TymerTopCat

So you like the 8x DVD+RW Ritek Media? I have been using Verbatim DVD+R (Dual Layer), pretty good luck with these. These seem to be +R version. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F2YPH2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 You claim only Ritek is still making them, but soon to wrap up production? If so maybe I should try to get some before they become dead dinosaurs. Any advice on Dual Layer DVD9 / DVD5 Media?

I need to query all DVD drives and get Make,Model, Firmware, Date, Serialnumber. I know the data is there, because my C++/C# code (Windows) can display the bytes with the 5 values. But I have to make two different calls using different CDB Settings. I used 0x12 Inquiry Command. For Vendor, Product, Firmware, and Date. Then I use: (For Serial Number) (2nd Call) sptwb.spt.Cdb[0] = 0x46; // GET CONFIGURATION opcode sptwb.spt.Cdb[2] = 0x01; // Feature Code MSB: 0108h sptwb.spt.Cdb[3] = 0x08; // Feature Code LSB: 0108h sptwb.spt.Cdb[8] = 128; // Allocation length I get the raw bytes, still not sure how the bytes are formatted yet, but data is there. Question: Do I have to make two calls to DeviceIoControl using SPTI? Maybe there is a better way to ask the drive for Vendor, Product, Firmware, Date , Serial Number I have an sql database, I would like to store this data in for each drive. Those 5 values are most important for now. I would later like to dig up all the configuration data once I get my head wrapped around the calls. Would appreciate any advice from those who know. Thanks, Russ

I have personally burned 12 Discs at the same time with ImgBurn, using Dual Layer Verbatim discs, no issues. I have done this at least 3 times. I'm using an old computer from 2009 running Windows 7, with 16GB of RAM. All 12 Discs were reading from a basic SATA WD 10TB Hard Disk. Additionally, I can also on the same machine, Read 12 DVDs to that same Hard Drive using ImgBurn. No Issues, done this 20 plus times.

Yeah, thanks for the info on the Pioneers for reading. I use Verbatim discs, so I don't have many write failures with good media on any drives. Reading discs is the most important thing for me as you can always re-burn a failed burn attempt. I recently purchased 2 Lite-On drives, because I did not have many in my collection and because they were made in Taiwan. Other things built in Taiwan tend to be of High quality. Liteon DH-16AFSH PREMM2, (NV9W Firmware) (2020/01/08) - SATA Liteon ATAPI iHAS324 F (CL8N Firmware) (2016/10/13) -SATA The iHAS324 seems to be pretty bad at reading discs, I was quite disappointed. The 16AFSH is a premium version. What ever that gets you. But if failed to read one of the problem discs that the Pioneer Drive could read perfectly. But I think it's a decent reader.

Recently, I faced a challenge trying to read and copy files from a factory-pressed DVD movie. The disc wasn’t copy-protected, was brand new, and in perfect condition. The Problem Using Windows 7 (and yes, I know some people suggest moving on, but I love Windows 7 for its speed and simplicity), I inserted the DVD into one of my drives. Nothing. The drive failed to display the directory or contents, and after some time, it simply gave up. I tested the DVD in 15 different drives I already owned. A couple of them showed the directory tree but failed to copy any files—zero bytes were transferred. The Solution Frustrated, I purchased six additional DVD drives all different makes and models, including two from PIOData. Of these, one drive read the DVD perfectly on the first attempt. The other required a few tries before successfully displaying the directory and copying the files. I’ve since built a collection of 25 different DVD/Blu-Ray drives, and it’s been a game-changer for stubborn discs. Recommended Drives Through trial and error, I found that two drives are particularly reliable for reading problematic discs: Pioneer USB External BDR-X13 (Firmware 1.04): This large-format External drive consistently reads discs that other drives fail to handle. I was so impressed with this Drive's ability to read problem discs, I bought another ($150.00 Each Damn!), the second drive failed to copy one disc that the first one I bought could, and it has the same firmware. Arrrrgh! Frustrating. PIOData Drives: These also perform exceptionally well, especially with discs that require multiple insertion attempts. Takeaway If you frequently deal with hard-to-read discs, having a variety of drives is essential. Some discs may only be readable by certain models. Fortunately, DVD/Blu-Ray/CD drives are still relatively inexpensive, so it’s worth investing in a diverse collection to ensure you can recover data when needed.

In my recent case, the .VOB file causing ImgBurn to fail with read errors (mostly a .mpg video) played perfectly after being copied using Windows Explorer on Windows 7. This highlights a significant difference between ImgBurn's sector-based copying and Windows Explorer's file copy operation. My guess is that Windows Explorer likely communicates with the DVD drive in a way that allows the drive to perform its own error correction. ImgBurn, on the other hand, seems to rely on SPTI commands and may bypass the drive's built-in error correction. (Just a theory!) Interestingly, out of my 15 DVD drives, only one—a Pioneer USB external large-format drive (BDR-X13)—was able to read the disc. Strangely, I have two of these drives, but the other one couldn’t read the disc. Perhaps their firmware versions are different. This underscores the importance of having a variety of DVD drives if you’re trying to recover data from optical discs, especially as they approach disc rot. Unfortunately, such drives are becoming harder to find as the world moves away from physical media. For those using ImgBurn to archive DVDs as .ISO files: If ImgBurn encounters errors (sometimes thousands), try using Windows Explorer to copy the files, provided the disc isn’t copy-protected. Copy all the files to your hard drive and see if it works, using different DVD drives if necessary. Once the files are copied successfully, you can use ImgBurn again to create an .ISO file from the files on your hard drive. ImgBurn is excellent for recovering data from scratched discs, but sometimes good old Windows file copy can read all the files without any issues. Also, in my experience, if Windows Explorer successfully copies a file, the copy is always correct—period. If the disc has unrecoverable errors, Windows will fail to copy the file rather than save a truncated version. In those cases, ImgBurn’s "Ignore Errors" option can still save the day. -R

It seems that sometimes (rarely), when using ImgBurn to image a DVD movie, it finds hundreds of errors. Normally, I have ImgBurn set to ignore errors, and this usually indicates that the disc is scratched or damaged in some way. However, what's interesting is this: On one particular disc (slightly scratched), I can copy the files directly from the DVD to the hard disk (which is not copy-protected) using Windows Explorer, with zero errors, and no errors are logged in the event viewer. I did this three times in a row. Yet, ImgBurn could not copy the files without encountering hundreds of errors. This is strange, as I have used ImgBurn many times to create an ISO file, even when there are issues with the disc and Windows also fails to copy. Clearly, there is a difference between these two methods, but perhaps someone knows what is going on here?

Thanks for that, I got it working using SPTI & C++. Kind of tricky, can't imagine how complicated ImgBurn code is. Love that program.

ImgBurn is one of the best pieces of software I have ever used, since 1986. Love the simple native Dialog Boxes and Forms. I need to get the Serial number of the DVDDrive, ImgBurn can display it under Drive Capabilities (Top). Does Imgburn offer command line usage that can get that Serial Number? If not, I can do a tiny SPTI command in C# to query the drive for the Serial Number. What is the requirement to sent that SPTI command to DeviceIoControl using Windows OS. -Russ