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Bad burns occur when a CD creation error, such as an I/O or Sense Key error, is encountered. CD creation errors occur when the flow of data from the source drive (hard drive, CD-ROM drive, etc.) to your CD-RW drive is interrupted long enough for your drive's buffer to empty. This causes the writing to stop. CD writing is a real-time process that must run without interruptions at the selected recording speed. Your CD-RW drive's buffer is filled with a reserve of data waiting to be written. This reserve insures that small slow downs or interruptions in the flow of data from your computer do not interrupt writing.

If fingerprints or scratches are present on your recordable disc, you may receive CD creation errors. Please check your disc for fingerprints and scratches and then refer to the information below if needed.

Scratched discs

If scratches are present on the disc, try using a new disc.

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, discard the scratched disc and check your discs for scratches each time before you burn a CD.
   
   

Fingerprints

If fingerprints are present on your disc, wipe in a straight line from the center of your disc to the outer edge with a soft cloth. You may add CD cleaner to the cloth if needed. CD cleaning kits are also available at most computer electronics stores.

Warning: Never clean a disc using a circular motion. This will damage the disc.

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, check your discs for fingerprints and clean your discs if necessary each time before you burn a CD.
   
   

Your CD-RW drive must be connected directly to your computer, not a hub or keyboard. If your drive is currently connected to a hub or keyboard, disconnect your drive and then connect it directly to your computer.

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that your drive is connected directly to your computer before you burn a CD.
   
   

Check all of your CD-RW drive's cable connections, especially the data cable, to ensure that they are secure.

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, always ensure that your drive's cable connections are secure before you burn a CD.
   
   

You should close all open programs running on your computer while burning your CDs. Please use the following steps to close any open programs.

1. Click the Finder icon located on the right-hand side of the Apple® menu bar.
   
   
2. Click one of the files listed under Finder to highlight the file.
   
   
3. From the Apple menu bar, select File and click Quit.
   
   
4. Continue to use the steps above to close all open programs.
   
   

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that all open programs on your computer are closed before you burn a CD.
   
   

You may receive CD creation errors if you are connected to the Internet while burning your CDs. Always close all open Internet connections before you start the CD creation process.

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, always close all open Internet connections before you burn a CD.
   
   

You may receive CD creation errors if you copy information directly from the Internet or a network drive. If you want to copy information from the Internet or a network drive, copy the information to your hard drive first and then burn it onto a CD.

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, always copy information from the Internet or a network drive onto your hard drive before you burn a CD.
   
   

Different brands of CD-R and CD-RW discs come with different write speed ratings. You must use a recordable disc that is compatible with the write speed you select when you create your discs. If you are burning a CD at a 4x write speed, you must use a disc that has a 4x or higher write speed rating. You cannot burn a CD using a 4x write speed if the disc only has a 1x or 2x write speed rating.

Depending on the manufacturer, the write speed may be located in a number of different areas.

The write speed for your CD-R or CD-RW disc may be listed:

1. Directly on the disc
   
   
2. On the documentation that came with the disc
   
   
3. On the disc's packaging, container or case
   
   

If you cannot find a write speed for your disc, please contact the manufacturer for more information.

1. If the CD write speed was not compatible and if you do not receive CD creation errors after you use write compatible media, ensure that you check your media for write compatibility each time you burn a CD.
   
   

You may experience CD creation errors while burning an audio CD with your CD-RW drive if your drivers are not updated. The Apple USB driver was designed to support low bandwidth devices, such as a mouse or keyboard. Because the Apple USB driver was designed to support low bandwidth devices and not a CD burner, the driver may inadequately support the use of a 4X write speed when burning an audio CD.

Adaptec® (Roxio™) has made modifications to the Toast™ 4.1 software and Apple has updated the Apple USB driver. These modifications and updates help work around some of the burn problems associated with the Apple USB driver's low transfer rate.

To help prevent CD creation errors while burning your CDs, ensure that your drivers are always updated. Updated drivers may allow your drive to successfully burn at a 4X write speed.

If you try to copy empty directories or zero byte files to your recordable disc, you may experience CD creation errors. Please use the following steps to check for these types of files.

To find files

1. Navigate to the location of the files you want to copy.
   
   
2. From the Apple Menu bar, select View and click as list.
   
   
3. Scroll to see the size listed next to each file.
   
   
4. Remove any zero byte files listed.
   
   
5. Once you have removed any zero byte files, try burning a CD.
   
   
   1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that you always check for zero byte files before you burn a CD.
      
      

To find directories

1. Navigate to the location of the directory you want to copy.
   
   
2. Click the directory to highlight.
   
   
3. From the Apple menu bar, select File and click Get Info.
   
   
4. Next to Show, select General Information.
   
   
5. Read the text listed next to Size.
   
   
6. If the Size column indicates that the directory is zero byte, do not copy it to your disc. If the Size column indicates that the directory is not zero byte, you can copy it to your disc.
   
   
7. Continue to use the steps above to check any other directories you want to copy to your disc.
   
   
8. Once you have removed any zero byte directories, try burning a CD.
   
   
   1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that you always check for zero byte directories before you burn a CD.
      
      

If you experience CD creation errors while burning your CDs, your system may not be configured to burn at higher speeds or the media may not be able to handle high speed burning. Please use the following steps to burn your discs at a slower speed to help prevent CD creation errors.

Data CD

Note: Please have a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc ready for the following steps.

1. Place the blank CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-RW drive.
   
   
2. Double-click the icon for your hard drive.
   
   
3. Double-click the Adaptec Toast folder.
   
   
4. Double-click the Adaptec Toast icon.
   
   
5. Select Files & Folders for the file type.
   
   
6. Click the Data button.
   
   
7. Click Add and navigate to the location of your data files if necessary.
   
   
8. Click a data file to highlight it.
   
   
9. Click the Add button.
   
   
10. Using steps H and I above, continue to select data files until you have selected all of the files you want or until the disc is full.
    
    

    Note: At the bottom of the CD creation window, you can find information about the combined size of all the data files selected. Please use this as a guide to determine the amount of space you have left on your recordable disc.

11. Click the Done button.
    
    
12. Click the Write CD button.
    
    
13. Next to Speed, select 1x or 2x.
    
    
14. Click the Write Session or Write Disc button.
    
    
15. Once the creation process is complete, a message will appear stating your disc is ready.
    
    
16. Click the Eject button.
    
    
    1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that you change the write speed to a slower speed before you burn a data CD.
       
       

Audio CD

Note: Please have a blank CD-R or CD-RW disc ready for the following steps.

1. Place the blank CD-R or CD-RW disc into your CD-RW drive.
   
   
2. Double-click the icon for your hard drive.
   
   
3. Double-click the Adaptec Toast folder.
   
   
4. Double-click the Adaptec Toast icon.
   
   
5. Select Audio CD for the file type.
   
   
6. Click the Audio button.
   
   
7. Click Add and navigate to the location of your audio files if necessary.
   
   
8. Double-click an audio file to add it to your CD.
   
   
9. Using steps G and H above, continue to select audio files until you have selected all of the files you want or until the disc is full.
   
   

   Note: At the bottom of the CD creation window, you can find information about the combined size of all the audio files selected. Please use this as a guide to determine the amount of space you have left on your recordable disc.

10. Click the Done button.
    
    
11. Click the Write CD button.
    
    
12. Next to Speed, select 1x or 2x.
    
    
13. Click the Write Session or Write Disc button.
    
    
14. Once the creation process is complete, a message will appear stating that your disc is ready.
    
    
15. Click the Eject button.
    
    
    1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that you change the write speed to a slower speed before you burn an audio CD.
       
       

Increasing the RAM Cache size for the Adaptec Toast software may help prevent CD creation errors. Please use the following steps to adjust the RAM Cache for your Toast software.

Note: RAM cache should only be increased one increment at a time until the problem goes away.

1. Double-click the icon for your hard drive.
   
   
2. Double-click the Adaptec Toast folder.
   
   
3. Double-click the Adaptec Toast icon.
   
   
4. From the Apple menu bar, select Edit and click Preferences.
   
   
5. Next to RAM Cache, select 2 MB.
   
   
6. Try burning a CD.
   
   
7. Continue to use the steps above, only increasing the RAM Cache one increment at a time, until the problem does not recur. Make a note of the RAM Cache size that prevents CD creation errors.
   
   
   1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that RAM Cache is always set to the size that prevents CD creation errors before you burn a CD.
      
      

1. If your Macintosh® computer is not started, start your computer and wait for it to boot.
   
   
2. Click the Apple icon, Control Panels and Extensions Manager.
   
   
3. Next to Selected Set, choose Mac X.XX OS Base (X stands for the version number) from the drop-down list.
   
   

   Note: The Mac OS base set is used to help minimize the possibility of conflicts.

4. Press the Duplicate Set button.
   
   
5. Type in a name for the duplicate set, such as Toast Test.
   
   
6. The field titles ON/OFF, Name, Size, Version and Package are located above the listed extensions.
   
   
7. Click the Package field, which arranges the extensions by packages.
   
   
8. Scroll down the list of extensions and find the Toast CD Recording Software package.
   
   
9. Ensure that the Toast USB Support, Toast CD Reader and/or Toast FireWire Support extensions are listed and that an X is present in the ON/OFF box next to the extension.
   
   

   Note: Toast version 4.0.1.1 or lower requires the Toast USB Iomega Bridge extension to also be listed and enabled.

10. Ensure that the Foreign File Access and Apple CD/DVD Driver extensions are also listed and that an X is present in the ON/OFF box next to the extension.
    
    

    Note: Newer Mac OS versions may list the Apple CD/DVD Driver as two separate extensions, such as CD Driver and DVD Driver. Both must be checked.

11. Click the Restart button.
    
    
    1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that you always boot with a limited extension set before you burn a CD.
       
       

If you start experiencing CD creation errors after successfully burning multiple CDs, you may need to let your drive cool down before you burn any more CDs.

1. If you no longer receive CD creation errors, ensure that you let the drive cool down between multiple CD burning sessions when you burn your CDs.
   
   

Please use the following information to check your system for problems that may cause buffer underrun and track write errors.

Hard Drive

1. Extremely fragmented hard drive.
   
   
2. Hard drive compression may cause CD creation failure. Iomega does not recommend writing from a compressed hard drive.
   
   
3. Old hard drives.
   
   

Other Hardware

1. Slow source devices.
   
   
2. Source devices that transfer data in bursts.
   
   
3. Inability of your devices to sync properly.
   
   
4. Overall system configuration.
   
   
5. Computer is unable to allow fast enough data transfer.
   
   

Networks

1. Recording across a network (a network may be too slow to maintain adequate throughput speed).
   
   

Files to Be Recorded

1. Recording numerous small files.
   
   
2. Damaged source files (data loss).
   
   
3. Recording files in use by your system or other applications.
   
   

Other

1. Copying from a CD that is scratched, dirty or damaged.
   
   
2. Recorder malfunction.
   
   

1. Defragment your hard drive at least once a week (additional software may be needed).
   
   
2. Do not record across a network. Copy the desired files to your computer's hard drive.
   
   
3. Record at a slower speed.
   
   
4. Write audio at slower speeds, since writing audio requires streaming more bits per second to your CD-RW drive than writing data.
   
   
5. Keep your CDs, recorder and source drives free of dust.
   
   
6. Do not copy empty directories, zero byte files or files that may be in use by your system at the time of recording.
   
   
7. If your data includes more than 10,000 very small files, create a disc image first or record at a slower speed.
   
   
8. Your entire computer, from the motherboard bus to your CD-RW drive itself, needs to be configured properly for faster recording and the highest maximum sync transfer rate.