MacBoop Pro can't read a data CD mastered with a Win 10 machine

[CarloD]

I mastered a data CD with a PC running Windows 10. The result is a CD which is correctly read by the PC.
When inserting the mastered CD in my MacBook Pro running OSX 10.11.5 the CD appers as "empty", even not formatted.
Is there any trick to master data CDs so that they are readable both with a PC and with a MAC machine?

 

[ferrarr]

What do you mean by mastered? What application are you using to master?

When I used to use discs (CD/DVD) to copy files between mac and pc, I would just copy the files to the disc.

 

[CarloD]

I used both the BurnAware Free program and, alternatively, the PC "send to" (Disk drive) command applied to the data file / folder I want to transfer to the CD disk.
In both situations the resulting disk is readable by the PC but it appers "empty" to the mac.

 

[Slydude]

One thing some people forget to do is to "close" the CD. When left open additional files can be written to the CD but "open" CDs often cannot be read by anything other than the machine that created them. Check the software you are using to see if there are any settings that you need to change.

That may not be what's happening here but it's the first thing that occurred to me.

 

[ferrarr]

Try using Windows to burn the files to disk. I have a feeling that the software you are using is causing the issues with the Mac trying to read it.

 

[elf69]

Same problem.

We use Nero burning software and yes CLOSED the disc but still my 2009 macbook with superdrive cannot read it.

 

[chscag]

The simple answer for you (elf69) and (CarloD) is that you did not burn the disk using the standard ISO9660 format which Nero can do and so can almost every other burning program. And of course as Slydude pointed out the disk must be closed.

If you made a standard ISO9660 data disc, it should be readable on Windows, Mac, and pretty much every Unix variant out there without issue.

 

[CarloD]

Thanks for all suggestions.
When I set the burning software to "close" the CD after having written the desired files, the resulting CD can be read by the MacBook machine only in 50% of the trials: it remains obscure why I get this "random" result. The filesystem available from the burning software is just the UFD: however I think this should not be a problem for my OSX 10.11.5
I don't want to buy any particular burning software if I can not understand what's wrong in my procedure of burning CDs. In particular I'm worried about the casual result I got when closing the CD: maybe the quality of the media I used?

 

[CarloD]

Dear all,
finally I changed the burning program with a software (CDBurnerXP) that allows to use the standard ISO9660 format and the more recent UFD format.
In the end all the 9 CDs that I had to burn today now are readable both on the PC and the Mac machines, regardless the file format used (UFD for the most part, ISO9660 the last one CD).
I am just wondering if the CD/DVD hardware on my MacBook Pro machine had to be exercised many times, as I did today after a long period of no-use, before reaching a satisfactory reading capability (?!).
Anyway, thanks to everybody for the useful suggestions: I learned something more about the need to close the CD burning sessions and the different file formats used by the various burning programs.

 

[Slydude]

Your problem wasn't due to a lack of "exercise" by the burner. I should have thought to suggest that you check for that setting. I used to make that mistake. I haven't had that problem in a while because some software takes care of that if I remember to tell it that I want to use the CD on both Macs and PCs.

 

[chscag]

It's not automatic with some Windows burning software. Nero for example... that option would have to be set. Roxio Windows software also has options to set the burn using ISO9660. Mac software such as the free "Burn" does it by default. I knew that was his problem and also for "elf69" as soon as he wrote that he used Nero.

 

[Slydude]

It's not automatic with some Windows burning software. Nero for example... that option would have to be set. Roxio Windows software also has options to set the burn using ISO9660. Mac software such as the free "Burn" does it by default. I knew that was his problem and also for "elf69" as soon as he wrote that he used Nero.

Thanks Charlie. I should have specifically mentioned that when I talked about the settings. I have been using Toast for so long that I forget it usually sets this automatically of you choose the Mac and PC option.