Playing CD-Rs on my Laseractive

[Vlcice]

I own a Laseractive with the Sega PC-S10, which generally works really great. When I was trying to run Sonic Megamix (a homebrew game) and a couple of other things, I've noticed that it seems to have a lot of trouble reading CD-Rs, I guess because the drive's from 1993. It doesn't have any issues reading pressed CDs (I've got Ecco running just fine) or LDs, it just seems to be CD-Rs.

Does anyone know of any CD-Rs that would work better on old drives like this? Are there any brands or types I should look for in particular? I've been using Taiyo Yudens right now, burned at 8x.

[SnowKitty]

I own a Laseractive with the Sega PC-S10, which generally works really great. When I was trying to run Sonic Megamix (a homebrew game) and a couple of other things, I've noticed that it seems to have a lot of trouble reading CD-Rs, I guess because the drive's from 1993. It doesn't have any issues reading pressed CDs (I've got Ecco running just fine) or LDs, it just seems to be CD-Rs.

Does anyone know of any CD-Rs that would work better on old drives like this? Are there any brands or types I should look for in particular? I've been using Taiyo Yudens right now, burned at 8x.

thats about the best you can get, you sure you don't have counterfeit taiyo yuden CDs? there are ALOT of fakes out there. you could try verbatim or sony CDR too, those are good media

[norkusa]

If Taiyo's aren't working, I can't imagine you having better luck with anything else. Burning at x1 or x2 might help. Also might want to try Verbatim's but they aren't as good as the ones made a year or two ago.

I heard you aren't supposed to use cd-r's on a Laseractive because the laser is very sensitive and it gets worn out faster. Mine is already starting to crap out. I can play LD games & movies with no problem but Sega CD games (burned or legit) always crash after a minute or two. I always thought it was a problem with the laser but now I think it might have something to do with the expansion pack.

[SnowKitty]

If Taiyo's aren't working, I can't imagine you having better luck with anything else. Burning at x1 or x2 might help. Also might want to try Verbatim's but they aren't as good as the ones made a year or two ago.

I heard you aren't supposed to use cd-r's on a Laseractive because the laser is very sensitive and it gets worn out faster. Mine is already starting to crap out. I can play LD games & movies with no problem but Sega CD games (burned or legit) always crash after a minute or two. I always thought it was a problem with the laser but now I think it might have something to do with the expansion pack.

did verbatim switch to moser baer india dye for their CDR now? i got a batch of verbatims that use that shitty dye :/ they used to make really good media...
i use sony now, haven't had any issues with it.

[Vlcice]

norkusa, that's a shame to hear. :/ I shouldn't push it if I have much more trouble. Thanks for letting me know! If you think it's a problem with the expansion pack, have you tried just ejecting it and playing a music CD out of curiosity?

SnowKitty, I know TYs are supposed to be the best in general, and these are definitely genuine ones. I've heard that there are some brands that use dyes that are more compatible with older players, even though they're inferior in general - I think Princo was the brand I remember hearing mentioned - but I wasn't really sure if there was anything else to look for.

[R.Sakai]

I heard you aren't supposed to use cd-r's on a Laseractive because the laser is very sensitive and it gets worn out faster.

Well, that makes me a little nervous about the past 12 hours I logged on my Laseractive :) The Duos memory is full up, and needed more save space, hehe

I can't say I've burned off any Sega based games, but I've burned off quite a few PC-Engine/Duo discs since I got my Laseractive a few months back, put anywhere from a minute to many hours on each one (Exile 2 can give me back my time), and never had one issue at all.

I've been using some 700meg Sony CD-Rs from a 50 pack I picked up at wal-mart for like 12 bucks. My burner is a few months old Samsung SH-S223q.

The biggest thing I found is the burning software, Nero seemed to be the only app to get them right. This fan-translated Ys 4 I've been playing would only burn right using Alcohol 120%. I've tried both 1x-2x speed burns, along with whatever ridiculous number this drive burns at full speed with, and it made no difference. I just burn at full speed 'cause I'm impatient :)

Good luck! (I guess I'll be getting back to everyone if cdrs wear out laseractives :)

[zektor]

The biggest thing I found is the burning software, Nero seemed to be the only app to get them right. This fan-translated Ys 4 I've been playing would only burn right using Alcohol 120%.

Did you try Imgburn? It's free and a great app. I use it often to burn images:

http://www.imgburn.com/

Not sure how well it will work for you with the Laseractive, but worth a try :)

[R.Sakai]

Did you try Imgburn? It's free and a great app. I use it often to burn images:

http://www.imgburn.com/

Not sure how well it will work for you with the Laseractive, but worth a try :)

Gah, why didn't I come across that program a few months back, lol

Right on, I'll give that app a shot next time I have a finicky game to burn off, thanks much

[Cryomancer]

My only suggestion is to burn slower, and make sure you are using a proper bin/cue rip of the game. I've had no problems with mine.

[Captain Wrong]

A while ago, I'm pretty sure someone posted a pretty good explanation demolishing the myth of CD-Rs doing harm to lasers.

As to what to do, I've not had any problems with CD-Rs on my Laseractive. As others have mentioned, use guaranteed Taiyo Yuden media, burn at slowest speed, etc. One other thing, when was the last time you cleaned the laser?

[Vlcice]

I'm not sure if my drive can go below 8x, but if it can I'll give it a try.

I'll try cleaning the laser too; I hadn't thought of that. I only picked up the unit in the last month, and I've got no idea when the previous owner might have. Does a normal CD lens cleaning kit work, or do I need to use something specific to LD?

[LucidDefender]

I'm not sure if my drive can go below 8x, but if it can I'll give it a try.

I'll try cleaning the laser too; I hadn't thought of that. I only picked up the unit in the last month, and I've got no idea when the previous owner might have. Does a normal CD lens cleaning kit work, or do I need to use something specific to LD?

Burning slower DOES NOT result in a better burn quality; often times, the burn quality is far worse. Modern high speed media should not be burnt at much lower than half of it's rated speed. It's a common misconception, and is spread all around the internet at large.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/f33/slow-write-speeds-modern-drives-modern-media-no-good-247643/

[Vlcice]

Burning at 24x, my drive's maximum, seems to have done it. Sonic Megamix booted on the first try this time, and I don't seem to be having problems with other things either. I'll burn from ImgBurn from now on too. Thanks so much!

I might as well still try cleaning the lens too, once I figure out if something LD-specific would be best.

[zektor]

Regarding burn speed:

When I was burning "Skies Of Arcadia" (DC Backup) awhile back it would not run correctly when bruned at higher speeds. As a matter of fact, the drive in my machine will not go below 8X, and the burn actually required 4X to function correctly, and it even said this in the group nfo! I had to use my wife's PC whose drive CAN burn at 4X, and it worked out perfectly. Very odd.