As initially suggested by the moderators of this forum, I posed this problem
to the folks at the hardware forum PCBUILD but have yet to find something
that works. The solution may just be software rather than a hardware thing.
Perhaps the PCSOFT contributors have encountered a similar problem and know
of a workaround.

What is the determining factor on whether a CD-ROM drive will read or even
recognize a CD/R or CD/RW?

Here's the reason for my question. I had made a number of CD/Rs and CD/RWs
on a WIN98 machine using a 16/10/40a PlexWriter. A new WIN98 machine with an
old "HEX-Speed" Creative Labs CD-ROM would not recognize the backed up file
data on either media. As well, it would not recognize an MP-3 music CD/R
made with the same application (Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum). For the backed
up file data, the CD/Rs and CD/RWs were formatted first before the data was
written to it using Easy CD Creator. The data was written to it by Windows
Explorer. In the case of the MP3 music CD, it was made entirely within the
CD Creator MP3 Music Project application. The new machine would not
recognize the CDs at all under Windows Explorer. In the case of the MP3
music CD, neither autoplay or Music Match Jukebox would recognize it for
play.

However it will recognize both file data and MP3 music -- if they were made
under the auspices of the "Make a Data CD project" option of Easy CD
Creator. In Roxio's terminology, ". . . a data CD is ideal (having the
highest compatibility) for sharing multimedia presentations, graphics, CAD
files, Internet downloads, Websites, and company documents with your
colleagues.".

I was hopeful when a PCBUILD contributor suggested downloading a UDF reader
from Roxio (creator of Easy CD Creator) but after trying it out, the WIN98
machine still refused to recognize that anything usable was in the drive -
in this case, both CD/Rs or CD/RWs.

So I guess my question really is, would a newer CD-ROM drive in the target
PC likely be able to recognize the differing media such as my file data
created on CD/Rs and CD/RWs as noted above, as well as MP3 music created
using the "Make a MP3Music project" option of Easy CD Creator? Is it that
later models of CD-ROMs have built in recognition for these formats or
better drivers or something - OR - is there some other software patch that
people have had luck with?

Larry Stewart Ottawa, Canada e-mail: [log in to unmask]

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