How do I know whether burning an .ISO produced correct output?

[Stardance]

No doubt the topic is a stupid question to those who know the answer (or think they do). However, ImgBurn is not the only CD/DVD burning software that I've used, just the most recent. I don't know whether to be glad that I've found a program that works reliably, because I do not know yet whether it has produced correct output, or maybe it might do so if I repeat the task.

 

Frankly, watching a program burn a DVD is about as interesting as watching grass grow. (Your experience may differ.)  Maybe I should compare it to driving a tractor instead -- you must keep an eye on where it is going to maintain a correct course lest you plow the crop under, otherwise your mind is free to roam. In fact, if you don't think about something that does require thought, you will soon be insane. Farmers are some of the most thoughtful people you will ever know.

 

So, yes, while I was doing something else with another app, most of the ImgBurn log was in view. I kept an eye on the bottom line in the window in which the log was being displayed, taking note of each new line without understanding any but a few.

 

When the ODD suddenly stopped running, ImgBurn displayed a message dialog, and when I turned my attention to it, I inadvertantly moved the mouse cursor and clicked it somewhere on the dialog. The dialog disappeared, and I have no idea whatsoever as to what it stated. At first glance it looked like some error probably occurred, but that first glance is all I saw.

 

So, I have examined the log line-by-line. As far as I can see, it does not record the fact that the dialog was displayed, nor the message it conveyed. And as far as I can tell, the log doesn't record any error, but whatever went wrong might be displayed in the data without even a word such as "Error:" to point it out.

 

My conclusion is that probably an error did not occur -- unless the following hashes are correct for the data that was recorded, but all of the data from the source was not necessarily recorded:

 

 22:27:18 Device MD5: ed15956fe33c13642a6d2cb2c7aa9749
 22:27:18 Image MD5: ed15956fe33c13642a6d2cb2c7aa9749

 

If the content writtent to the disc ("device" ?) was not the same as the source (?) "image", then the respective hashes should differ.

 

For what it is worth, the destination disc was a Verbatim DVD-R with a Light Scribe surface for recording a label. Re-usable media is certainly an attractive option, but I have discovered that erasing data from a disc and replacing it with other data has a high rate of eventual failure -- whether with Memorex or Sony discs, or others that have a reputation for quality, even when the recording has been "verified". Then there is the matter of whether the hardware is functioning correctly. .....

 

Frankly, I seldom burn optical disks now, after losing a terabyte or two of data when the media deteriorated and the content eventually became unrecoverable. The handful of audio CDs that I burned suffered the same fate. So it doesn't seem worthwhile to learn more than I really must learn in order to use the software to produce correct output from valid input, and I don't expect the disc image to remain unaltered over the course of time.

 

My apologies if my comments are too wordy, and perhaps off-topic, to be worth reading. I don't mean to be sarcastic, or critical of ImgBurn or of the person who develops and maintains it. In my own programming experience, having as many configuration options as ImgBurn implies a considerable amount of time and effort as well as an expert knowledge of the subject. That alone implies that it has been a labor inspired of love, and I admire that.

 

   --- Stardance

 

nil carborundum illegitimi

 

Digital River Win7 Pro SP1 ISO ImgBurn.logImgBurn.logTSSTcorp_CDDVDW_SH-S223L_SB04_FRIDAY-DECEMBER-05-2014_10-11_PM_MCC_03RG20_4x.ibg

Edited December 6, 2014 by Stardance

[LIGHTNING UK!]

The file you've posted there is the graph data file, can you upload the log instead please? The pink box at the top has a link to a guide on log files.

[Stardance]

The file you've posted there is the graph data file, can you upload the log instead please? The pink box at the top has a link to a guide on log files.

 

Hmmm.... I uploaded three files: the larger log file, then a smaller log file that was apparently written after the first one, and the graph file.

 

As far as I can see, other than the Guides link (which I haven't checked) the link for log files tells where to find them. Which is certainly useful because I don't think anyone would "just know" where they are. :-)

 

   --- Stardance

 

nil carborundum illegitimi

 

Digital River Win7 Pro SP1 ISO ImgBurn.log

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Ah sorry, that's my fault then. The 3 attachments aren't spaced out when viewing your post via tapatalk on my phone.

 

I clicked on the middle of a long blue attachment link and it was the ibg file.

 

The log shows it burnt and verified ok, so you've nothing to worry about. All data is present and correct.

[Stardance]

....

The log shows it burnt and verified ok, so you've nothing to worry about. All data is present and correct.

 

Thanks!  After burning the ISO to which I referred in my OP, I used a utility to modify the 64-bit Windows 7 Professional SP1 ISO to delete the ei.cfg file that limits the installer to the "edition" specified in that file, then burned that one to another Verbatim DVD-R Lightscribe disc. (Of course, you still must have a license key for that edition if you install it, or you won't be able to obtain any Windows updates for it.)

 

ImgBurn displayed a dialog at the end to let me know that the burn was a success. I still compared the hashes in the log. (Certainly, I am paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?)

 

ImgBurn is the best I've seen yet in many ways. Granted, most of the other burners that I have used were either the MS Windows app installed with the OS, or would have been "pre-installed" if I had bought the computer instead of integrating it from components. With the components, we still get some crapware but we don't have to install it. :-)

 

     TTYL.

 

    --- Stardance

 

P.S. As much as I would like to donate, I cannot use PayPal. I opened an account soon after they went into operation, and I didn't have any problems for a few years. But nothing is perfect. In my experience, the original operators either ignored reports of problems, or they were so successful and had so many users that they did not have the resources to respond to everyone in a timely manner. Their system bolixed my original account, rendering it unuable for several months, then their attempts to enable me to use it failed. After Google bought PayPal, their empire-building CEO instituted an overhaul. Eventually the tech support personnel contacted me, and they resolved the problem so that I could use the account. However, after they started implementing various "verification" and "authentication" measures, once again I could not access the account. (I still have the PayPal "football" authenticator, and, after all this time, it still works.) But their tech support never replied to my requests for help, so I informed them that I wanted to abandon the original account and open a "fresh" one. However, their security was tight enough that every time I attempted to open another account, they detected that fact and killed it. As far as they are concerned, evidently I am personna non grata.

 

nil carborundum illegitimi

Edited December 7, 2014 by Stardance