Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
on top of a CD is thin, normally only 6-7 microns (0.24-0.28 thousandths of an inch). If
you write on a CD with a ball point pen, for example, you will press through the lacquer
layer and damage the reflective layer underneath, ruining the disc. Also, certain types of
markers have solvents that can eat through the lacquer and damage the disc. You should
write on discs only with felt tip pens that have compatible inks, such as the Sharpie and
Staedtler Lumocolor brands, or other markers specifically sold for writing on discs, such
as Maxell's DiscWriter pens. In any case, remember that scratches or dents on the top of
the disc are more fatal than those on the bottom. It's also important to keep in mind that
many household chemicals (and even certain beverages), if spilled on an optical disc, can
damage the coating and cause the material to crack or flake off. This, of course, renders
the media useless.
Read errors can also occur when dust accumulates on the read lens of your drive. You can
try to clean out the drive and lens with a blast of “canned air” or by using a drive cleaner
(which you can purchase at most stores that sell audio CDs).
If you are having problems reading media with an older drive and firmware upgrades are
not available or did not solve the problem, consider replacing the drive. With new high-
speed drives with read/write support available for well under $50, it does not make sense
to spend any time messing with an older drive that is having problems. In almost every
case,itismorecost-effectivetoupgradetoanewdrive(whichwon'thavetheseproblems
and will likely be much faster) instead.
If you have problems reading a particular brand or type of disk in some drives but not
others, you might have a poor drive/media match. Use the media types and brands recom-
mended by the drive vendor.
If you are having problems with only one particular disc and not the drive in general, you
might find that your difficulties are in fact caused by a defective disc. See whether you
can exchange the disc for another to determine whether that is indeed the cause.
Updating the Firmware in an Optical Drive
Just as updating the motherboard BIOS can solve compatibility problems with CPU and
memory, support, USB ports, and system stability, upgrading the firmware in an optic-
al drive can also solve problems with media compatibility, writing speed, and digital au-
dio extraction from scratched discs, and it can even prevent potentially fatal mismatches
between media and drives.
Determining Whether You Might Need a Firmware Update
If you encounter any of the following issues, a firmware update might be necessary:
