16 Sep
2006
16 Sep
'06
9:19 a.m.
Subject: Re: SCSI CD burner
From: shoppa_classiccmp at trailing-edge.com (Tim Shoppa)
Date: Sat, 16 Sep 2006 07:31:05 -0400
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
This brings up what is probably a more on-topic issue: I've never had
a CD burner (SCSI, IDE, whatever) last more than a year or two. Even if
only lightly used. Inevitably I just toss it and buy a faster one for
less $ than the first one cost.
I had a 4x plextor scsi that was three years old and still cranking 6
CDs a week.
I found that (50 systems in office environment) COOLING is everything.
Those systems that were in coller spots in the building and had better
internal cooling were far less troublesome for failures espeecially
Disks and CDroms(CDRW).
Is there something I should be doing to preserve
"classic" computer
CD readers/burners?
Cooling and the slower ones seems to hold up far better suggesting
vibration may be a factor.
I will admit that I have vengefully destroyed some very
classic CD
readers (e.g. RRD50) purely out of spite for how dreadfully poor
performing they were. (A RRD50 is very optimistically "0.5X"). I
did the same with lots of RD5x MFM drives in the late 80's/early 90's,
oh how I despised RQDX/MFM hardware compared to the Emulex/Dilog/
CMD/etc. clones!
Yes, they are slugs, but I have several and the refuse to die!
I can accept slow over broken anytime. ;)
FYI the older Toshiba 1x and 2x SCSI CDreaders work well on VAX
(CMD SCSI) are faster and seem to resist breaking. They also do
not need trays.
Related topic. CD burner on VAX (under VMS) has any one figured how
to burn CDs?
Allison