I just installed an E-IDE/ATAPI DVD writer (IOMAGIC Dual Format, Double Layer 16x16x8) on a Dell PowerEdge 600SC server running Red Hat 9.0. I was able to write to it using

$ growisofs -Z /dev/hde -J -F /dvd/

and write all the contents of the dvd directory.

Later, when I try to copy the files back, however, I get an error:
$ mount /dev/hde /mnt/cdrom
$ cp /mnt/cdrom/<xxx> ./
cp: reading `/mnt/cdrom/<xxx>': Input/output error

I checked and found these error messages:
$ dmesg
hde: cdrom_decode_status: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hde: cdrom_decode_status: error=0x40LastFailedSense 0x04
hde: cdrom_decode_status: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hde: cdrom_decode_status: error=0x40LastFailedSense 0x04
hde: cdrom_decode_status: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hde: cdrom_decode_status: error=0x40LastFailedSense 0x04
hde: ATAPI reset complete
end_request: I/O error, dev 21:00 (hde), sector 6542224
hde: cdrom_decode_status: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hde: cdrom_decode_status: error=0x40LastFailedSense 0x04
hde: cdrom_decode_status: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hde: cdrom_decode_status: error=0x40LastFailedSense 0x04
hde: cdrom_decode_status: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hde: cdrom_decode_status: error=0x40LastFailedSense 0x04
hde: cdrom_decode_status: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hde: cdrom_decode_status: error=0x40LastFailedSense 0x04
hde: ATAPI reset complete

So what happened here? Did the write fail? Is the reader failing? The DVD has about 3.5 GB of data. Is that too much? Should I use something else to write to the DVD instead of growisofs?

Could it be that writing at a lower speed would result in a readable DVD? I have burned ISO images that were unusable because I didn't lower the speed to 4x. Re-burning at 4x resulted in a good CD (I don't write DVD's though I have an IOMagic DVD burner).

Would it help to burn a CD using a graphic interface such as XCDRoast as an experiment? Sometimes XCDRoast catches errors in setup or capabilities of a machine in a way that can be helpful.

I recently had a lot of problems writing DVD's. I would do things as you are doing them but try burning as root for a test as there are certain permissions needed to burn discs. Also check the quality of your media, (ensure that things will burn in another machine for example if possible). If it works as root, then you will need to check all your permissions. However I wasn't clever enough to get all that right, so I uninstalled everything to do with DVD burning such as mkisofs and growisofs etc etc. Then I reinstalled them with YAST and found the permissions were set up better. But someone else here will probably be able to tell you more and better ways of doing that.

M

also try using the dvd-compat switch.

If those things don't work, try at least as an experiment using X-CDroast, which you operate the first time as root, then it enables you to change to non-root-user configuration (if you want to, which most people would want to). Even if you don't like GUI front-ends, it would be worth doing for troubleshooting, and you could always un-install it afterwards.

I didn't realise that ran first time as root, that is good, cause k3b seemed to not like a lot of things once I had upgraded it, even if I ran the setup utility to set the permissions and adjusted the drives etc. That is why I used text mode as root as I didn't know exactly what k3b was doing. I shall try that next time I have a problem (hopefully there isn't a next time)!

I recently gave up on using k3b after it hopelessly confused me and I couldn't get a simple ISO image CD-ROM created with it. I went back to XCDroast which isn't nearly as pretty to look at, and is a lot more complicated, but gets the job done for me.

The strange thing is, I'm certain I used k3b to make a Knoppix disc a week or two ago, and then the next time I went to do it (so I'd have a second one just in case), I couldn't get it to work no matter what I tried. I spent a good two hours struggling with it.

XCDroast, once set up right again on my new system, did it easily and even wrote it at 16 speed and it works perfectly.

XCDroast requires its first use to be by root, for security reasons. Root has to do the initial setup, and then authorize other users to use the program.

It's easy to overlook "save configuration," in which case all your work is for nothing, so if you decide to experiment with it, remember you have to do that.

Good luck with your further DVD efforts, in any case!

I'll have a look at it, I wasn't pleased as I killed three Dual Layer Discs which I had to buy from the local Dick Smith for $13 each until I got back to work! Anyway, k3b works now as I upgraded to Suse 9.3. One day I may sit down and figure out what all the permissions are about etc and write something about it and post it, though I would have thought the developers could have done that, maybe they have.

Thanks,

M

Ouch! If New Zealand dollars are at the same exchange rate as the Australian Dollar (I'm showing my insular ignorance here, I know), that's about $9.80 US dollars each... Which sounds about right, alas. That is the main, really the compelling, reason I do NOT burn DVD's. I can't afford it, even if the software works perfectly every time.

I do back up to a separate hard drive and hope everything doesn't fail at once.

Well I can get the standard single layer ones for 50c each and a Verbatim branded one for $1.00 each, that isn't too bad, it's just the dual layers that are ridiculous. ;}

I tried doing it again as root and using the dvd-compat tag, but it didn't work-same problem. And the same problem happens whether I try to read it on the original RH9 server that wrote it or a laptop running Suse 9.1.

I am writing to a disk which says "2 hours video, 4.7 GB data", DVD+R RW, 8x compatible. The speed of write was 2.2x. The total amount of data written

The only thing I can think of is should I try to write less data? Can I turn off the "Double Layer" feature of my DVD with growisofs?

Thanks!

It is not growisofs or any dvd writing programs. Using frontend programs will not help too. No, it is not the disc because you can place about 4GB, but I would not push it to 4.25 GB. The problem is DMA. Redhat 9 is old. Upgrade to Fedora or upgrade the kernel to >=2.6.11.

Hmm...

Can you explain what "DMA" means? Is there a link about it somewhere?

Thanks...

About a year ago, when I first bought my IOMagic DVD/CD writer, I found out (after buying a box of DVD-RW's for it) that the software I had was incapable of writing to DVD-RW's. I read up on how to get around this and it was WAY too technical for me to understand, let alone implement. So to this day I have a box of unused DVD-RW's sitting nearby.

(Edit: In fact, I'm not sure but what I found out that there WAS no way around it--yet; but that it was being worked on.)

I don't remember if I got a specific error message telling me about the inability to write to DVD-RW's, or if I figured it out by a Google search. Anyway, I wonder if that's what's happening in your case. Can you write to a regular (non-RW) DVD OK? And are you sure your software supports the DVD+ standard and not just the DVD- standard? (Mine is DVD+ and I did burn a regular DVD successfully with the standard xcdroast package.)

That's about all I can think of right now... Wish I could help more.

Are you able to burn DVD-R successfully with xcdroast?