Burning Error Free CDs/DVDs

I found that there are quiet a lot of people who have problems burning a CD/DVD that does nt have Burning errors . You might have burnt a DVD and it isnt being recognized by your own DVD writer , or it may open but show no data inside or more commonly it might have missed some files during burning so the software you burnt is not installing !.

Personally in all my life only twice have i had Burning issues so i ll just put up a very simple guide on how to burn a good DVD/CD

Step #1

Choosing a good Disc is very important

Local "No Name Discs"

It completely depends on your needs which type of discs you should go in for.
If you just want to burn some data or some files that you want to transfer you can very well go in for Local Discs . For general purpose its ok to go in for these Local Discs .
But if you want to burn say a video shot during your friend's marriage or backup some very critical data it is recommended to go in for a quality Disc .

Currently in Chennai No Name DVDs cost anywhere from Rs 6-10 . While the higher quality DVDs costs from Rs15-20 .

Sony , MoserBaer , Samsung , Memorex are some of the Higher quality cs/dvds i have used .

Storing your DVDs

You may either buy your empty discs individually or in Bulk [on a spindle] . But once you burn the data, storage becomes a problem . Most of us dont maintain our burnt Discs properly . This is one of the major reasons why DVDs get damaged . Excessive Dust or Scratches on the underside surely will render the dvd useless .

So Always use a CD/DVD Album to store your Discs .Especially one with a hard bound cover and a zipper . It doesnt cost much and will surely prevent data loss and damaged discs.

Keep an oil Based Felt pen to write on your Discs .

Light Scribe Discs

Alternatively you can use Light Scribe Discs . They cost just a few bucks[3-5] more than a conventional discs . They have a layer of special material on the backside so you can burn an image/Picture on the backside using your DVD writer . It uses Laser to do so , so no ink refills needed .

Most DVD writers are Lightscribe enabled

Step #2

Maintaining your CD/DVD Drive

Many people completely ignore this step .It is equally important to maintain your Drive
To Do so make sure that you frequently

Update driver
* Update your CD/DVD Drive's firmware . You will find it in the website of the company from which you bought your drive .

Clean the Drive
*Use a Drive cleaning kit to keep the head of your Drive clean . It generally consists of a cd with a micro-Brush . You just run the CD in your DVD drive and it ll clean your Drive ! .

Again this is very cheap and will help elongate the life of your Disc drive .
Example:
PressIt | Blu-ray | CD | DVD | Drive Head Clean Kit

Step #3

Burning a Disc

Choosing the Software

There are many softwares available like Nero , Ashampoo Xp Burner . You can choose any one of them . Generally Nero is considered the best of the pack .
You should find 'Free Nero License' in your DVD drive's driver CD and i recommend that you use it . Dont worry about the new versions of Nero released ,they are not necessary at all.

The Burning

-->Choose what kind of Disc you are going to create . If you want to burn an Operating Sytem disc such as Linux Disc , you need to create a Bootable disc .If you want to create a disc which can be read by your TV's DVD Player you need to burn a Video Disc .Otherwise just burn a Data Disc .

Nero users
--> Make sure to simulate a burn , before doing the actual burning . This will greatly reduce the possibility of errors occurring .

-->After you simulate a burn make sure to check the Verify Data After Burn Option before starting the actual burning .

-->For added safety You can burn your discs at 8x [Half] the speed .

-->Finally insert the disc back to check if all files have been burnt .

Follow these steps and you ll never have a Burning problem again

Cheers .

Long Time Storage

It so happens that sometimes even when you maintain your discs by storing it in albums problems might occur .

Take for example this scenario

My Dad has a fairly large collection of Old time hit Music Cds [ABBA , BeeGees etc ] . All of them are original and are packed in a beautiful album . But because of long time disuse , some of the discs started developing a white coating on the underside . So what will you do when that happens ?
You cant scrape it off ,Bcuz it ll scratch the CDs , so i suggested irresponsibly that we should just chuck them (^_^) .

But do you know what he did ? He washed them ! And that too with sOaP (o_O ) .

So If that happens to you

-->Use mild soap to gently wash the underside . Use minimal water , there is no need to use a Hose from a fire truck .

-->Use a soft cloth to dry it gently cleaning it with outward strokes .

Discs will be as good as new , and they work 100% !