David Lang wrote:
Hi

OK, didn't want to tie up the group - but!

I run Windows XP Home. Swimbo just purchased a new PC. I want to save My
Documents (550MB) to a CD so I can re load it on to the new machine.

The alleged Wizard keeps coming up with the error message that it can't
complete the task.

I've shut down & re started, I've run Norton Win Doctor, Norton OBC and
Windows Registry Repair. I've uninstalled & reinstalled the CD device
driver. I've downloaded & tried Nero and Deepburner, both of which come up
with error messages.

I've tried 4 brand new CD RW discs - Memorex 16x-24x. I've been onto
Microsoft's alleged help FAQ and tried what they suggested.

If you put a CD into the drive you can read it no problem. I've tried just
about everything I can think of!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a very large hammer on standby - but I can't afford to lose any of my
stuff.

Could I upload My Docs to the web somehow & download it again?

Dave



Hi Dave,

I don't think anyone has answered your question, just come up with other
ideas. For starters I think Nero is the best way to go, you don't
mention if you have tried Nero or Nero Express or what errors you had
with them! Nevermind, with Nero you'd want to create a data CD then drag
and drop your My Documents file onto the 'burn area'. This will simply
copy your office files/picturs etc. It will not copy your favourites,
stored email or desktop settings.

Once you have added all the files you wish to keep to your 'burn area'
then you should check that your blank media has enough space to store
your files. Look at the bar bellow, it should be blue and not cross
over the 650mb line unless you are sure you have 700mb media.

For now I would recommend you use a new/blank disk to burn. It's worth
noting that CD-RW and CD-R disks are burn in exactly the same way [2]
(as a write-once per session, read-only disk), the only difference being
that once a CD-RW has served it's purpose you can 'format' your disk
so it acts as a blank disk again [2].

At this point you should continue and burn your disk, try selecting a
lower speed (anything bellow 12x should work even on the slowest of
PCs). Furthermore it should be noted that whilst a CD is burning you
are adviced not to use your PC in anyway, this includes the playing of
music or running of other background tasks. Older PCs are prone to
suffer from buffer-underruns which basically means the PC cannot supply
data fast enough to the LASER [3].

If you still continue to have problems I recommend you try some other
media, even a cheap CD-R. It would also be good if you could quote
(even roughly) some of the error messages... Screen dumps would be
optimal if you know how to do this (check google.com). My final piece
of advice to you would be to close everything down except your CD
burning software (this includes internet and music players) and as much
as you can running in the right corner by the clock (look for the
icon to expand this list) and to disable any power-saving modes or
screensavers.

HTH and good luck!

[1] NERD Alert: Yes I know that CD-R and CD-RW are physically burn't
differently since the disk surface uses different technology. This
explains the difference in speed between the burn speed of CD-R and
CD-RW. Also I know proprietry software is available to use CD-RWs as
'floppy disks' but requires special software to be available on both
burner and client machines.

[2] Nero includes this option.

[3] This is known as a buffer underun and newer drivers have BURN
(Buffer Under RuN) protection which slows the speed of writing down
proportionally to the amount of data coming into the drive. This does
not always work and can sometimes create disk difficult for certain
drives to read (IME).

--
Regards,
Aaron.