verifying, burn speeds, RAM

[Serene]

Hi there!

I'm trying to copy my projects on a 4 GB dvd-r so I can delete them from my hard drive. I tried to do it on Toast Titanium yesterday but an error popped up whilst verifying the disk. Something about bad sectors or something. And whenever I insert the disc, my iMac slows down and the beachball appears. some of the folders and files are accessible, but some are not. So I tried to do it again, this time using finder to burn the files. But then again, an error message popped up saying the disc didn't burn properly, that it was unusable, or whatever. also, what speed is best to burn data discs with? i only really see 2 or 3 options, 1X or 2X and then BEST. not sure what BEST means. (my disc says 1-8X).

Is there a way to check individual files or folders for errors in a mac? I don't know if my files are corrupt or anything. I just want to put my files in one disc so I can delete them because I'm sure I will be adding more in the future. They are Adobe CS2 files and Painter 9 files. I just want as much free space as possible.

And since I'm already here, I might as well ask this question. It is about Scratch disks for photoshop and painter. I have 1GB of RAM but it doesn't seem enough. my comp slows down whenever I use my cheap tablet in photoshop(still saving up for a new Wacom). How much more RAM can I add to my iMac G5? (powerpc, I think. too bad i couldn't wait a few months before the ones with iSight came out.) are there such things as external RAM? If there aren't, then can anyone recommend external hard drives that would be great for scratch discs, and how big (40GB or 80GB, etc)?

Thanks.

Serene

 

[Mikuro]

"Best" should mean the highest speed supported by both your media and your drive. I'm not sure why you'd only see 1x and 2x in the list, since I think your drive should go all the way up to 8x. How long does it take to burn a whole disc on "best"?

Conventional wisdom says that slower burning speed means less chance of errors. Burning at 1x is awfully slow, though, and I've never found the speed to be that big a factor when it comes to disc errors (unless you're burning a video DVD for playback in standalone DVD players; then use the slowest burning speed possible). More often, it's just a bad batch of discs, and there's nothing that can be done to make them work well. Nevertheless, you might want to try burning a few discs at 1x or 2x and see if that works.

You can use Toast to compare folders. I do this often when I get a bad DVD. Usually there's only one corrupt file, and the rest of the disc works fine. In Toast, go to the Utilities menu, and select Compare. Choose your source folder, choose the disc, and let it go to see exactly which files are corrupt/unreadable. (This takes a long time.)


There's no such thing as external RAM, but you can upgrade your iMac to 2GB of RAM, putting a 1GB stick in each of its two slots. Right now I don't know if you have a single 1GB stick or two 512MB sticks. Check System Profiler (located at "/Applications/Utilities/System Profiler.app") to see your setup.

 

[Serene]

Thank you Mikuro!

<"Best" should mean the highest speed supported by both your media and your drive. I'm not sure why you'd only see 1x and 2x in the list, since I think your drive should go all the way up to 8x.>
I was wondering the same thing. They have the same computers at school and they have Toast Titanium 6 but in the drop down menu for speed, some have 1X, 2X, 4X, 8X,16, 24X, though not all speeds are available at one time.
What about my burner? It says I have a PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K04L. Could that have something to do with it?

<How long does it take to burn a whole disc on "best"?>
About 45 minutes to an hour, I think. It takes long whether I put it on best or on 1X, so I usually just go do something else and leave it alone until it's done.

<Conventional wisdom says that slower burning speed means less chance of errors. Burning at 1x is awfully slow, though, and I've never found the speed to be that big a factor when it comes to disc errors (unless you're burning a video DVD for playback in standalone DVD players; then use the slowest burning speed possible). More often, it's just a bad batch of discs, and there's nothing that can be done to make them work well. Nevertheless, you might want to try burning a few discs at 1x or 2x and see if that works.>
I was burning on 1X speed for this data disc, but I still got the verify errors. The first disc kind of works, i think. I can access one folder, but when I try the other folders, it sort of freezes, meaning, I see the beachball. Should I try to wait? because i see this as an "error" and force quit or relaunch finder.

<You can use Toast to compare folders. I do this often when I get a bad DVD. Usually there's only one corrupt file, and the rest of the disc works fine. In Toast, go to the Utilities menu, and select Compare. Choose your source folder, choose the disc, and let it go to see exactly which files are corrupt/unreadable. (This takes a long time.)>
Thanks, I will try it.

<There's no such thing as external RAM, but you can upgrade your iMac to 2GB of RAM, putting a 1GB stick in each of its two slots. Right now I don't know if you have a single 1GB stick or two 512MB sticks. Check System Profiler (located at "/Applications/Utilities/System Profiler.app") to see your setup.>
I have two 512MB sticks. I guess that means if I want 2GB ram, I would have to buy two 1GB sticks.

 

[albloom]

Serene, those 1-8X discs are problematic.

I'd guess you're using an older superdrive that really,
really wants a 1-X or 2-X disc. Hard to find these days.

You need to tell us exactly what drive you have with
what firmware version. Look in System Profiler. You
may be able to "flash" the drive's firmware to get it
to like higher X-ness discs.

As far as memory, Leslye's old G4/400 has 700-odd meg
of memory, and she runs CS and a lot of other apps at
the same time. You have plenty of memory.

What you may not have is enough HD space free. What is
the size of your HD, and how much is in use?

 

[Mikuro]

I was wondering the same thing. They have the same computers at school and they have Toast Titanium 6 but in the drop down menu for speed, some have 1X, 2X, 4X, 8X,16, 24X, though not all speeds are available at one time.
What about my burner? It says I have a PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-K04L. Could that have something to do with it?
...
About 45 minutes to an hour, I think. It takes long whether I put it on best or on 1X, so I usually just go do something else and leave it alone until it's done.

Yeah, that's 1x speed. At 1x, it should take about an hour for a full disc. So at 8x it should only take about 7 minutes.

That model should support DVD±R burning up to 8x. (The higher speeds only apply to CDs.) I've had issues where some drives just don't want to burn at high speeds, though. My Mac Mini's internal drive refuses to burn CDs above 8x (it should be able to go to 24x). Sadly, I've never found a fix. I assume the drive just doesn't like my particular media (although the discs work fine at top speed in other drives), and I've never been motivated to buy a new batch. You might want to try a different brand of disc. I don't know what else to recommend.

I was burning on 1X speed for this data disc, but I still got the verify errors. The first disc kind of works, i think. I can access one folder, but when I try the other folders, it sort of freezes, meaning, I see the beachball. Should I try to wait? because i see this as an "error" and force quit or relaunch finder.

It might work eventually, but...I'd consider it a coaster and re-burn the data, personally. It sounds like a bad batch of discs. Most people recommend Verbatim or Sony discs. I do recommend avoiding KHypermedia and Memorex. Those are the only brands that have consistently given me problems.

I have two 512MB sticks. I guess that means if I want 2GB ram, I would have to buy two 1GB sticks.

Right. But like Albloom said, 1GB ought to be a good amount. At least, unless you're dealing with really massive image files. I have 1GB myself, and I've never found it to be too little, even when using Photoshop.

In Photoshop, you can actually specify the maximum amount of RAM it will use, in its preferences window. It's possible this somehow got set too low. I have mine set to 50%. You could probably afford to go higher if you want.

 

[Serene]

You need to tell us exactly what drive you have with what firmware version. Look in System Profiler. You may be able to "flash" the drive's firmware to get it to like higher X-ness discs.

Thanks albloom! I went to system profiler but I'm not sure what info is needed. I don't know how to "flash" the drive. I will attach some screen caps. I hope it helps.

The dvd-r's i'm using are Windata, 4.7GB. My brother bought them because he wanted to use my mac for burning his dvds because his PC doesn't have a dvd burner. They are okay, I guess. I've burned a few dvds. There is some loss of quality but that's because the movies were compressed in Toast (and the fact that I had to "rip" them).


Mikuro, I did the compare on Toast last night. Only 1 folder made it okay. Everything else was "error." As for the photoshop problem, I think it might be my cheap a$$ tablet. I couldn't afford a Wacom so opted for an Adesso until I can save up. Everytime I use it on photoshop and try to write with it, it slows down a LOT. I use it on painter and it works fine.

I'm sorry if I have too many questions. I'm not computer savvy. Thanks for your help guys. I really appreciate it. Now, I hope I attached the screen caps right.

 

[albloom]

It seems you're in luck, Serene. There is an app that'll flash your
A04 (104) drive here:

http://lasvegas.rpc1.org/

It's near the bottom of the page (DVRFlashX Apple 104). Just launch
it once you've downloaded it. It very well might let you use DVD-Rs
with X-ness greater than 2. Check out this link at videohelp.com

http://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters

Just put "pioneer 104" in the search field. You can see user experiences
with brands of disc -- some 8x even work.

 

[Serene]

Sorry, I'm confused , albloom. I don't know how you got the A04 (104) drive. I downloaded the DVRFlash 104, but I don't think it worked. An error message popped up that said: "Sorry. There doesn't appear to be any suitable Firmware present for this drive." How do I check if I even have firmware? This is more complicated than I thought!