Software not seeing a DVD drive

[pentium]

I have a disc filled with Newton software that is starting to die. 99% of the drives I put it in either can't detect it or after a while throw me read errors. The only exception is this BenQ external DVD burner I got from my uncle. I used it before to back the disc up partially using a program called BadCopy Pro and it worked flawlessly. Fast forward a year and a system reinstall later and I discover that I lost the backup of the disc I made so I decide to just pull the data off the disc again. This time however while Windows can see the drive no problem, BadCopy can't. It can see my two internal drives no problem as well as my virtual drive but not the BenQ drive. If it saw the drive before it can't be an issue with the program and the only difference between then and now is me reinstalling Windows XP and also installing Service Pack 3.

[pentium]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

I forgot the mention the drive is a BenQ EW822U. No idea on the firmware version.

[ratdude747]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

benq? i've had iffy luck with them... maybe a bad drive.

[pentium]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

Seems strange that it's a bad drive, especially if windows can still detect, read and write from it.

I loaded up Bad Copy on another system which had a fresh install of Windows 2000 and oddly enough it's the same thing there too. Windows has no problem with it but according to the program, it does not exist.

[ratdude747]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

program glitch? virus? malware?

[stj]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

if you burn a disc and dont "close" or "finalise" it then only writers can read it usually.
because it's an open-sesion.

[kaniki]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

He is correct about the disk not being able to be read by something other then burners if the disk is not finalized. You said that you tried it in other drives but a couple questions. Is the disk original or a copy that you made? Are there any scratches on the disk, either side? (most burned CD's have a layer on the top of the disk that reflects the lazer back down to be read and if that layer on the top of the disk is scratched, it may keep the CD from being read). Did you try it in other DVD burners or just the one?

also if disks get put in a place with too much heat,m even for a short time, then that can deteriorate the readability of the disk too.

If you did not have SP3 on the XP system before and now do, it may be a glitch with the program. See if there are any updates on the web for the program.

[pentium]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

The disc came with my newton. Originally it could be read in any CD drive I owned but a few years later I tried again and it would only read on a few drives.
Now it's only visible to a handful of the cd drives I own with the BenQ being able to read it the best. The disc is obviously failing which is why I want to pull the data off it but I can't do that (or at least I can't do it in a "set and forget" manner) if the software can't see the drive.
There is another mode in BadCopy which lets me extract files, one by one, however that would take forever and because it's the wrong recovery mode (recovery mode 1 is the best and is the "set and forget" option), some of the files cannot be saved.

[Wizard]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

You are witnessing a disc *rot*.

Does the aluminum flash plating looks kind of odd than what should be for a good CD?

Cheers, Wizard

[brethin]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

benq? i've had iffy luck with them... maybe a bad drive.

Umm BenQ make some of the best drives out, alot and i do mean alot of the other brands use to just be rebadged BenQ's

[kaniki]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

it sounds like you might be screwed.. Did you try maybe contacting the company to see if you could get another copy of the disk from them?

[Wizard]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

Newton is a apple PDA ages ago. Should be software somewhere on download sites even apple itself.

Cheers, Wizard

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

You guys are missing the point - his external drive is not being picked up by his backup software.

Since it's an external drive, why not try it on another machine?

EDIT: Whoops, missed the part where you said you tried this on a W2k system. How about the drive's firmware?

[kaniki]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

You guys are missing the point - his external drive is not being picked up by his backup software.

Since it's an external drive, why not try it on another machine?

EDIT: Whoops, missed the part where you said you tried this on a W2k system. How about the drive's firmware?

but if you read it you would notice that he also said that it worked and saw it before he reinstalled "AND" added SP3 so it must be something that is not compatible with SP3. HE said that the drive could be seen though explorer, just not through badcopy. which also goes with my remark, see if there is an updtae to the software because is now more likely a compatibility issue with the software, not the firmware or the drive..

This time however while Windows can see the drive no problem, BadCopy can't...... the only difference between then and now is me reinstalling Windows XP and also installing Service Pack 3.

as for the screwed remark, i meant that he most likely will not be getting it off that CD and he will probably need to look to find the software other places..

[pentium]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

For the most part, you can't find this software elsewhere.
Most of the Newton apps you can download are shareware and the companies are long gone so there is no way to register and unlock them. This disc contains the full and unlocked versions of the apps.
Also, yes, I noted it stopped working after I installed SP3 however because it's also not working under Windows 2000 which does not use SP3, it seems that SP3 is not the issue.
Shoot, I don't even remember what I did before to get it to work. Either I installed a driver or it was plug and go.
I have located firmware for the drive however I'm unsure if it is the correct version firmware for my drive (there's like a GS and HS version for the firmware).
Still, no need to update firmware on something that worked before (If it ain't broke, don't fix it).

[stj]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

try to read the disc in a plextor, pioneer or nec scsi cd burner.
those are the best in the world, and a dvd drive never reads cd's as well as a dedicated cd drive.

[stj]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

and leech this:
http://www.info.apple.com/support/ol...st.html#newton

[yyonline]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

I've had a few cd ripping/burning type programs that require an ASPI layer to be installed to access the drive. In my experience, this is usually the case if Windows can see the drive, but a specialized program cannot. If you search for Adaptec ASPI you should be able to find plenty of sites to download it from. It's a very simple install and I've never had it cause any sort of side effects, even if it doesn't solve your issue.

[kaniki]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

good call there. I forgot about the ASPI drivers. I ran into that before but completely forgot about them since i haven't needed them in years..

[pentium]

Re: Software not seeing a DVD drive

So pretty much downloading this and rebooting should do the trick?