Unplayable cdrs

[JohnS]

Today I went to play a self-made cdr which was previously playable but now just a rhythmic noise from my cd player. My laptop reads it as bank disc, my pc spins it but no sound. I remember the horror stories about the limited life of cds/cdrs but this took me by surprise. The disc looks fine, no visible defects. Not sure when I made this disc but ten years ago at least. And I didn't make a copy! It was a recording of a concert I attended which makes the loss worse.

Moral, I guess, make a copy of essential stuff.

[JSngry]

Please talk about "tractor films". What is that, exactly?

[fent99]

Whilst the odd one fails, I'm surprised at how well they last...

Have a few that must be 15 years old and still are fine.

I too would be intrigued by tractor films

[Stonewall15]

Suggest you try playing the unplayable CDR on a DVD player. DVD players seem to be less selective about playing CDRs. Good luck.

[Quincy]

It doesn't help in JohnS's case as he notes the computer reads it as a blank, but if you ever come across one that isn't playing music be sure to check and see if it can be ripped on a PC. I've come across borrowed CDRs from long ago that wouldn't play but could be ripped and the resulting new CDR played (& ripped) just fine. And to repeat other good advice, always try more than one player. But sometimes a bad disc is a bad disc.

[JSngry]

Exhibit A: tractor film

Ok, a type of industrial film. Great stuff!

[Teasing the Korean]

I have some CD-Rs from the late 1990s that have gotten some sort of film on them, I can't get it off. Some of them don't play at all. Some of them have a loud digital static sound throughout. I've tried to extract and reburn some of these but it hasn't worked. I have other CD-Rs from the same era that still play fine.

[Noj]

I've had DVD-Rs that won't read in one computer, then read in another. I have this whole cabinet full of CD-Rs of albums I downloaded from emusic, most of which I can hear on my iPod. This thread makes me wonder how many of those have become useless wastes of space. Only one way to find out...

[Shawn]

I've still never had this happen with a CDR, however I have numerous DVDRs that are no longer readable in any player I have.

[JohnS]

No luck with ripping, the portable or the dvd player. Still I'm saddened by the loss. I'll be ripping a few other cdrs in the next week or to be on the safe side.

it was a recording of a James Blood Ulmer concert with David Murray in London in 1980. Blood introduced the gig by saying 'you're going to hear some new shit tonight'. A subsequent review said that Grant Calvin Weston's drumming was like a road mending machine gone mad.

Edited September 16, 2012 by JohnS

[JSngry]

a road mending machine

What does this mean?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

a road mending machine

What does this mean?

I think it's one of those motorised spikes that guys lean on and break up the road surface with. Maybe they're called jackhammers, or something? Anyway, they're the noisiest thing since the atom bomb.

MG

[Bigshot]

Rhytmic noise means warp. Dd you leave it on top of a hot amp?

[six string]

I've had very few failures in my cdr collection. They can be more prone to scratches so anything I really want to keep I have backed up on my computer. Except for a few instances in my early days when I didn't know better I've used really top quality discs instead of using anything one can pick up in an office supply store.

[Stonewall15]

Has anyone had any problems playing ink-jet printable CDRs?