formatting Blu-Ray (BD-RE) with FormatDisc Not Supported notifications (!)

[opelk]

Introduction

I have bought my very first blu-ray drive:

An external USB 2.0 Pioneer BDR-XD04.

Exciting.

 

I start reading up on the forums since I am 'rusty' with this new blu-ray technology (it's new to me anyway).

I want to back up my overburdened 80GB hard drive and have some fun exploring this new medium.

Movies don't interest me at all; data back-up does.

 

I see these lines in my log when formatting my BD-RE for the first time

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

W 15:14:53 FormatDisc(FT: 0x31, FST: 0x02) Not Supported!
W 15:14:53 FormatDisc(FT: 0x31, FST: 0x03) Not Supported!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I read other threads on this. Apparently some spare sector allocation technology is not supported by my drive or media, resulting in a less reliable burn, is that correct? Do I need to install the manufacturer's software (I didn't since I thought I wouldn't be watching any blu-ray movies)?

 

Basically I want to know is

What do I need for this message to go away?

What do I need to make the most reliable burns onto blu-ray media (file back-ups)?

 

 

 

The nitty gritty

Anyway, the details of my very first Blu-Ray format (I had that Verify box unchecked the first time I formatted, thinking it would take too long). Well it did take too long with it unchecked anyway

 

 

 

I 15:07:51 ImgBurn Version 2.5.8.0 started!
I 15:07:51 Microsoft Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600 : Service Pack 2)
I 15:07:51 Total Physical Memory: 1,038,408 KiB  -  Available: 104,880 KiB
I 15:07:51 Initialising SPTI...
I 15:07:51 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...
I 15:07:51 -> Drive 1 - Info: HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8164B 0D08-DB (D:) (ATA)
I 15:07:51 -> Drive 2 - Info: PIONEER BD-RW   BDR-XD04 1.00-GENERAL (E:) (USB)
I 15:07:51 Found 1 DVD-ROM and 1 BD-RE XL!
I 15:14:53 Operation Started!
I 15:14:53 Device: [0:0:0] PIONEER BD-RW   BDR-XD04 1.00 (E:) (USB)
I 15:14:53 Media Type: BD-RE (Disc ID: PHILIP-W02-000)
I 15:14:53 Media Supported Write Speeds: 2x
I 15:14:53 Quick Erase: No
I 15:14:53 Format Properly: Yes
I 15:14:53 Format Size: Preferred
I 15:14:53 Format With Full Certification: Yes
I 15:14:53 Format Without Spare Areas: Yes
I 15:14:53 Erasing Disc...
W 15:14:53 FormatDisc(FT: 0x31, FST: 0x02) Not Supported!
W 15:14:53 FormatDisc(FT: 0x31, FST: 0x03) Not Supported!
I 15:15:35 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 00:00:42
I 15:15:35 Operation Started!
I 15:15:35 Device: [0:0:0] PIONEER BD-RW   BDR-XD04 1.00 (E:) (USB)
I 15:15:35 Media Type: BD-RE (Disc ID: PHILIP-W02-000)
I 15:15:35 Media Supported Write Speeds: 2x
I 15:15:35 Media Sectors: 12,219,392
I 15:15:35 BD-RE FastWrite: No
I 15:15:35 Zeroing Sectors...
I 16:21:33 Synchronising Cache...
I 16:21:33 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 01:05:57 - Total Duration: 01:06:40
I 16:21:33 Average Write Rate: 6,176 KiB/s (1.4x)
 

 

 

After my very first format of the blu-ray disc, I was curious that if I turned verify back on, I wonder if the message would go away? (some forum post suggested this here). So I turned Verify back on and the message still didn't go away.

 

 

I 16:23:17 Operation Started!
I 16:23:17 Device: [0:0:0] PIONEER BD-RW   BDR-XD04 1.00 (E:) (USB)
I 16:23:17 Media Type: BD-RE (Disc ID: PHILIP-W02-000)
I 16:23:17 Media Supported Write Speeds: 2x
I 16:23:17 Quick Erase: No
I 16:23:17 Format Properly: Yes
I 16:23:17 Format Size: Preferred
I 16:23:17 Format With Full Certification: Yes
I 16:23:17 Format Without Spare Areas: Yes
I 16:23:17 Erasing Disc...
W 16:23:17 FormatDisc(FT: 0x31, FST: 0x02) Not Supported!
W 16:23:17 FormatDisc(FT: 0x31, FST: 0x03) Not Supported!
I 16:23:35 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 00:00:18
I 16:23:35 Operation Started!
I 16:23:35 Device: [0:0:0] PIONEER BD-RW   BDR-XD04 1.00 (E:) (USB)
I 16:23:35 Media Type: BD-RE (Disc ID: PHILIP-W02-000)
I 16:23:35 Media Supported Write Speeds: 2x
I 16:23:35 Media Sectors: 12,219,392
I 16:23:35 BD-RE FastWrite: No
I 16:23:35 Zeroing Sectors...
I 17:51:44 Synchronising Cache...
I 17:51:45 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 01:28:09 - Total Duration: 01:28:28
I 17:51:45 Average Write Rate: 4,620 KiB/s (1.1x)
 

 

help?

Any tips or pointers for someone who simply wants to archive regular files onto disc in the most reliable way possible? Do I need better hardware? Better media? A better method of archiving to eliminate the message? Thanks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LIGHTNING UK!]

You only need to format the BD-RE discs once, so just ignore the messages. They're more for my benefit than yours anyway. I'd need to see the disc info from the box on the right when you're in Write mode to see if spare areas have been enabled on the media (and you'd want them enabled for a more reliable backup - but it's only more reliable at the time of writing, they have no effect on readability).

 

For reliable backups, you should probably use decent BD-R rather than BD-RE.

 

Make sure you verify your burns too.

[opelk]

I'd need to see the disc info from the box on the right when you're in Write mode to see if spare areas have been enabled on the media (and you'd want them enabled for a more reliable backup - but it's only more reliable at the time of writing, they have no effect on readability).

 

For reliable backups, you should probably use decent BD-R rather than BD-RE.

 

Make sure you verify your burns too.

 

Thanks LIGHTNING UK!

In the meantime I just tried the pre-recorded blu-ray disc the manufacturer supplied me, and I found out it can't be read in the drive . Then I found that XP needs a UDF 2.5 driver to read blu-rays. Is this a lost cause? I have a spare hard drive I can connect to copy files to but I don't trust it for long-term storage.

 

 

Anyway, I've put the blank BD-RE disc back in the unit and pasted the disc info box below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

PIONEER BD-RW BDR-XD04 1.00 (USB)

Current Profile: BD-RE

 

Disc Information:

Status: Complete

State of Last Session: Complete

Erasable: Yes

Sessions: 1

Sectors: 12,219,392

Size: 25,025,314,816 bytes

Time: 2715:27:17 (MM:SS:FF)

MID: PHILIP-W02-000

Supported Write Speeds: 2x

 

TOC Information:

Session 1... (LBA: 0)

-> Track 01 (Mode 1, LBA: 0 - 12219391)

-> LeadOut (LBA: 12219392)

 

Disc Definition Structure:

Certified: No

Scanned: No

 

BD Disc Information:

Disc ID: PHILIP-W02-000

Disc Type: BD-RE

Disc Size: 120 mm

Disc Class: 0

Disc Version: 2

Number of Layers: 1

Layer Type: Rewritable

DVD Layer Present: No

CD Layer Present: No

Channel Bit Length: 74.50 nm (25 GB Per Layer)

BCA Present: Yes

Maximum Transfer Rate: Not Specified

First PAA of Data Zone: 131,072

Last PAA of Data Zone: 1,658,494

 

Format Capacities:

DT: 0x02 - NB: 12219392 (0x00BA7400) - TDP: 0

FT: 0x00 - NB: 11826176 (0x00B47400) - TDP: 12288

FT: 0x30 - NB: 11826176 (0x00B47400) - TDP: 12288

FT: 0x30 - NB: 11564032 (0x00B07400) - TDP: 20480

FT: 0x30 - NB: 12088320 (0x00B87400) - TDP: 4096

FT: 0x31 - NB: 12219392 (0x00BA7400) - TDP: 2048

 

Performance (Write Speed):

Descriptor 1...

-> B0: 0x00, B1: 0x00, B2: 0x00, B3: 0x00

-> EL: 12219391 (0x00BA73FF)

-> RS: 8,990 KB/s (2x) - WS: 8,990 KB/s (2x)

[opelk]

Just thinking aloud here.

It turns out that Pioneer sensibly supplied a DVD (not a blu-ray disc) with the BDR-XD04.

 

It is now reading fine now, albeit after a reboot and upgrade to SP3. I thought it was a blu-ray 'cause nothing was showing up which made me search for blu-ray problems.

 

Apparently I still need to download a UDF 2.5 driver for actual blu-rays to be read by the filesystem.

Off to do that now. 

[opelk]

It's been a while since I've backed-up onto disc and it surprised me how much I had forgotten. 

 

I've chosen to burn with UDF 1.50 (for compatibility with XP and older OSs) and things seem to be going well so far (I'm currently waiting for the disc to finish. Zzzzz.). These 2x test burns on BD-RE media (actually 1.5x) are very slow going, so when I grow out of the 'testing' phase, I'll be buying some faster media for sure.

 

I'm not sure why I thought UDF 2.5 was mandatory when burning blu-ray data discs; it isn't. This is how new blu-ray is to me. I sill get a feeling of safety on optical disc and maybe that's just naive with all these variables with media, but my luck has been good so far. It's so nice to see over 20 GB fit on one disc. 

 

I'm looking at my log now and it says: 

~~~

I 01:07:41 Hardware Defect Management Active: No
~~~

 

I guess this is not something I can change?

 

Anyway, I have installed all the bloated Cyberlink software from Pioneer's DVD but I haven't tried to burn with it yet. I'm not sure how much was necessary and I'll probably end up uninstalling it. I tried browsing the supplied Pioneer DVD's folders before installation and I found there is a Pioneer USB driver there which I tried to run manually but got no response from. Hmm.

 

When installing the Cyberlink bloatware from the DVD, apparently the driver was also installed. The driver is listed as:

Pioneer USB High Speed Driver Uninstaller

in my Add/Remove Programs list.

 

I hope this is of some benefit to anyone who may be buying the drive in the future. 

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Hardware defect management is only enabled when a disc with 'spare areas' has been inserted. It's a drive thing and not something you can change (without formatting the disc with spare areas enabled).

[opelk]

Thanks again. 

Prefer Format Without Spare Areas is unchecked this time. I burned a disc with this setting off so it showed Hardware Defect Management as being on, which appeals to me.

 

Such a long wait at 0.6x average speed though. I assume this is normal with the drive verifying writes but it's painful. I think I'm perfectly OK with 2x speed after that  It's a shame I can't use these like I can use a hard drive or USB stick natively writing to it in bits (and erasing in bits). Seems like a missed opportunity (I remember all the Mount Rainier talk in the past). 

 

Thanks for the help again. I'm on my way with Blu-Ray.