CD Not Readable Error Message

[PGB1]

Hi All!
I apologize if this is in the wrong section of the forum.

Today, I wanted to put some files on a CD. I am using a Mid-2007 MacBook Pro with the OS X 10.6.8. I use an external (USB) CD/DVD writer buy Samsung. It is connected with two USB cables via a powered USB hub. (It never would work if connected directly without the power hub.)

My Superdrive hasn't worked for a few years. (Only DVD reading works on it)

I inserted a blank CD (Verbatim brand CD-R). I got the error message-
The Disk You Inserted Was Not Readable By This Computer (Screen Shot attached)
I've successfully used disks from this stack many times.

It gave me a choice of Ignore, Eject or Initialize.
When I click Initialize, Disk Utility opens. The disk drive (but not the disk) is shown in the list on the left. No choices of things to do are present.
The CD does not appear in Finder
If I ignore, the disk still is not showing up in Finder or Disk Utility.

To Troubleshoot, I tried the following-
a) Tried many other disks from the same batch- No Luck. All received the error message.
b) Tried blank disks from 2 other brands- No Luck (Only had one of each to try- Leftovers)
c) Tried disks I wrote that originally were from this stack of blanks- All read OK
d) Tried disks I wrote from other brands (Both CD and DVD)- All read OK
e) Tried appending a disk I left appendable with Disk Utility- Worked fine.
f) Tried several commercial CD & DVD disks I had, such as program disks- All OK

Do any of recognize this problem and have any ideas about what I can do to rectify the problem? Is, perhaps, the drive failing, thus only able to read already written disks?

If the drive is suspect, do you have any recommendations of brand & model to chose for a replacement?

I sure appreciate your help on this. It's near year-end and time to start copying files for archive, such as dreaded income tax stuff, so a working drive will be quite helpful.

Paul

 

[MacInWin]

Yep, the CD is blank until you burn something on it. You can't open it until that is done, as there is no format on the drive. Formatting is put in place as the drive is burned. If you try to format it, all you end up with is a blank, useless CD.

To burn, use some burner to create the drive from he files. I use to Toast and Burn, you can search for them.

 

[PGB1]

Thank You MacInWin for taking time to reply. I sure appreciate the input.

The log jam I run into is that neither Finder nor Disk utility sees the blank CD, so I can't figure out how to have a program burn it.

Crazy, huh?
Paul

 

[MacInWin]

No, not crazy, that's exactly how it works. As I said, there is NO formatting on a blank CD, so Finder can't see it (it's blank) an DU can't see it (It's blank). CDs get formatted when you BURN them with the files. Until then, there is nothing on the disk at all.

So, download Burn, install it, drag the files you want on the CD to the Burn window and then follow the steps it will lead your through. THEN it will have formatting, and THEN Finder will find it and THEN Disk Utility will see it.

 

[PGB1]

Thanks Again for your reply. I guess I didn't write my post or reply very well.

The problem is that no program (Disk Utility, Finder, Toast or Burn) can see the actual blank disk in order to have it burned. They all see the drive as empty.

On your recommendation, I downloaded Burn and Toast to try.
Neither of them sees the disk, but both see the drive.
They see the drive as empty.
Each asks for a CD to be inserted in the drive.

For Example- In Burn.app
A) I will drag the files I wish to put on the CD into the window.
B) Then the instructions tell me to click "Burn".
C) When the Burn button is pressed, a window pops up showing both the Superdrive and the external drive. (Blank is in the external. Superdrive does not work with CDs anymore).
D) I select the external from the drop-down list
E) The pop up says that the drive is waiting for a CD.
The Burn & Close buttons are grey'd out. Cancel is available.

For my next test, I connected the external to my wife's almost identical MacBook Pro. (Same 10.6.8, but hers is 2006 model year & she has a 2.0 gHz processor and I have 2.2)
I was using the same blank disks that can't be seen on mine.
On hers, the disks are all seen and are available. This includes the previously written CDs that my computer does not see. Disk Utility and Finder see the disks. Toast & Burn work beautifully with her MacBook and my external drive (same blank CDs)

Now It Gets More Confusing-
If I burn files onto a blank CD on my wife's computer, using my external drive it IS now seen and available on my computer with the same drive. It is not only available, I can now append it with Disk Utility and Burn.app.
I tired this using both Disk Utility and Toast.

As far as I know, I have-
Verified that both of my USB ports work (Because other CDs can be used, as can card readers & such)
Verified the external drive & hub work (Because the hardware works on my wife's MacBook Pro)
Verified is isn't CD brand specific (Because I've used some form this stack and because it all works on my wife's computer)
Verified it isn't simply a bad blank (Tried them on my wife's MBP with success)
Verified it is a problem that extends beyond the built in Mac programs (D.U. & Finder)
(Because Toast & Burn can't see the blanks either.)

So now I'm thinking the problem isn't necessarily with the drive but some sort of glitch with my OS or maybe a preference file or something else?


I do appreciate your advice to get Burn or Toast. They sure seem easier to use than Disk Utility.

Thanks Again!
Paul

 

[chscag]

Paul:

Create another account on your machine and give it admin rights. Log on to the new account and test if the CD can be seen. It's possible something in your regular user account has become corrupt or maybe missing. Let us know.

 

[PGB1]

Thank You Chscag for taking time to review this conundrum & replying with a great diagnostic plan.

I tired your suggestion by making a new account & giving it Administrator rights.
That User had no problems seeing blank and pre-written CDs.

Next I tried using an existing second user account on the computer (I apologize that I did not think of this earlier.) It does not have administrator rights. It, too, had no problems with the CDs.

I went back to my main user account (with administrator rights) and it still can't see blank CDs.

Some Things I Noticed-
On the new account and the existing second account, when the CD is inserted, I'm given a pop-up which asks asked which action I would like to take. The choices include to eject it, ignore it or OK to accept the action in its drop-down (Screen shots are attached) I never saw this pop up in my main user account. Actually, it seems like it could be kind of helpful to have these choices available.

I also noticed that I have to connect the USB CD drive after I log into the accounts or it is ignored. But, I vaguely remember having to do this with my second user account and that it is just a quirk of the drive's firmware.

So, the status is-
Other Account With Administrator Rights- No Problems
Other Account Without Administrator Rights- No Problems
Main Account With Administrator Rights- Can not see blank disks but can see written disks.

I think your assessment of something being missing or corrupt is spot-on and I sure appreciate the diagnostic plan. Finding what actually is corrupt or missing is well beyond my computer skills, indeed.

Thanks Again For Helping!
Paul

 

[chscag]

Paul:

The pop up asking what action to take when a blank CD or DVD is inserted is what you should be seeing. It appears that your regular account is corrupt or there is a PST file somewhere that's amiss. Sometimes it's easier to just completely remove the corrupt account and go with a new one. However, that can be a real task because it would mean copying everything over to the new account from the old one and first verifying if the new account is working OK before removing the old one. I'll leave it up to you to decide what you'd like to do.

 

[PGB1]

Thank You once again for helping out Chscag! I truly appreciate your guidance & yours as well, MacInWin.

I did an Easy Find search for PST files. When I sort by "Kind", all of the files with PST extension are related to Garage Band.app. That's an application I've never opened.

So, I will give good thought to tackling the project of creating a new user account, then moving over to it. It seems like it might even be kind of an interesting adventure. (And hopefully I won't goof things up beyond recognition. Hooray for backups.)

Maybe I'll try replacing the broken internal Superdrive first to see if the new one can read blank CDs. At worst, if the problem extends to that drive too, I would at least have a more convenient way to read pre-written CDs vs. the USB drive & powered hub. But that, too, will take some studying.

Thank You Both Again and I Hope Your Holidays Are Peaceful & Fun!
Paul