Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Trouble Making Bootable Discs
If you are having problems creating a bootable disc, try these possible solutions:
• Check the contents of the bootable floppy disk from which you copied the boot image. To
access the entire contents of a disc, a bootable floppy must contain CD-ROM drivers,
AUTOEXEC.BAT, and CONFIG.SYS.
• Use the ISO 9660 format. Don't use the Joliet format because it is for long-filename CDs and
can't boot.
• Check your system's BIOS for boot compliance and boot order; the optical drive should be
listed first.
Trouble Reading BD Media or Viewing BD Movies
If you are having problems reading BD media, check the following:
• You must have a codec for BD (Blu-ray) media installed. These codecs are not included in
Windows but might be provided by BD drive vendors or by BD movie playback and creation
programs.
• Clean the data side of your BD disc. See the next section, “
Caring for Optical Media
,” for
details.
If you are able to read BD media but can't play back BD movies, check the following:
• Replace drivers for your BD drive and video card. In most cases, newer drivers are better.
Note that sometimes you might need to use older drivers than those installed for better results.
• Switch to a different BD media playback program. Use a trial version if available before
purchasing a different program to ensure compatibility.
Caring for Optical Media
Some people believe that optical discs and drives are indestructible compared to their magnetic
counterparts. Although optical discs are more reliable than the now-obsolete floppy disks, modern
optical discs are far less reliable than modern hard drives. Reliability is the bane of any removable
media, and optical discs are no exceptions.
By far the most common causes of problems with optical discs and drives are scratches, dirt, and
other contamination. Small scratches or fingerprints on the bottom of the disc should not affect
performance because the laser focuses on a point inside the actual disc, but dirt or deep scratches can
interfere with reading a disc.
To remedy this type of problem, you can clean the recording surface of the disc with a soft cloth, but
be careful not to scratch the surface in the process. The best technique is to wipe the disc in a radial
fashion, using strokes that start from the center of the disc and emanate toward the outer edge. This
way, any scratches will be perpendicular to the tracks rather than parallel to them, minimizing the
interference they might cause. You can use any type of solution on the cloth to clean the disc, so long
as it will not damage plastic. Most window cleaners are excellent at removing fingerprints and other
dirt from the disc and don't damage the plastic surface.
If your disc has deep scratches, you can often buff or polish them out. A commercial plastic cleaner
such as that sold in auto parts stores for cleaning plastic instrument cluster and tail-lamp lenses is
good for removing these types of scratches. This type of plastic polish or cleaner has a mild abrasive
