'POWER CALIBRATION ERROR"

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"cannone" <kevin@itsmusic.co.za> wrote in message
news:41341f02.0@news1.mweb.co.za
> I recently bought a new pc but everytime i try and write a CD using
> Wavelab or even Nero i get a 'POWER CALIBRATION ERROR"
> How can i fix it?

Clean the lens and change media brand or batch.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"cannone" <kevin@itsmusic.co.za> wrote in message
news:4134594b.0@news1.mweb.co.za

> Firstly, it is a brand new Samsung writer.

Bad production run?

>I took the writer back to
> the supplier and they swopped it out and the same thing is happening
> to the new drive.

Time to change brands or models?

>I have tried several different disks and i get the
> same reading.

Same discs from same vendor, or a variety of brands?

>Somebody told me that it can be sorted out with software. They said it is
>just an alignment correction which must be
> done. Can anyone verify this?

There are no user mechanical adjustments on a computer optical drive.

You can update the firmware with software, and you can clean the lens, and
that is about it.

One word: Liteon.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

I write at 4X

KC

"Mike Rivers" <mrivers@d-and-d.com> wrote in message
news:znr1093953060k@trad...
>
> In article <41341f02.0@news1.mweb.co.za> kevin@itsmusic.co.za writes:
>
> > I recently bought a new pc but everytime i try and write a CD using
Wavelab
> > or even Nero i get a 'POWER CALIBRATION ERROR"
> > How can i fix it?
>
> Use a slower writing speed. If you have a 52X speed drive, chances are
> the software will defaut to that speed. Drop it to 16X and it'll
> probalby work fine. Start increasing the speed and find out when it
> quits working with the media you're using.
>
> It's cheaper to burn slower than to throw away your media stock and
> buy something else. But next time you need to buy disks, try a
> different brand.
>
> --
> I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
> However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
> lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
> you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
> and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

[There was a server error when I tried to post this the first time; if
this is a duplicate message, please ignore it. --ds]

> Firstly, it is a brand new Samsung writer. I took the writer back to the
> supplier and they swopped it out and the same thing is happening to the new
> drive. I have tried several different disks and i get the same reading.

Several discs of different brands? That would be important to try.

If you try several discs from the same batch of the same make, then you
either have a bad batch or a type of disc that simply isn't compatible
with your writer. It happens--current Maxell audio blanks, for example,
are incompatible with my two Philips audio recorders, and I've had some
really bad experiences trying to use them (reported in another thread here).


> Somebody told me that it can be sorted out with software.

No--for an ordinary end user like you or me, that is not correct.
With a specially rigged burner in the development lab of a drive
manufacturer they can probably do that, but not with a finished
product as sold to the consumer.


> They said it is just an alignment correction which must be done.
> Can anyone varify this?

When you insert a disc that hasn't been finalized and is available for
recording, the recorder calibrates the power of the laser beam so that
the dye in the disc will be burned correctly. Dyes vary a lot. Newer
ones, for discs that can be recorded at high speeds, for example, are
quite different from older dyes which were only designed for 1x - 8x
recording speeds.

If the dye cannot be burned correctly by any available setting of the
laser beam's power, then the disc is rejected by the burner and you
get the message that you're seeing.

This calibration process is controlled by firmware in the burner, not by
any software in your computer that has settings which you could control.

If you get more than one or two calibration failures with a certain
type of blank disc, don't try to use that type of disc for anything
that matters, because you could very well lose the entire recording. I
am speaking from recent, hard experience with this exact same problem!

--best regards

cannone wrote:

> Firstly, it is a brand new Samsung writer. I took the writer back to the
> supplier and they swopped it out and the same thing is happening to the new
> drive. I have tried several different disks and i get the same reading.

Several discs of different brands? That would be important to try.

If you try several discs from the same batch of the same make, then you
either have a bad batch or a type of disc that simply isn't compatible
with your writer. It happens--current Maxell audio blanks, for example,
are incompatible with my two Philips audio recorders, and I've had some
really bad experiences trying to use them (reported in another thread here).


> Somebody told me that it can be sorted out with software.

No--for an ordinary end user like you or me, that is not correct.
With a specially rigged burner in the development lab of a drive
manufacturer they can probably do that, but not with a finished
product as sold to the consumer.


> They said it is just an alignment correction which must be done.
> Can anyone varify this?

When you insert a disc that hasn't been finalized and is available for
recording, the recorder calibrates the power of the laser beam so that
the dye in the disc will be burned correctly. Dyes vary a lot. Newer
ones, for discs that can be recorded at high speeds, for example, are
quite different from older dyes which were only designed for 1x - 8x
recording speeds.

If the dye cannot be burned correctly by any available setting of the
laser beam's power, then the disc is rejected by the burner and you
get the message that you're seeing.

This calibration process is controlled by firmware in the burner, not by
any software in your computer that has settings which you could control.

If you get more than one or two calibration failures with a certain
type of blank disc, don't try to use that type of disc for anything
that matters, because you could very well lose the entire recording. I
am speaking from recent, hard experience with this exact same problem!

--best regards

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <41347f20.0@news1.mweb.co.za> kevin@itsmusic.co.za writes:

> I write at 4X

Well, maybe that's too slow for your media then. Try a few other
settings. You can use some coasters, can't you? It's almost time for
the Labor Day party (or whatever you party for over there).


--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

>From: mrivers@d-and-d.com (Mike Rivers)
>Date: 8/31/2004 2:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <znr1093970971k@trad>
>
>
>In article <41347f20.0@news1.mweb.co.za> kevin@itsmusic.co.za writes:
>
>> I write at 4X
>
>Well, maybe that's too slow for your media then. Try a few other
>settings.


These are the ideas you should follow. If you've already swapped out the
drive, then chances are it's fine. 9 out of every 10 times I received this
error, changing the burn speed fixed it. I used to do a tech support for HP as
a day job, so I'm pretty well versed in these things. The best advice on this
thread so far is to try different burn speeds.

You can use some coasters, can't you? It's almost time for
>the Labor Day party (or whatever you party for over there).
>
>
>--
>I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
>However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
>lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
>you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
>and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo


-John Vice
www.summertimestudios.com

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

<< jsvice@aol.com (John) >>
<< Not really. It's a physical process that takes place on the disc. Near the
center of the disc is the power calibration area, which is where the burner
will "calibrate" the laser to be sure that the disc will be readable if it is
burned at the selected speed. If this test fails, you get the power
calibration area error. >>

I get that error on an older 2600 drive I use with Masterlist CD, and
I think because the old drive didn't like the longer track length that many new
CDR's are capable of. I figured maybe the longer CDR length puts the
calibration area in a harder to reach area for the laser. But if I reinserted
the disk after trying a speed check or something it would work after a bit, and
be a decent dupable copy. ( Masterlist CD is kinda a dinosaur though, but if
you want a copy Sam Ash Manhattan has a pile they want $50 each for! A couple
of years too late I think... )

Will Miho
NY Music & TV Audio Guy
Off the Morning Show! & sleepin' In... / Fox News
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

"cannone" <kevin@itsmusic.co.za> wrote in message news:<41357330.0@news1.mweb.co.za>...
> i tried using Wavelab and Nero and got the same result from both programs.
> The copy of nero which i am using is a OEM version which came with the
> Writer.
> I got the machine 2 weeks ago, installed it that weekend and recorded whth a
> client on the Monday thereafter. it was quite embarrasing when you try and
> write a clients CD in front of the client and the writer of a NEW PC gives
> you errors the whole time.
>
> I ripped the drive out and put my old 32X BTC drive in and the CD wrote
> immediately. So there was nothing wrong with the Disc since the BTC used the
> same disk and it wrote fine.
>
> KC
>
> "WillStG" <willstg@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
> news:20040901023035.08240.00000102@mb-m18.aol.com...
> > << jsvice@aol.com (John) >>
> > << Not really. It's a physical process that takes place on the disc.
> Near the
> > center of the disc is the power calibration area, which is where the
> burner
> > will "calibrate" the laser to be sure that the disc will be readable if it
> is
> > burned at the selected speed. If this test fails, you get the power
> > calibration area error. >>
> >
> > I get that error on an older 2600 drive I use with Masterlist
> CD, and
> > I think because the old drive didn't like the longer track length that
> many new
> > CDR's are capable of. I figured maybe the longer CDR length puts the
> > calibration area in a harder to reach area for the laser. But if I
> reinserted
> > the disk after trying a speed check or something it would work after a
> bit, and
> > be a decent dupable copy. ( Masterlist CD is kinda a dinosaur though, but
> if
> > you want a copy Sam Ash Manhattan has a pile they want $50 each for! A
> couple
> > of years too late I think... )
> >
> > Will Miho
> > NY Music & TV Audio Guy
> > Off the Morning Show! & sleepin' In... / Fox News
> > "The large print giveth and the small print taketh away..." Tom Waits
> >
> >
> >


I believe most newer drives should be able to write to 1 to whatever
they say the highest is (highest being theoretical). If there was a
problem with discs it would be an older drive and a faster approved
disc. I've never had any problem with lower approved discs and a newer
drive so long as I burned at a slower speed. I still don't see how it
would be a software problem. The calibration is of the laser not the
software. Sounds to me like these Samsungs have a whole batch of bad
lasers.

Mike http://www.mmeproductions.com