Re: occasional problem formatting/rewriting DVD+RW disk with Sony DRU530A burner.
> I have 2 DVD burners on the same machine, the SONY DRU530A (primary) and the
> SONY 510A (slave). I have no problem burning DVD+R and DVD+RW using DRU510A. I
> have occasional problem formatting and rewriting data (use -Z option) on DVD+RW
> disks using the DRU530A. The problem only happens with the DVD+RW disks. I have
> no problem formatting a virgin DVD+RW disk the first time using DRU530A. The
> problem occurs when rewriting data (or ISO image) the second time or after with
> different size of data from the previous one.
^^^^^^^^^ You mean "larger," right? If yes, then transparent resuming
of background formatting is likely to be broken. Note that "transparent
resuming of background formatting" is a firmware procedure.
> The message on the terminal shows
> that it keeps the 0% (data written) for a while and frozen at the step of
> de-icing
Exact output from growisofs is always preferred. I mean for example here
I'm uncertain if "step of de-icing" refers to "stopping de-icing" at the
end. Must be, but point is that I don't want spill time wondering and
assuming:-)
> (I have to turn off PC machine and reboot after).
Does it mean that OS stops responding/locks up and computer is rendered
useless or does it mean that it works, but the only way to get rid of
hanging growisofs is to cycle power? If latter for how long did you left
it running? How large are recordings?
> It also fails to
> reformat the disk when this problem occurs. However, I can reformat the same
> disk using the SONY DRU510A.
In either case it smells very much like 530 firmware deficiency... Check
for firmware update... Then see if -dvd-compat option makes it work
reliably (it might *mitigate* the impact from bug in "transparent
resuming of background formatting," if any that is).
> I notice that the 2 machine firmware format the DVD+RW disks differently. The
> DRU530A formats very fast. I don't even see the % of disk formatted. When I
> check (run dv+rw-format without the -force option), the DRU530A only format a
> disk to 0.1% of capacity while the DRU510A formats to 11% of disk capacity.
> Any idea about this problem?
It's not necessarily a problem. 0.1% is most likely lowest value ever
observed, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong. Formally initial
format procedure doesn't have to touch the data area. It does it to
provide some limited DVD-ROM compatibility, but it's not necessary for
recording per se. A.
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