SCSI CD-RW is stubborn

[josephg]

I have a Wallstreet 266 and a Yamaha CRW4416SX external SCSI drive. I have lots of data to archive, but I can't get the Powerbook to burn CDs.

I've tried all I could think of:

I transferred my Powerbook's data to another computer, reformatted the HD, reinstalled OS9, and transferred the data back.

I've done clean installs of OS9, 9.1, and 9.2.

I've tried Toast 4.2 and 5 (the drive originally came with and worked with Toast 4.1, I think, but I've lost that CD).

I've increased Toast's memory, and RAM cache. I've turned off any suspicious extensions. I've tried burning at different speeds.

I've tried burning different files and folders, of varying sizes and number of files.

I've updated firmware.

But no matter what I do, Toast hangs midway through the burn, either simulated or real (often in the same spot when I repeatedly tried burning the same stuff). Sometimes I'll get the following error...
The drive reported an error:
Sense key=HARDWARE ERROR
Sense code 0x09
TRACK FOLLOWING ERROR

I've also tried with a Yamaha CRW4260tx. It gives me the same error or reports midway through that the SCSI connection was unstable.

Burning also hung with a Firewire drive and FireWire2Go PC card, but that was before I reformatted the HD, so I don't know if that was because the data was fragmented.

I'm very frustrated and scareed that my SCSI card is shot. But if that were the case, wouldn't the drive not register at all?

PLEASE HELP!

[AllInOne]

Some idears:

1. update to Toast 5.02 (updating to 5.01 got my Sony drive to work but it was FireWire not SCSI).

2. Change your SCSI ID.

3. Check your SCSI termination.

4. Swap out your SCSI cables.

5. Do the drives read CDs OK?

Hope something here helps.

[josephg]

Some idears:

>1. update to Toast 5.02 (updating to 5.01 got my Sony drive to work but it was FireWire not SCSI).

I'll try, but the drive worked fine with 4.x when I bought it, so I don't think this is where the problem lies.

>2. Change your SCSI ID.
Tried that.

>3. Check your SCSI termination.
Tried that too, switching between termination off/on.

>4. Swap out your SCSI cables.
I'll try this, but I think it's a software problem, since the drives register, can read CDs, and start the burns seemingly fine.

>5. Do the drives read CDs OK?
Yes.

Thanks for your help. I'll try these tactics.

Any more suggestions?

[Ender]

Heh, don't get your hopes up, this post will be useless to you.

I too have a CRW4416SX. I use it on my G4/500 MP tower with UltraSCSI card, and occasionally on my G3/266 PB. I have never failed a burn in 4 years, except a few in OS 9 when the system crashed (usually due to my browser...).

I don't know what the problem with yours is, but I think you are right that it isn't a hardware problem. It's too consistent (always failing at the same place) for hardware IMO. I would try it on another machine if possible, and then if it works, you can assume it's something with your powerbook. If it still doesn't work, you can assume it's something with the writing mechanism of the drive. Considering how long I've had mine, yours is probably off of warranty. Time for a new burner. ;)

-Ender

[Ender]

Oh, one more thing, have you tried writing at a lower speed? PowerBook hard drives can be slow (especially the older ones) and maybe it can't keep up. Doesn't sound like the problem (usually those generate buffer underrun messages), but heck, you never know.

-Ender