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CD file recovery

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by d.h. cesare

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I hope this is the right place to get some answers.
I have burned numerous DATA CD's using 4 or 5 different programs and when I go back and try to read the files on the CD's, I can't access them. Even when I can see them, I can't open some of them, especially the JPG's.

I've tried recovering the files using CD-R Diagnostics and BadCopy with very limited success. CD-R Diagnostics recovered the files, but apparently lost the headers to the JPG's, because they won't open. Every application I try to open them with says, "Invalid File Format". BadCopy salvaged 45% of the files, but lists them as "File 01, File 02" etc. Who has time to go back and open thousands of files and rename each individual file?

CD's burned with Easy CD Creator 4 & 5; Nero v5.9; MusicMatch v8.0; and CloneCD v4.0.

O/S Win98 SE
500MHz
512MB RAM
46G HDD 15G free

41 replies

by oz_media

It is usually best to post in the Technical Q&A section, offer enough points and you'll get more answers.

This however may turn into a discussion thread anyway.

Have you checked that your CDRW is not ay fault?
It sounds like it may be due to buffering errors during the write process.

Have you tried cleaning the lasers lens with a drive cleaning disk?

I would almost rule software out at this point, as you probably have, and check you writer.
swap it out with a borrowed one if you don't have another machine handy.

If CDRW is OK, then you may find a BIOS update to help.

by thechas

D.H.,

I agree with Oz that this should be posted in the Technical Q&A section.

That said, I suspect that the root cause of your bad CDs is too much RAM.

There is a known W98 bug if 512MB or more RAM is installed. I limit ALL of my W9X boxes to 384MB.

The 'bug' is VERY configuration dependant. Anything from new hardware to an updated driver can trigger the bug.

Try removing some RAM and burning a new CD to see if that corrects the bad burn issue.

Further, if you have both Easy CD and Nero installed at the same time they can conflict with each other and cause problems.

Ahead has a boot manager utility to download that is used to select which CD-Burning software you wish to load for that session of Windows.

Despite popular belief, CDs (CD-Rs and CD-RWs in particular) are NOT indestructible.
It is "best" practice to make at least 3 CD copies of any critical data when using CDs as the backup media.
1 to use.
1 to make new copies from.
1 as a safety backup.

Chas

by oz_media

You seem to have had some nasty experiences with too much Win98 Ram, it comes up often in your replies.

Do you have any knowledge as to WHY Win98 had this problem? I know it's true also from my experience where too much Win98 RAM has caused system lockups, but wasn't sure which part of the process was having problems with the speed.

Interesting and I'm sure, very accurate.

OM

by d.h. cesare

I had tons of problems with Easy CD Creator and the Roxio technicians couldn't do a thing to help me so I returned it. I have Nero v5.9 installed and was going to install v6.0 but haven't gotten around to it.

The last CD I burned using Nero is working just fine, but the CD I really need to recover the files of of are hundreds of family pictures. They are on the CD, I just can't get at them.

by mrafrohead

There is a program called ISO Buster that can retrieve bad disks. I would try to use this program (it's part freeware part shareware) to check for any actual data. If it can find any it will recover it. From there you can test to see why the machine can't read it. Maybe the media itself is off...

http://www.smart-projects.net/isobuster/

Mrafrohead

by d.h. cesare

Thanx. I bought the program and now we'll see if it works. Like I said, CD-R Diagnostics recovered the files, but I couldn't open the image files. I really hope this works because I have all the 1st year baby pictures for the grandbaby, along with hundreds of pictures of the other kids and the family in general. No one else took pictures 'cause they were counting on me.

by d.h. cesare

I used IsoBuster to recover all the picture files on that CD, but again they wouldn't open. The author of IsoBuster says that the burner probably used the wrong power setting on those files, but that doesn't explain why all the other files on that CD are functional.
Well, if nothing else, I've spent another $26 to unsuccessfully get my pictures. I broke the news to the family today and I need a place to sleep....

by hal 9000

But was the entire CD recorded in 1 session?

If it was recorded in several different sessions it is just possible that one session was deleted from the FAT of the CD and whatever recording software you are currently using might have a "Session Selector" option like Easy CD Creator that might allow you access to that session.

I hope that gives you some assistance.

Col

by d.h. cesare

I sincerely appreciate the offer. Let me tell you up front that I've been unemployed for 2.5 years and have no income and no money.
The author of IsoBuster and CD-R Diagnostics both say that the information that should have been burned onto the CD isn't there. The total number of pictures is around 1,500, and the total size of all those files is about 350kb, and some of those files were 1600x1200.
Let me know what you think, okay?

by mrafrohead

First off, just so you know, I wasn't offering to do it for money. I lost a whole year of X-Mas pictures once, so I know how frustrating it is to have that happen. It's basically an offer of this: I can try, and if I get them great, you get your pictures, and if not well then there's no difference from where you stand right now. I just enjoy doing this kind of stuff and would like to help if possible. :)

Just so I understand this right. You are telling me that you have 1500 pictures on this CD, but the CD is only registering a total size of 350kb?

Also, you are SURE you only burned one session to it?

I think that if you are sure you burned the data to the disk, that it will be there, regardless if you can see it or not. Sometimes tracks "disappear" and in order to get them back it just takes a little work. But just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.

As long as there wasn't an error in the burning process itself, and you included the files in the burn, they should be there.

If you go into Explorer and check the properties of the disk, how much data does it show?

Basically this is it: All it will cost you is a little bit of bandwidth to up the ISO to me and the knowledge that a stranger has your pictures (;p) other than that, that's it. If that doesn't bother you, let me know and we can step further into this via e-mail. If not, not a problem at all.

Mrafrohead

by hal 9000

If you have Easy CD Creator 4/5n, Nero 5.9/Music Match8 & Clone CD4 all installed at the same time I would be amased if you got any readably CD's from you're recorder. Each of these programs will work OK by themselves but when mixed together they conflict with each other and cause Buffer underrunns and the like meaning you end up wit a lot of drink coasters.

What you need to do is remove all the unrequired recording programs and just stick with one that way you will not have the current problems that you are having.

Although 512 MEG is a bit on the large side for W98 SE it might work OK but personaly I would prefer a little less because of the way Windows 98 works so if possible lower the Memory level a bit but I suspose if you have a 512 MEG stick you're sought of stuck with what you've got for the time being at least but remember that just because a M'Board can take more memory doesn't mean that the OS will still work with it 98 or even all the 9X versions of Windows are natorious for this and don't like to play nice with a lot of RAM somewhere around the 300 MEG mark they work OK but anything above that they are at best unstable.

From bitter experience I've learn't that you can not mix Easy CD Crerator and Nero on the same computer and expect the CDRW to work well at least not to record CD's anyway. So I would start removing any unrequired CD Recording software and only work with the one program.

However if you have removed all other programs and just installed different programs in an attempt to get a working CD then I would have a serrious look at the recorder that is provided that you have at the same time installed all the CD Recorder driver updates for these programs as it looks as if that is where the source of you're problem is as it is begining to fail if it hasn't already completely failed but maybe it is just on its way out as a Traxdata SCSI unit that I used to have would at the end only open the draw and then after a short time reopen the draw and reject and blank media. It srarted out by rejecting some of the cheap blank CD's and eventually ended up wit not accepting any at all.

by d.h. cesare

The burner is a Toshiba DVD-ROM SD-R1002. When I contacted Toshiba about updated (or any) drivers, they said that there were no drivers available and that the only way to upgrade the drive was to send it in along with $45 for them to upgrade it.

I just burned a data CD using Nero v5.9 and all the files are accessible. It just seems to be the JPG files on that one CD that won't open, and those are the ones that are so important to me.

I purchased this IsoBuster recovery program to see if it'll work. Here's knockin' on wood....

by hal 9000

In question with.

From this I do mean which CD Recording software did you use?

Just a warning here when you have some very important files to backup it is a very good idea to make several copies of them as recordable CD are not indestructiable either they are just better and cheaper than any other media that is currently available. If you leave a recorded CD in sunlight recorded side up it will loss its data very quickly and just the same I have CD here that have started to lose their coatings as well.

Remember that a recordable CD/DVD is only a blank piece of plastic with a coating on it something like paint that can lift/be scrathced off.

by darren

You don't have any image thumbnailing software running do you? I.E. anything that constantly accesses the files? Burning files that are in use usually gives you unuseable files.

I've not seen anyone mention that possibility and I'm probably way off the mark, but it may be worth checking?

by d.h. cesare

I don't think there's anything like that running. Before I start burning a CD I go into Process Explorer or EndItAll and shut everything down that I don't need.

by don_c

Have you uninstall any of the cd burning software. The reason im asking is that i had burnt a cd for file transfer and the next computer couldn't read it because the file extensions wasn't there

by d.h. cesare

I probably used Nero v5.9, but I'm not 100% sure about that. I may have used MusicMatch. I've used MMJB before to burn DATA CD's and had a lot better success than I did with any of Roxio's software.

My computer room is North side and the CD's never get near sunlight.

by hal 9000

That recorded CD are subject to. Forget the sales pitch that they are indestructiable as they aren't.

Here in Australia the CSIRO is investigating a fungus that attacks manfactured CD's of both the music and data varity so if these pressed CD's can be adversly affected by something as simple as a fungus who can say just what will affect a recorded CD as they are far more fragile than the pressed kind.

Remember they are nothing more than a painted blank plastic disk which is subject to all the conditions that they are exposed to and that can include anything from heat, sunlight, cold, artifical lighting as we currently do not know the affects of this and somewhere here at TR someone told a story about a blank CD exploding and wrecking the recorder as well as causing some small injury to the person who was using the computer at the time and with DVD drives they burn hotter than conventional CD's do and are more subject to this condition.

I think I can remember a study about fluro lighting causing a higher incidence of breast cancer in night workers so who know what it might do to the CD surface and that is ony one simple source of potential problems. It is also the reason why profesionals make mutipal backup of everything that is considered as important just in case as you can never be too sure of what will happen.

by d.h. cesare

Sounds like you have stuff down under that we don't have on the rest of the planet....

I don't have anything like floro lighting or temperature variations or kids or anything else that should effect the CD's. I'm beginning to think that maybe the burner's power was wrong when it was burning the picture files. All the rest of the files on that CD are functional so I'm really at a loss.

by d.h. cesare

The entire CD was one session. That's why it's so hard for me to understand why all the files except the picture files functioned normally.

I do not use Roxio's CD software. Too many problems, and then the technical support is worse than the software.

by hal 9000

There has to be a glitch with the JPEG coping section of the software used.

I take it that you have since removed the images from you're HDD but if it wasn't all that long ago it might be possible to recover some of the images that where on the HDD with a file recovery program, other than that I'm out of suggestions.

Col

by d.h. cesare

I appreciate the suggestions. I have a security program I run on the HDD's periodically that prevents recovery of any files, so they are long gone.
Oh well, another perfect world.

by hal 9000

There is always the posibility of recovering the images but it would mean the destruction of the HDD and a large chunk of money as well.

It is possible to coat the platters with a jelly like substance and then recover ever layer of magnetic recording that they have saved. It is very expensive and time consuming by a professional company and mostly only used by law enforcement departments to recover data that may have been removed from HDD's from some one suspected of a henious crime but it is possible although in most cases not very practial.

Col

by mrafrohead

If you would like, I can try to recover the files for you.

There usually isn't anything that I can't get back.

In order to do that, you would have to make an exact image of the cd and upload it to me. I can work on it and send you your images if you want. The choice is yours. I totally understand if you don't want to as you'd have a stranger working on your stuff, but I'm out of ideas to recommend and would actually have to start doing it myself.

Lemme know what you want to do, and I can tell you how to go about making the image and what to do with it once it's ready.

Mrafrohead

by mrafrohead

That is a problem that some disks have. The material used inside of the CD that you record to, is an organic compound. If you have a disk that is not properly sealed, it can begin to break down and you can lose the data. They are beginning to see that Cdr actually has a shelf life of about five years.

Which I always thought was BS until I had to restore my Mp3 collection from CDr and about half of my disks from the beginning of my collecting days had at least one error on them... And I'm not talking about missing files, but files that can't be read.

Mrafrohead

by d.h. cesare

"You are telling me that you have 1500 pictures on this CD, but the CD is only registering a total size of 350kb?"
Not exactly. The disc was burned in one session. There are MANY files of different types on the CD. The files I can't read are just the PICTURE files; all the rest of the files are functional. There is one folder on the CD named My Pictures. In that folder are many subfolders that should've contained all my pictures. When you look at the CD you can see what appear to be JPG files in each of the folders. But when you try to open the actual image, it says, "Can't read the file header. Invalid format".
The size of those image files varies, but most are digital images about 1600x1200.
It sounds like the headers were lost or corrupted somehow.
I don't care to put my real e-address in the forum, but you can try cesareDH@yahoo.com and if the trash hasn't overloaded the account, I'll get back to you asap with my real address.
Thanks.

by hal 9000

Copy the files back to a HDD and then go into each folder and rename the files with the .JPG extention I do not know if it will work and if it does it will be time consuming but you just might recover the files and once you can see them you can rename them with something more opporiate to what you want.

I only got this idea from you above postings as clearly the files are there and provided that there was not a bad burn it appears that the file names have become corrupted or at least the file extentions.

Anyway it is worth a try and will save you the trouble of creating an ISO image and uploading it. Because of the size I would think that you would have to FTP it instead of e-mailing it.

Col

by mrafrohead

Yeah, that file would be WAY too big for my e-mail account to take. It will have to be ftp'd in :)

by d.h. cesare

I went through all the hoops you suggested to get those files off the CD using IsoBuster, then compressed them using WinRar and sent them to you. That's been nearly 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard anything from you since. Have you decided not to try and recover those files? It's fine if that is too much of a project for you to follow through with; I'd just like to know, one way or the other. Thanks again.

by mrafrohead

When you sent me the files, you only sent me the files themselves, whereas I needed an exact copy of the CD itself.

I can't do anything with the files individually as there is something wrong with them, as I stated to you in my last e-mail to you.

When you send me the ISO as requested, I would be more than happy to take a peak at it again... Other than that, there's nothing that I can do for you.

by d.h. cesare

I owe an apology, I guess. I don't know anything about creating an ISO. I thought I wrote to your e-address on Jan 28 and mentioned to you that I may need your direction getting the ISO. I'm more than happy to get you whatever you need, if I can. I think it would be much more efficient if we used the email instead of this thing, if you agree. I sent you 2 emails but never received a reply, so I naturally thought you had changed your mind about trying to help.
Maybe we need to start over, rght? Let me know, okay? Thanks

by d.h. cesare

I have that BIN file compressed and ready to send. I have WS_FTP Pro and with your assistance I can set it up to send that file.

I understand what an ISO file is, I've just never worked with them before. When I downloaded an ISO file and burned it to CD, all I had was another ISO file on the CD, and I thought it was supposed to be a program. There's obviously something I'm missing, and it probably seems stupid to everyone who's done this before. I'm like a dumb monkey; untill I've done it a dozen times, it just don't stick.

by d.h. cesare

When I tried to install this little program it popped up an error window saying Windows XP was required. I use Win98 SE. Oh well, another perfect world.

by d.h. cesare

it pops up in an IsoBuster window. Now I can see what's inside the ISO file, but then it won't let me drag those files into the Nero window to burn.

Again I say, I'm probably missing something extremely simple, but until I do it once (or 12 times) the right way, I just can't get it done.

I can see what needs to be done, I just don't know how to do it.

Maybe I need to give up on computers and start driving truck.

by hal 9000

Yep I know what you're going through with the current ISO programs but you'll find one around try Planet Mirror, Top Free Ware Apps, SourceForge or NONAGS they might have something that will help you.

About you're other problem of getting an ISO image on a recorded CD where I think you went wrong was to open the CD recording software and chose the file that you wanted to record instead you should just click on the ISO image and the rest will happen automatically.

I hope that helps.

Col

by thechas

Both Easy CD Creator 5 and Nero have the ability to burn ISO images to a CD.

I don't have nero running.

In Easy CD 5, open the Easy CD Creator application.

Under file, select Burn CD image to a CD.
Then select the ISO file.

Chas

by d.h. cesare

Easy CD Creator won't even install on my machines. I spent 3 hours on the phone with Roxio technicians and even they couldn't make it work.

I see an ISO tab in Nero, but I can't see how to specifically create an ISO file.

When I click on an ISO file, it pops up in an IsoBuster window, but then it won't let me drag the files from that window into the Nero window to burn.

by thechas

I downloaded the Nero manuals for 5.5 and 6.

The instructions for burning an ISO image to a CD are in section 8.3 and 9.3 respectively.

On the bookmark tab in Acrobat Reader, the section is referred to as "Burning the image file"

Chas

by d.h. cesare

All the file types have applications assigned to them, so whatever the file type I click on will pop up a client.

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