i've got problem with growisofs from dvd+rw-tools-5.21.4.10.8 package - it doesn't close session sometimes. here is what i have done and what has happened:morgwai@darkstorm:~ $ growisofs -M /dev/cdrom1 -U -J -joliet-long -r /home/morgwai/zdjecia/tmp//dev/cdrom1: flushing cache /dev/cdrom1: closing track /dev/cdrom1: closing session morgwai@darkstorm:~ $ dvd+rw-mediainfo /dev/cdrom1 INQUIRY: [LITE-ON ][DVDRW SOHW-832S ][VS0A] READ TRACK INFORMATION[#3]: Track State: blank Track Start Address: 678944*2KB Next Writable Address: 678944*2KB Free Blocks: 1616160*2KB Track Size: 1616160*2KBit also sometimes happens when burning initial session (growisofs -Z...) i hadn't this problem when i was using dvd+rw-tools-5.17.4.8.6. i also have similar problem with ASUS DRW-1604P drive. as i mentioned it _doesn't_ happen every time. sometimes session is closed properly but i don't know what it depends on.
At some occasion I've received very strange report from a LITE-ON user. Unit has completed DVD-R recording, but recording became unmountable after some time. After that unit permitted overwrite (yes! overwrite of DVD-R media!), but recording was terminated in the middle. Visually the recording layer had three hues: virgin on the outer edge, a bit darker from first recording and even darker till the point second recording has failed at. The media was rendered totally useless. User maintained that cold restart cured the problem. Why am I telling this? Apparently there is possibility that LITE-ON units has some common defect, which makes them act in unpredictable manner sometimes. It also might be the kind of common defect which shows after some time... Another example of such deferred defect are Benq DVD+units. They can stop playing and recording CDs, but not DVDs after some time. After extra while they can stop playing DVDs, but keep recording DVD+RW (never tested DVD+R)...
i use 'close' program provided by Andy Polyakov as a workaround to bug in dvd+rw-tools-5.19 to close such unclosed sessions and it works everytime i use it, but i'd rather not to have to use it :)
close snippet is not in any way different from what growisofs does at the end. It's simply executed after some time, when unit most likely has cooled down. So that yes, it can as well be environmental problem... In other words I don't think it's application software problem, but rather hardware. A.