Program for testing dvd rom drives. Mass test of DVD blanks. Fig.4. Tab "View disk sectors"
Very often the computer does not have enough memory to store all the accumulated information. As your hard drive fills up, it becomes necessary to transfer data to other media. Flash drives are expensive, but disks, in comparison, cost pennies. But even here problems may arise; discs may suddenly become unreadable by your drive. This article will tell you about the possible causes of the breakdown and help you solve the problem.
Why did the drive stop reading discs?
There can be many reasons for this, ranging from problems with the disk to complete failure of the disk drive. However, all the reasons can be divided into two categories, hardware and software problems.
Hardware problems are caused by problems with the hardware. The following problems fall into this category:
- The cause may be the disk itself; its wear can be so severe that no disk drive can read it.
- The drive may no longer accept discs due to contamination. Over the entire period of operation, a large amount of dust accumulates inside the computer, which can get into the drive and settle on the read head.
- Loose connecting wires will also affect the performance of the device.
These are the most common hardware problems; determining which of these led to the failure can only be done “surgically”, that is, you need to get into the system unit.
Diagnosing software problems is much easier. If problems appear after installing some software, then we can talk about software incompatibility.
Solutions to hardware problems reading disks.
Is your drive not reading discs? Don’t rush to throw it away and run to buy a new one. First, check the condition of the disk inserted into the drive; if it is in poor condition, then the reason may lie in the damaged disk, and not the drive. Remove the disc from the drive and inspect it for scratches and abrasions.
If everything is fine with the disk, then we move on. It is worth testing the drive on other disks of different types: CDs, DVDs and small miniCDs. It is recommended to use the newest disks for the test.
Do not forget about other hardware problems; open the cover of the system unit and carefully check the connection between the drive and the motherboard with connecting cables. If there is no obvious damage, still try to connect the drive using other available cables. And for prevention, clean the drive from dust and dirt. This can be done using special disks.
There is another way to clean the read head, but this option is for more experienced and confident users. This method involves disassembling the drive and cleaning the laser with water or high-quality gasoline. Never use cologne or other alcohol-containing liquids, or acetone to clean the laser. Their use will lead to disastrous results.
Have you cleaned the drive, checked its functionality on other drives, and tried to make it work using other cables, but it still refuses to read the drives? Don't be upset. You can move on to solving possible software problems, and consider all the above actions to be preparatory.
Solutions to disk reading software problems.
If you discover that the problem is not due to hardware reasons, remember what you did with your computer earlier, what you installed, changed and deleted. Because you might have accidentally deleted or changed files that are necessary for the drive to function.
To fix it, you will need to reinstall the device drivers required for the normal and correct operation of the device on the system. Driver mismatches or errors in them can cause the drive to refuse to read discs.
In addition, you can disconnect the drive using the operating system and then reconnect it. For Windows this is done in the system properties.
My Computer window
In the window that appears, click on Device Manager.
System Properties window
The manager finds your drive and then removes it.
Removing a device
After removing the device, you must restart the computer so that the system can detect the drive again and automatically install the appropriate software, that is, drivers, for it.
Often the cause of disk drive malfunction is third-party software installed to emulate virtual drives. Such programs include: DAEMON-Tools, Alcohol 120%, etc. All these programs can cause your drive to malfunction. If you have these programs on your computer, remove them one by one, and test the drive after each removal.
To uninstall, you can use the CCleaner program; it not only removes programs from the computer, but also cleans the system of unnecessary files and system entries remaining after removing the software. The process of cleaning system entries is called cleaning the registry.
In practice, there were cases in which the solution to the problem was to flash the device. But this action can lead to complete failure of the drive. So, before taking these measures, it is highly recommended that you read the following point.
Solving the problem using the MicrosoftFixit program
Sometimes after the next reinstallation of the Windows operating system, the drive stops opening only DVD discs, while CD discs still open normally.
This also does not mean that the drive “died”, because before reinstallation it was functioning properly. The most important thing is that this issue is resolved using the free and effective program MicrosoftFixit.dvd.Run. You can download the program from the link:
Load window
Program installation window
Troubleshooting option window
Window for selecting the device that needs to be fixed
Prompting to insert a disc
Troubleshooting Results Window
After which the media contents window will open or a dialog box will launch containing several available options for operating the disk. If none of the above happens, then open the disk manually using the My Computer shortcut. Thus, the MicrosoftFixit program easily solves the problem of failure to read DVDs or CDs.
And if this doesn’t help, then you can already think about buying a new drive. For a better understanding and optimal selection of a new drive, it is recommended to consult with specialists.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you will have the opportunity to try to fix problems with the drive yourself, one by one, first eliminating possible hardware causes, and then software ones. Applying the methods given in this article. It must be remembered that self-correction may result in bad results, therefore, you should not neglect the help of qualified specialists.
Drive test programs
CD-R Identifier – a program for identifying the original manufacturer of CD-R/RW discs and the type of active layer. Works with most CD-R/RW recorders.
CDCheck (www.elpros.si/CDCheck) is a program that allows you to detect bad sectors on CD/DVD media. Moreover, not only errors, it also prevents the occurrence of bad sectors and restores files. This utility can check any CD/DVD and show which files are damaged. The program also implements a quick comparison mode, which allows you to check whether the recording to the CD/DVD media was completed with or without errors. Implemented the ability to work with hash functions. The hash function allows you to make a small snapshot, a checksum of the data that needs to be controlled, and subsequently check its integrity. In addition, the program provides detailed information about the disk itself: manufacturer, type, capacity, etc.
DVD Identifier (dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com) is a utility designed to check and determine the type of disc. It determines the parameters of DVD+R/+RW and DVD-R/-RW discs, and also provides information about DVD-RAM. DVD Identifier is primarily recommended to owners of DVD burner drives who want to know all the technical information about the DVD disc intended for recording data. The program displays information about the manufacturer, DVD type, speeds at which recording is possible, etc.
DVD InfoPro (www.dvdinfopro.com) is a utility for testing and obtaining detailed information about CD/DVD drives. In addition, DVDInfoPro allows you to test CDs and DVDs installed in the drive, as well as quickly erase and format DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW discs. Almost all types of drives are supported, including DVD+R DL (Double Layer).
Nero CD-DVD Speed (www.cdspeed2000.com) is a program designed to test the performance of the optical drive + disk-media combination, as well as perform various diagnostic and auxiliary functions.
Nero InfoTool (www.cdspeed2000.com) is a program designed to display detailed information about CD/DVD-ROM drives from various manufacturers. Despite the rather modest size of the distribution, Nero InfoTool can provide information about both software and hardware components of the system. The utility shows the maximum read (write) speed of the drive, the type of regional DVD protection, BIOS version, amount of RAM, and processor information. Information is also provided on various programs for working with CD/DVD-ROM drives: CloneCD, CloneDVD, Nero Burning ROM, PowerDVD, Alcohol 120%, etc.
Roadkil's Disk Speed (www.raadkilnet/program.php?PragramID=13) - a utility designed to test the reading speed of devices, including floppy drives and CD drives. Testing the selected local disk takes approximately 20 seconds. The disk is polled, speed parameters are determined in linear and random read modes, and the total access time is calculated. Additionally, the utility displays information about the total amount of data read during testing and analysis time.
The laser disc has undergone significant changes since its inception, evolving from a CD with a data capacity of 650 megabytes to a capacious Blu-ray capable of storing up to 50 gigabytes and more. However, despite such obvious progress, optical media has not gotten rid of many of the problems and shortcomings that have plagued it from the very beginning. For example, after recording another disc (even if the recording drive that was used was completely new), it is impossible to say with one hundred percent certainty that all the data was correctly copied to the disk. Another inconvenience of working with optical media is related to the growing volume of information. It has become many times more difficult to navigate which drive to look for a particular program or document on. And finally, the most important “disadvantages” of a laser disc are data loss due to mechanical damage (scratched surface of the disc) or as a result of a recording error. However, so far there is no serious alternative to optical media, so it is necessary to look for ways to solve these problems, at least partially. Utilities with which you can evaluate the condition of disks and recover data from them will be discussed in today’s review.
CDCheck 3.1
Developer: Mitja PerkoDistribution size: 1.5 MB
Spreading: shareware
Interface: Russian It is possible to draw a conclusion about the condition of the disk “by eye” only if obvious mechanical damage is visible on its surface, indicating careless handling of the media. The more scratched and dirty the working side of the disk is, the higher the likelihood of failures when reading data from the media. But even if, after the most thorough inspection, no cracks or scratches are found, this does not indicate that the data from the CDDVD will be read correctly by the device. Recording errors can also occur as a result of a software glitch or due to the failure of the recording device. Many people use a simple way to determine the quality of a recording - the media being tested is inserted into a DVD drive, after which the data from it is copied to the hard drive. The logic of this “test” is simple - if the data is copied, then the optical disk is in perfect order. Actually this is not true. The fact that the data was copied to the hard drive only means that some information was read by the drive, but the very fact that the copying process is completed does not guarantee that the data on the hard drive is completely identical to the data that was written to the media. You should also not rely entirely on comparing the sizes of the original and copied files - even if they match, the data may differ. Comparing data manually is inconvenient, especially when there are a lot of files on the media, so it is best to control the quality of recorded discs using a special utility such as CDCheck. One of the main functions of this utility is to determine the integrity of data on the media. For this purpose, the program generates a checksum for files and folders, a unique code for a particular case, by which one can judge the reliability of a copy of the data.
CDCheck works with different types of checksums - MD2, MD4, MD5, Adler32, CRC32, SHA (1, 256, 348, 512), Tiger (128, 160, 192), etc. Before burning a disc, the program can analyze the contents of the future media on the subject of compatibility of data recorded on CD/DVD with ISO image standards. Data verification can be performed either by checksum or by the “source-copy” principle. At the end of the scan, the program can launch an external anti-virus scanner, checking the content for viruses. CDCheck allows you to set the priority of a job, and also has a data recovery function by repeatedly reading disk sectors. When a certain percentage of reliability is reached, which can be set in the program settings, the data can be considered recovered.
By processing data with CDCheck, you can monitor detailed process statistics: average data reading speed, estimated data processing time, number of scanned files and folders. The utility supports command line operation and provides detailed information about the CD/DVD/BD media used.
DiskInternals CD & DVD Recovery 3.5
Developer: DiskInternals ResearchDistribution size: 3.5 MB
Spreading: shareware
Interface: English A utility for recovering lost information from optical media is one tool from a whole set of various tools for recovering lost data that the developers of DiskInternals Research offer. This program can work with any optical media: from CD-R and DVR-R, to dual-layer discs and DVD-RAM. CD & DVD Recovery detects "missing" files recorded in ISO9660, UDF and Joliet systems. This data can also be recovered if the data was written to the disk in multi-session mode.
The operation of restoring damaged or deleted data is greatly simplified thanks to the step-by-step wizard included in the program. Following his instructions, you need to select the media whose contents are inaccessible, and then specify the parameters of the files to be restored. So, for example, for a more accurate data search result, you should determine the approximate size of the files to be resuscitated, as well as indicate the approximate time of their creation. These criteria are of particular importance when analyzing a disc with multiple recordings, on which there are many “traces” of old information once recorded on this medium. CD & DVD Recovery identifies the location of lost data on a disk and can work with long file names. The program provides access to files from any track, even if the session on the disk was not closed correctly.
CDRoller 8.0
Developer: Digital Atlantic CorpDistribution size: 6 MB
Spreading: shareware
Interface: English The problem of unreadable disks has given rise to a mass of utilities created to solve it. Some programs are designed to test the quality of recording media, others are designed to read surviving information. Typically, this uses a multiple read method, where the program tries to copy the data from the damaged disk as accurately as possible. However, in practice, these utilities cannot always save the situation. For example, if the copied file is large and contains one or more unreadable fragments, then such data may not be suitable for further use.
The simplest example of such a situation is a damaged DVD with a movie recorded on it. As you know, the contents of the DVD-video format usually look like a Video_ts folder, where menu and navigation files are located, as well as large files with the .vob extension, which contain video and sound. If the unreadable area of the disk is in the place where the vob file was recorded, this file will be partially damaged, resulting in a large fragment of the video being lost. It is possible to partially restore the remaining video. Firstly, for this you can use additional tools that can correct errors in the video file code. However, if the damaged area is large, then such utilities will not be able to cope with the recovery. Other programs that can fix a video file will use re-compression, which will inevitably lead to a loss of original quality. The CDRoller utility can solve this problem faster and more efficiently than many other programs. Having copied readable data from such a disk to the hard drive, CDRoller will analyze the vob file and divide it into separate fragments (movie scenes), saving them in the MPEG format familiar to the DVD video standard, without loss of quality. In this case, you can simply exclude the scene with the fragment where the defect is present, and record a new disc with the surviving data.
Thanks to the built-in recording module, the disc burning procedure can be performed directly in CDRoller. The program allows you to burn recovered files and folders, videos, as well as ISO image files.
The disk cataloging tool built into the program uses so-called short images (Short CD/DVD Image). In fact, these are not real images, but only data about the contents of the indexed disk - a list of all files and directories on the disk, with a preserved structure. Each time a new disc is read, the program can automatically create such a short image and write it to a specific folder, thus compiling a library of all discs. In the future, if you need to quickly find a specific file, you can use CDRoller to search the entire library of images. The data search tool is implemented very flexibly; the search query can be refined using various search criteria. For example, you can set the minimum and maximum size of the file being searched, define the subject of the search (for example, only folders, files, or both), specify the creation date, etc. Another feature of CDRoller is the ability to work with audio discs. Despite the relative durability of audio discs, sometimes it only takes one tiny scratch for a CD player to refuse to play a particular track or even recognize the disc. In order to save the recording, the program uses digital data extraction (Digital Audio Extraction). During the audio reading process, CDRoller can use jitter correction and also use sector re-reading to detect errors or loss of synchronization. The read tracks can be immediately converted into various digital audio formats - WAV, MP3, MP2, OGG, etc. The program can encode audio CDs on the fly, without creating an intermediate WAV file. To evaluate the quality of optical media, CDRoller runs a series of tests (the test can be started by selecting the drive from the list of available devices and using a keyboard shortcut), selecting a test method depending on the type of data recorded. The program checks the ISO 9660 file system and also checks the disk surface, after which it displays a detailed generated report on various media properties - the number of detected sessions, the program in which the recording was made, the size of the file allocation table, the list of unreadable folders, etc.
Please note that this check cannot be applied to disks with the UDF file system. Errors on optical media with such a file system are detected automatically. This data recording format is widely used by various models of DVD camcorders, DVD recorders, as well as batch recording applications such as Roxio Drag-To-Disc and Nero InCD. Users who have to deal with such discs often encounter a situation where the captured and recorded video is not played back. Typically, data recording errors occur at the session closing stage. They can be found when working with devices from a variety of manufacturers - Lite-On, Thomson RCA, Philips, Panasonic, etc. In most cases, CDRoller allows you to partially or even completely recover this data.
IsoBuster 2.5
Developer: Smart ProjectsDistribution size: 4.8 MB
Spreading: shareware
Interface: Russian This program is a universal data recovery tool. Many users consider this utility to be the best tool for “fixing” unreadable data from optical disks and, I must say, for good reason. The program is updated regularly, and the long list of its features grows from version to version. At the moment, IsoBuster can resuscitate data from almost any media, including BD and HD DVDs.
The secret of IsoBuster's popularity is, first of all, that this program understands all existing file systems that are used today to record data. The utility works with the contents of images; it can be used to mount images and extract data from them, as well as directly run files. The program supports the formats of all popular disc burning programs, such as CDRWin, CloneCD, DiscJuggler, BlindWrite, WinOnCD, NTI, Plextools and many others. IsoBuster can also be used to create an exact image of the source disk, and the image can be written in .iso, .bin, .tao formats, created with cue markings and a .md5 checksum to determine data integrity.
The program makes it possible to check the status of the media (you don’t even have to extract data to the hard drive) and can create a list of files containing read errors. If the program detects bad sectors when reading a disk image, IsoBuster can collect statistics of bad disk areas and save it to a separate file. If restrictions are imposed on the file system (for example, FAT), the created image files can be divided into parts, the size of which is specified in the IsoBuster settings.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there is no such method that would guarantee 100% protection of data on optical media. Therefore, there is nothing left to do but handle the disk more carefully and always keep a backup copy of it “in reserve.” Well, if, despite the precautions taken, trouble still occurs, files from the disk are not copied or are not visible at all - it’s time to try one of the described utilities for recovering information from the media. We wish you to use these programs only out of curiosity, and not out of necessity.IntroductionIt is extremely rare these days to find a computer without an optical disc drive. CD-ROM, CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives have become a part of our lives. It is almost impossible to do without them. The volume of software packages has long been many times greater than the capacity of a standard 3.5" floppy disk, not to mention the extremely low speed of 3.5" floppy drives. Several years ago, devices also appeared on the market that allow recording on DVD and, at the same time, on the more familiar CD-R and CD-RW media. In principle, the technical characteristics of any representative of the class of optical drives can be read in the documentation or found on the manufacturers’ Internet sites. It seems that everything is simple. I looked for a model with the required speed and the list of desired features, then bought it and enjoy life. This is where you can encounter “nuances” that can ruin your mood. As the famous folk wisdom says, “It was smooth on paper, but they forgot about the ravines.” The problem is that not all drives in real operation behave as expected of them.
Many drives can show in practice data reading speeds that differ significantly from those declared by the manufacturer. Not all of them work equally well on all types of media, let alone situations where they have to deal with damaged disks. Not all drives can copy audio CDs and burn them, when you want to get a perfect copy that is completely identical to the original. In addition, most manufacturers do not indicate a number of specific drive capabilities, which can in some cases play a decisive role in the production of exact duplicates of disks.
You can find out how good or bad a particular optical drive really is only during testing. Programs that allow you to do this can be divided into two groups. The first includes specialized utilities specifically designed for testing optical drives. The second includes programs designed to work with drives, whose functions can be used to evaluate the operation of devices in practice.
Specialized programs
The most popular among specialized utilities designed for testing optical drives is a package of products under the Nero brand. Their advantage is a set of wide capabilities, combined with free and small volume, which allows you to download them without problems from the site www.cdspeed2000.com. In addition to them, there are a number of special programs that can also be used for these purposes - they will be discussed below. One of the best programs today for testing CD-ROM, CD-RW and DVD-ROM drives is Nero CD Speed. In addition to the performance characteristics of drives, it allows you to obtain information about a number of their additional capabilities.The set of main (basic) tests consists of:
Transfer Rate (speed of reading data from the media)
DAE Quality (quality of audio tracks extracted)
Seek/Access Times
CPU Usage
Burst Rate (data transfer rate to the drive)
Spin Up/Down Times (drive acceleration/deceleration time)
Load/Eject Times (tray loading/ejecting time)
Let's look at each of these tests in turn.
Transfer Rate Test allows you to measure the speed of reading data from the surface of the media. During the test, the program builds a graph on which two lines are displayed. One of them, green, shows the data transfer speed. The second, yellow, shows the spindle rotation speed. The resulting graphs are a reflection of the technology used in the drive being tested. The horizontal line of data transfer speed indicates the use of the CLV (Constant Linear Velocity) method - constant linear speed. A straight line on the graph slanting upward indicates the use of CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) technology - constant angular velocity. Most modern CD-ROM drives are based on this method. The graph with the transfer line sloping upward and then horizontally reflects the use of P-CAV (Partial-CAV) technology. Finally, the final image from individual horizontal sections indicates the Z-CLV (zoned-CLV) method used in the drive.
In order to fully reveal the speed potential of the media, for testing it is necessary to take a disk with a volume approaching the maximum value. The media must be of high quality and not have any scratches or other artifacts on the working surface.
DAE Quality Test- shows how well the drive is able to extract audio tracks. The first few audio sectors are recorded on the hard drive. The same sectors are then read again and compared with what was written to the hard drive. Depending on the presence of discrepancies, a score is given from 0 to 10. The last value indicates ideal quality.
Seek/Access Times- This test determines search or access times in three categories. Random - the drive accesses randomly selected locations on the disk. 1/3 - the drive moves along one third of the disk length, starting from the beginning. Full - circulation occurs along the entire length of the disk from its beginning to the end.
The user can choose what time will be determined during the test: Seek or Access. The difference is that in the latter case, not only does the beam move to the required position, but one sector is also read. This requires a few extra milliseconds.
CPU Usage Test- allows you to determine how much a particular drive consumes CPU resources during operation. Measurements are taken at speeds of 1X, 2X, 4X and 8X. The result is given as a percentage.
Burst Rate Test determines the data transfer rate to the drive. The result is correct only if the drive caches the data. It is not recommended to use this test with audio discs.
Spin Up/Down Times- this test allows you to determine one of the dynamic characteristics of drives associated with their ability to spin and stop disks. The less time required for these actions, the better the drive performs. Spin Down measures the time it takes for the media to stop, and Spin Up measures the time required for the drive to read data.
Load/Eject Times- during this test, in addition to the time required to extend and retract the tray, one more indicator is determined. This is the time required to recognize the disc. The smaller it is, the faster you can start actually working with the new media.
In addition to a set of standard tests, Nero CD Speed has a set of advanced features that can be successfully used for more detailed tests. Among them, first of all, we can note the ability to record a special test disc (CD-R or CD-RW). It provides in-depth testing of drives' ability to correctly extract audio tracks from digital audio discs.
Advanced Quality DAE Test This is precisely what allows you to identify the slightest errors when testing this special disk.
Data Errors- indicates the number of incorrectly read audio samples. They are usually caused by poor media quality. In order to get rid of errors of this kind, you need to use high-quality disks or reduce the drive speed. If the number of errors is not too large, then drives are usually able to correct them using an internal correction procedure.
Sync Errors- synchronization errors occur in cases where the drive is not able to read the audio sector requested by the application, but retrieves information from the neighboring one. As a result, some samples are lost or duplicated.
The maximum quality score for extracting audio tracks can be 100. It is based on measuring the number of errors during testing. The latter is held in two categories. The sequential reading test emulates the operation of the drive under ideal conditions, which most models pass without problems. The second test, reading harmonics, is more difficult for drives, and this is where many of them make mistakes.
After checking the drives for DAE quality, the program determines their ability to create copies of an audio disc on the fly in the speed range 1X-16X.
In addition to checking devices for the quality of extracting audio tracks, the test also checks the advanced capabilities of drives.
Offset- all drives begin to read audio sectors not from the real starting position, but from a place slightly different from it. This offset is usually less than 100 samples. Write drives are also unable to start recording exactly from the starting position. The result of the test is the offset value when reading or writing.
Read Leadin- the indicator indicates the ability of the drive to read information before the start position from the input zone. This is necessary to obtain exact copies of disks.
Read Leadout- a positive result indicates that the drive can extract information from the output zone located at the very end of the disk, after the working area. Thanks to this, it becomes possible to obtain absolutely identical copies.
CD Text- indicates the drive's ability to retrieve CD Text information.
Read Subchannel Data- the indicator indicates the drive’s ability to read data from the Subchannel. The latter contains information about index markers, number of tracks, etc. If the result is positive, it is possible to obtain perfect copies.
Another interesting feature of the Nero program is the use of the Overburning Test in the case of burner drives. What is it and what is it needed for?
The vast majority of modern recording drives can operate in Overburning mode. This means the ability to record on media a volume of information exceeding its official capacity. This quality of drives can be very valuable in certain situations. For example, when you start writing something to a disk, and several megabytes of data do not fit on it, forcing you to use additional media. Using the Overburning mode can often solve this problem and save you money and time.
The very possibility of recording an additional amount of information is obtained due to the fact that all modern drives are capable of working with CD-DA. All digital audio discs are produced in accordance with the Red Book standard. Its requirements stipulate that after the program area, which allows you to place up to 99 tracks, there is a Lead Out - a digital silence zone consisting of empty sectors. This gives at least 90 seconds of time. It is this area that can be used to record additional information.
Overburning Test allows you to determine the fundamental ability of drives to operate in the mode of recording additional volumes of information and determine how much of it can be written to a specific medium. The maximum amount of data that can be written to it depends on the drive itself and on the properties of the disk itself.
During the test, media is inserted into the burner drive and the writing speed with the maximum capacity is selected. During the test, nothing is physically written to the disk. If the test is successfully completed, information appears on the screen about the maximum possible amount of recorded information for a given medium and the amount of data that can be recorded in excess of the official capacity. In practice, these values will be slightly lower due to the fact that when writing to the last position during the test, the drive still stores data in the buffer.
We have described the main features of the Nero CD Speed program directly related to drive testing. In fact, they are somewhat wider. Among these features there are a number of additional ones that are quite useful in some cases. For example, the ability to create a Data CD, where files will completely occupy the entire disk capacity. It can be used later to check the data reading speed. In addition, when testing write drives, it can also be used to determine the writing speed.
The program is basically similar in its basic capabilities to another Nero utility - CD Speed. The difference is that it is designed specifically for testing drives specifically when working with DVDs. When using DVD drives with other media, you can use Nero CD Speed. The list of basic tests of the DVD Speed program is as follows:
Transfer Rate
Access/Seek Times
CPU Usage
Burst Rate
Spin Up/Down Times
Load/Eject Times
Layer Change
Only the last one needs explanation. It determines the time required to refocus the laser from one layer to another. The meaning of all other tests coincides with those described in the Nero CD Speed program.
Using the CD-DAE program, you can evaluate the quality of the drive by extracting audio tracks and converting them into Wav files on your hard drive. To do this, take a digital audio disc, mark all the tracks on it for greater reliability, and press the Start button. In the process of extracting tracks and creating sound files on the hard drive, the program checks their contents, and if errors are detected on the acoustic soundtrack, the color changes from green to red. The total time spent on this procedure and the operating speed of the drive are a reflection of the drive's performance in such operations. The number of errors that occurred when extracting audio tracks reflects the quality characteristics of the drive. CPU utilization can be valuable information if your computer is running multiple tasks at the same time.
CDVD Benchmark
One of the universal programs that allows you to test drives with CD and DVD media is the CDVD Benchmark program (www.cd-bremse.de). Its main advantages are efficiency, information content and the provision of only the most important resulting information. In addition, the program provides the ability to use special reference disks. The only inconvenience for most English-speaking users may be that the interface is only in German. The small size of the program allows you to easily download it via the Internet and use it at home.The first item in the main menu of the Datei program gives access to general commands. The greatest practical interest of them is Laufwerkinfo generieren, which allows you to obtain information about the system, including the optical disk drive used.
The second item of the main menu allows you to run all possible tests in a row Alle Tests Starten, or select only one of them. Even lower, the Fehlerkorrektur-Test option allows you to plot the reading speed from the surface of the media, including from standard ABEX line drives, which are not sold in Russia. The last Einstellungen item of this menu subgroup allows you to specify the operating parameters of this procedure to your liking before testing.
When you click on the third Ansicht item of the main menu, you get the opportunity to clarify the final appearance of the final graph. We are talking about the absence or presence of any characteristic lines or conventional symbols.
The fourth Fenster item of the main menu allows you to set the size of the graph area on the screen, thereby optimally adjusting it to your monitor.
Finally, the last Hilfe option of the top menu traditionally provides user assistance. In this version of the program, this is interpreted as collecting system information and obtaining information about the version of the utility.
Now let's look at the final screenshot obtained as a result of testing the drive along with an audio disc. The screen is divided into two halves. In the left one, the green line shows the spindle rotation speed, and the white line shows the reading speed from the disk surface. The red horizontal line shows the average reading speed. On the right half of the screen, symbols of different colors indicate the values of random search, random access and random access along the entire length of the line, obtained during testing. The red horizontal lines indicate the average values of these parameters. At the very bottom of the screenshot, on two horizontal stripes from left to right, the program displays the average reading speed in “X” and then the minimum and maximum values, then these three values are given expressed in KB/s. Following them is the operating range of reading speeds of the drive on the tested media (as it is positioned by the program itself). Below the familiar word CPU is the CPU load at the 1X speed selected before starting the test. Next are the average search, access and access times along the entire length of the string, which do not require detailed explanation. Next comes confirmation of the drive's ability to handle "precise flux" and C2 errors. The last characteristic expresses the data transfer speed over the interface.
Exact Audio Copy (EAC)
The EAC program, designed to extract audio tracks, can be successfully used to test optical drives. Naturally, we are talking about studying the characteristics of drives when working with audio discs.
Of course, this program can be used in a similar way to the Nero DAE utility to determine the total time for extracting audio tracks and the number of errors made during this procedure. But besides this, the EAC program has another interesting feature.
We are talking about the program’s ability in the “Drive Options” option to determine whether drives support three important hardware characteristics, which can later be used to fine-tune the audio track extraction mode. In this case, we are talking about such drive properties as the ability to work with C2 errors, support for the “Precise Stream” function and data caching. The presence of the first two is highly desirable for obtaining accurate audio copies. Caching support, on the contrary, can hinder this goal.
EAC version 0.95 Beta 3, available at the time of writing, has a very small size - 1.24 MB and is available for free download. The word Beta in its name should not cause confusion. The utility works quite reliably and is constantly being refined.
It would probably be wrong on our part if, among the programs released under the Nero brand, we did not mention one more. We are talking about the Info Tool. Strictly speaking, it is not a test tool - it is a diagnostic utility. The information it extracts from drives is very useful in some cases. In particular, the Info tool allows you to obtain information about the firmware version, buffer size, hardware-supported reading and writing capabilities, and operating modes. For DVD drives, you can find out whether the region lock code is present (RPC2) or not (RPC1).
CDROM Drive Analyzer
Using the CDROM Drive Analyzer utility, you can analyze the speed at which the drive reads data from the disk surface. The results are displayed in the form of a graph. It also displays the values of the maximum and minimum speed, as well as the number of errors in the read blocks.
One of the many features of the Sandra Professional program is the ability to evaluate drive performance - CD-ROM/DVD Benchmark. The final performance index is calculated based on the read test (buffer/random/sequential) and the search time test. Using the CD-ROM/DVD Benchmark, the performance of drives can be assessed when working with media of two categories: Data CD or VideoCD/DVD.
General purpose programs
In addition to special programs for testing optical drives, you can use programs that can be used to record and copy discs. There are quite a lot of them, but we will focus only on the two most popular of them.
The CloneCD utility is very often used by users because of its ability to create exact duplicates of copied discs, including protected ones. With its help, you can monitor the real time required for the drive to copy a disk or record its “double”. The program can also serve as a criterion for assessing the drive's capabilities for working with protected disks.
Ahead Nero Burning Rom
One of the most popular and widespread programs for burning onto optical media is Ahead Nero Burning Rom. It can be used to monitor the actual speed of work with various categories of media.Conclusion
The most objective picture of the real capabilities of optical drives can only be given by a comprehensive set of tests. It should include appropriate specialized programs and a set of actions that simulate work in practice with specific, most common applications. Each drive must be tested with all possible media types. To test the ability of drives to read information from damaged media (you can prepare a special disk that recreates a similar situation).Goal of the work: Study the VSO Inspector program for diagnosing CD/DVD drives.
Theoretical information:
The installation of VSO Inspector proceeds as usual, and before completion you will be asked to familiarize yourself with the basic capabilities of testing disks. The main program window is shown in Fig.
Rice.
The Device tab displays the main parameters of the disk drive (disk drive): general information, options, capabilities for reading and writing various disks, etc.
The next tab, Media, will provide information about the CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc inserted into the drive: media type, manufacturer, number of layers, maximum read/write speed, etc.
Rice.
Rice.
On the Scan tab, you can check the quality of discs: scan the surface and test files if the disc contains recordings. The testing process is reflected in the diagram and numbers in the corresponding colored cells: Good, Bad and Errors. To select a test, check the box next to the desired item and click the Start button. If there are errors and bad sectors, testing the disk surface can take a long time.
At the end of the scan, summary information about the test results is displayed, which can be saved as a file - the Save button. Unlike similar programs, VSO Inspector allows you to check not only the surface quality, but also errors in the information already recorded on the disk - the File Testing item. In addition, you can view detailed information on each sector of the disk - the View Sectors tab.
Rice. Tab "View disk sectors"
Thus, VSO Inspector is a good tool for testing disks. It should be kept in mind that the presence of errors on rewritable CDs/DVDs does not mean that they should be thrown away. Sometimes after performing a full (not quick) erase, for example, using the Nero program, the errors disappear and the disk can be used again.
Conclusion: During practical work, I became familiar with the VSO Inspector program for diagnosing CD/DVD drives and studied how it works.
Programs and utilities for testing CD/DVD drives
Goal of the work: Familiarize yourself with programs and utilities for testing CD/DVD drives.
Progress:
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2000/XP
This program tests CDs for errors!
CD/DVD Diagnostic
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2000/XP:5/5 - 1.1Mb
Shareware $64.95
Quite a useful program, designed mainly to obtain information about CD-R/CD-RW/DVD discs (regular ones are also tested). The disc contents, manufacturer, disc type, number of tracks, blocks, disc recording format, etc. are displayed. Disks can be checked for errors. On CD-RW discs, the program may try to recover inaccessible files. Supports both IDE and SCSI drives!
CD/DVD Capabilities Viewer
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2k/XP - 148K
This program allows you to view the capabilities of CD/DVD drives, including CD- and DVD-Writer.
CDRom Drive Analyzer
OS: Win95/98/NT - 243K
With this program you can test the performance of a CD-ROM. It can also be used to check the quality of the CDs themselves. During testing, a graph is built that can be saved in .bmp format. Digital results can also be saved separately.
OS: Win95/98/NT/DOS/Unix - 63K
This program measures the sector-by-sector reading speed of a CD-ROM.
OS: Win95/98/N:
Program from Ziff-Davis. Measures the speed of a CD-ROM. Gives a complete picture of performance! Quality product!
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2k/XP - 219Kb
DISCInfo displays various information about IDE/SCSI devices and their capabilities. The amount of information is not very large; information about CD/DVD drives is the most valuable. In addition, the program can automatically search for updated firmware versions for relevant devices.
OS: Win98/Me/NT/2k/XP - 3.5Mb
Download 64-bit version for Windows XP/2003 x64
DVDInfoPro displays various information about CD/DVD drives and the discs contained in them. In addition, the program also contains functions such as a disc reading speed test and an error test, a function for erasing and formatting DVD-R/RW & DVD+R/RW discs, etc.
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2k/XP - 1Mb
DVD Identifier displays various information about DVDs (DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD+RW, DVD+RW DL, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM) and Blu-Ray (BD- R, BD-RE) discs inserted into the drive. This includes information about the manufacturer, supported speeds, disk type, etc.
OS: Win95/98/NT - 165K
And this program measures the speed of a DVD-ROM! It measures data transfer speed, processor load, access speed, etc. when working with DVDs!
OS: Win95/98/NT4/2000 - 585Kb
Another program for testing CD and DVD-ROM. Performs the usual tests for such programs.
Intel Media Benchmarks
OS: Win95/98 - 20Mb
The program evaluates processor performance when executing algorithms that are used in multimedia data processing.
Multimedia Mark 99
OS: Win95/98 - 12.9Mb
Another successful program from Futuremark Corporation, the developer of 3DMark. Tests multimedia performance "in real conditions".
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2k/XP-471K
This program measures the speed of CD and DVD-ROM drives. It estimates data transfer speed, CPU load, access speed, etc.
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2k/XP - 219Kb
This program shows various information about the CD-ROM drive, loaded disc, disk drive configuration, as well as the operating system, installed disc burning applications, etc. All information can be saved or printed.
PassMark SoundCheck
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2000/XP - 351K
SoundCheck is designed to test your computer's audio system. The ability to record and playback sounds at different frequencies, etc. is being tested. During operation, all information is displayed both digitally and graphically.
RightMark 3DSound
OS: Win9x/Me/2k/XP - 1.9Mb
RightMark 3DSound is a sound test that has the following capabilities: DirectSound diagnostics: output of hardware-supported functions by a given DirectSound device; checking for support for EAX1, EAX2, EAX3; checking the quality of positioning of sound sources when using DirectSound3D, including vertically; possibility of tests with EAX2, EAX3, as well as with the presence of occlusions and obstructions; measuring processor load with different numbers of DirectSound and DirectSound3D streams, as well as with reverberation turned on; special statistical processing of CPU load measurement results, producing not only the average value, but also the characteristics of the spread of values.
OS: Win9x/Me/2k/XP - 628Kb
The RightMark Audio Analyzer program is designed for testing the acoustic characteristics of sound cards, as well as other audio equipment. Testing is carried out by playing back test signals and recording these signals passing through the audio path under test. This requires the sound card to be able to operate in full duplex mode. Tests of frequency response, SOI, noise level, dynamic range and interpenetration of stereo channels are carried out. Based on the test results, grades are assigned ("good", "bad", etc.), and you can also view digital results and graphs! The program comes with a detailed description
RightMark Audio Analyzer
Acoustics Testing Edition
OS: Win9x/Me/2k/XP - 378Kb
An edition of the RightMark Audio Analyzer program designed for testing speaker systems. RMAA-AE is based on the same version of the measurement code as RMAA. To test the frequency response of acoustics, two types of test signals are available in the program: musical noise and floating sine. To obtain high-quality measurement results, you need a special measuring microphone (for example, BEHRINGER ECM8000) and a card with a perfectly flat frequency response. The methodological error of the program algorithms is +/-0.1 dB.
OS: Win95/98/NT - 188K
This program is designed to check the quality of CDs. During the scan, the file system is monitored, files are opened correctly, and bad sectors are searched for. The program has a rather nice non-standard interface, customizable in Russian or English. The test report is written to a separate file.
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2k/XP - 2.2Mb
SoundCheck is designed to test your computer's audio system. It performs playback and recording tests, MIDI, audio CDs, etc. In addition, the program can give advice on troubleshooting various problems in the sound system.
OS: Win9x/Me/NT/2k/XP - 1.2Mb
VSO Inspector displays various information about installed CD/DVD drives, their characteristics and capabilities for reading/writing different types of media. You can also get information about the disk and its possible read/write speeds on a given drive. The recorded disc can be checked for readability. All information can be saved as a report or screenshot.
Windows XP CD-R/RW Properties
OS: WinXP - 260Kb
Windows XP CD-R/RW Properties shows basic information about the CD-R/RW drives installed in the system, as well as the discs inserted into them.
ZD Audio Winbench 99
OS: Win95/98 - 3.89 Mb
Audio system diagnostic program. Tests are performed to determine CPU load and several subjective tests.
Conclusion: During practical work, I became familiar with programs and utilities for diagnosing CD/DVD drives.
