either an issue with the how the disc was created
(wrong format for instance), or how the movie was copied. Encrypted
dvds (most dvds are encrypted) can not be simply copied without
disabling the encryption first, with a program such as decss. Even
then, the movies would not fit on a standard cdr without being changed
into a more compressed video format such as mpeg or divx. I do not
suspect a hardware problem here, so don't run out to buy new hardware.

A good guide on how to convert dvd videos into divx format videos that
will fit on a cdr is located here

http://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/articles/dvdtodivx.html

I hope this helps.

The last link I gave was not all inclusive, so you may have more luck
with this link:

http://www.divx-digest.com/articles/index.html

I seem to recall that old DVD drives can't play CD-R discs, but I
couldn't find a reference on the web to confirm this.  I found one
place that mentioned that CD-RW discs should work on more players than
CD-R discs....  (are you sure your non-working discs are CD-RW, and
not CD-R?)

The obvious thing to do is to try out the discs you have on somebody
else's (newer) computer, and make sure that the discs themselves are
properly recorded.

I agree with other posters, that you should not have to buy new
hardware. However, it might just come to that. You should provide to
the Google answers person the model number of the DVD drive (you might
have to open the computer case to get that) and if the cd-rw drive is
on the same machine, and what type of discs you are using. Also, what
CD-burner program is being used?

DVD-Drives, no matter how old _should_ be able to play CD-RW discs,
with a few exceptions. Many old DVD drives cannot play CD-R's. The
issue with that is that DVD drives use a different wavelength laser
which is not reflective on CD-R discs. CD-RW should normally be fine.

There may be one of a few things wrong. Read all these instructions
and try the easiest ones first. Don't install anything new on your
computer unless simpler solutions aren't successful.

1) try the disc in some other computers. Try burning a new disc with
regular files and try that in another computer somewhere. Make sure
that it isn't the disc or the burner that's faulty.

1)  The disc may be written in UDF format. Many people use this for
CD-RW discs, because then the drive acts like a disk drive (e.g., you
can drag and drop files on it as if it were a hard drive.)  If the
CD-RW drive is on a different computer than you are playing the CD-'s
back on you need a driver for Windows to read this type of CD. You
might try these UDF readers:
http://msn.com.com/3000-2100-9497911.html?tag=pop
http://www.roxio.com/en/support/roxio_support/ecdc/ecdc_software_updatesv4.jhtml
(scroll down a bit)

If the CD-RW is on the same computer as the DVD drive, then the UDF
driver is already on there, and the problem is something else. Try
playing the movie from the cd-RW drive it was created on to see if it
works there. If it works on the CD-RW drive but not on the DVD drive,
then there is really a problem. Try the disc on another person's
computer. If you get to this point though, try #2.

2) Some DVD readers are finicky about certain brands of CD's. Try
burning a movie on a different brand of CD-RW. I've run into this
before. If this doesn't work, try #3.

3) The DVD drive might need its firmware updated, which if you are not
a skilled computer person, you can screw up your drive doing it. It
might not even have an update available, meaning the drive will never
play CD-RW's.