A program to read win95 CDs?

Char Jackson wrote:

It's probably 10+ years since I've messed with CDs and DVDs, but back
then the advice was to always label your discs with a marker, never with
a label. Labels tended to unbalance the disc, making it harder to read,
especially at higher speeds, and labels had the risk of coming off, thus
destroying the inside of the drive.

Funny how advice changes over time, but it does.

Labels, or anything you add to a spinning object, can create imbalance.
Someone printing a label and sticking it on by hand is almost guaranteed
to misplace the label. That's why there were applicator kits that
helped to center the label on the disc, or you invested in a CD printer.
I used the applicator at home. A disc printer was too expensive for me.

Never had a label come off that I printed and applied. Have had them
come off from a disc that someone else used cheap label paper. Anytime
that I tried to remove one of my labels, I destoryed the disc. The disc
is read from the clear side. There is a reflective film on the other
side where goes the label (and that's the side of the disc where it is
more important to protect from scratches, dents, or other physical
damage). Trying to peel off a label resulted in also peeling off some
or all of the reflective film. I could peel off the label and all the
film was still attached to the label. I ended up with a bare plastic
disc. Only took once or twice to realize that once I put a label on a
disc that it was permanently affixed. If I wanted a different label on
the disc, I copied the disc and put a new label on the new disc. I
wasn't going to layer multiple labels on the disc.

I don't know how many hundreds of discs that I've labelled both at work
and at home but never had one shred inside the drive. There must be
some really cheap stuff out there that I never see or just immediately
skip past to never bother with it. None of my labels have fallen off
but I've see it happen with other users. However, I don't leave my
discs sitting out in the sun: bad for the label glue, bad for the ink on
the label, bad for the disc. That's why you don't put labels on
self-burned discs you stow in your car to use in its CD player; however,
the music must be unimportant or reproducible if you stow burnable discs
in your car as the heat inside will relax the dye phase change and the
discs are no longer reliably readable.

There is a huge variation in quality of discs, too. I remember buying a
100 pack and about half of them became coasters. So that cheap brand
was more expensive then getting the good stuff. A 100-pack of some crap
brand at $25 ends up a 50-pack (if you're lucky). You would've been
better off paying $22 for the 50-pack of the better brand. And if you
want longevity then you pay 10 times more for archival quality discs.
Didn't take long to realize that cheap meant, well, cheap, unreliable,
non-durable, and short life.

Whether a Sharpie marker was okay (and definitely not permanent markers
that used chemicals that penetrated the film layer) depended on the film
on the disc. If you can completely erase Sharpie marking by using
isopropyl alcohol then that disc brand is okay to mark using a Sharpie.
If the markings just smeared or remained faintly behind, you tossed that
test disc and did not mark any others of that brand with a Sharpie.
Some are made to write on (using a Sharpie, not a ball pen and
definitely not using a permanent marker). Some have no protection on
the film or it is porous.

Printable discs expect you to use inkjet ink to print on them. The
chemicals in that ink are nothing like in a Sharpie marker. Those discs
have an ink absorption layer (IAL) that receives the ink to absorb it
and prevent contamination of the data layer. Permanent markers have
xylene and toluene hence toxic. Those solvents let the dye bond to the
writing surface. Not something you want to use by dissolving the
plastic of a disc or contaminating the data layer.

In article , says...

Char Jackson wrote:

It's probably 10+ years since I've messed with CDs and DVDs, but back
then the advice was to always label your discs with a marker, never with
a label. Labels tended to unbalance the disc, making it harder to read,
especially at higher speeds, and labels had the risk of coming off, thus
destroying the inside of the drive.

Funny how advice changes over time, but it does.

Labels, or anything you add to a spinning object, can create imbalance.
Someone printing a label and sticking it on by hand is almost guaranteed
to misplace the label. That's why there were applicator kits that
helped to center the label on the disc, or you invested in a CD printer.
I used the applicator at home. A disc printer was too expensive for me.

Never had a label come off that I printed and applied. Have had them
come off from a disc that someone else used cheap label paper. Anytime
that I tried to remove one of my labels, I destoryed the disc. The disc
is read from the clear side. There is a reflective film on the other
side where goes the label (and that's the side of the disc where it is
more important to protect from scratches, dents, or other physical
damage). Trying to peel off a label resulted in also peeling off some
or all of the reflective film. I could peel off the label and all the
film was still attached to the label. I ended up with a bare plastic
disc. Only took once or twice to realize that once I put a label on a
disc that it was permanently affixed. If I wanted a different label on
the disc, I copied the disc and put a new label on the new disc. I
wasn't going to layer multiple labels on the disc.

I don't know how many hundreds of discs that I've labelled both at work
and at home but never had one shred inside the drive. There must be
some really cheap stuff out there that I never see or just immediately
skip past to never bother with it. None of my labels have fallen off
but I've see it happen with other users. However, I don't leave my
discs sitting out in the sun: bad for the label glue, bad for the ink on
the label, bad for the disc. That's why you don't put labels on
self-burned discs you stow in your car to use in its CD player; however,
the music must be unimportant or reproducible if you stow burnable discs
in your car as the heat inside will relax the dye phase change and the
discs are no longer reliably readable.

There is a huge variation in quality of discs, too. I remember buying a
100 pack and about half of them became coasters. So that cheap brand
was more expensive then getting the good stuff. A 100-pack of some crap
brand at $25 ends up a 50-pack (if you're lucky). You would've been
better off paying $22 for the 50-pack of the better brand. And if you
want longevity then you pay 10 times more for archival quality discs.
Didn't take long to realize that cheap meant, well, cheap, unreliable,

I don't like that Lightscribe disks have become so hard to find and
expensive if you do find them. They worked fine for my needs and no
balance problems or something wearing off etc.

pjp wrote:

In article , says...

Char Jackson wrote:

It's probably 10+ years since I've messed with CDs and DVDs, but back
then the advice was to always label your discs with a marker, never with
a label. Labels tended to unbalance the disc, making it harder to read,
especially at higher speeds, and labels had the risk of coming off, thus
destroying the inside of the drive.

Funny how advice changes over time, but it does.

Labels, or anything you add to a spinning object, can create imbalance.
Someone printing a label and sticking it on by hand is almost guaranteed
to misplace the label. That's why there were applicator kits that
helped to center the label on the disc, or you invested in a CD printer.
I used the applicator at home. A disc printer was too expensive for me.

Never had a label come off that I printed and applied. Have had them
come off from a disc that someone else used cheap label paper. Anytime
that I tried to remove one of my labels, I destoryed the disc. The disc
is read from the clear side. There is a reflective film on the other
side where goes the label (and that's the side of the disc where it is
more important to protect from scratches, dents, or other physical
damage). Trying to peel off a label resulted in also peeling off some
or all of the reflective film. I could peel off the label and all the
film was still attached to the label. I ended up with a bare plastic
disc. Only took once or twice to realize that once I put a label on a
disc that it was permanently affixed. If I wanted a different label on
the disc, I copied the disc and put a new label on the new disc. I
wasn't going to layer multiple labels on the disc.

I don't know how many hundreds of discs that I've labelled both at work
and at home but never had one shred inside the drive. There must be
some really cheap stuff out there that I never see or just immediately
skip past to never bother with it. None of my labels have fallen off
but I've see it happen with other users. However, I don't leave my
discs sitting out in the sun: bad for the label glue, bad for the ink on
the label, bad for the disc. That's why you don't put labels on
self-burned discs you stow in your car to use in its CD player; however,
the music must be unimportant or reproducible if you stow burnable discs
in your car as the heat inside will relax the dye phase change and the
discs are no longer reliably readable.

There is a huge variation in quality of discs, too. I remember buying a
100 pack and about half of them became coasters. So that cheap brand
was more expensive then getting the good stuff. A 100-pack of some crap
brand at $25 ends up a 50-pack (if you're lucky). You would've been
better off paying $22 for the 50-pack of the better brand. And if you
want longevity then you pay 10 times more for archival quality discs.
Didn't take long to realize that cheap meant, well, cheap, unreliable,

I don't like that Lightscribe disks have become so hard to find and
expensive if you do find them. They worked fine for my needs and no
balance problems or something wearing off etc.

But they faded. I have one of those drives. I stopped buying the
Lightscribe discs: too expensive, contrast was low, and they faded. You
had to store them in a cool place out of the sunlight, even reflected
sunlight, and you had to wash your hands and rinse thoroughly before
handling those discs. Lotions, residue soap, and oil on your hands
(which is always there unless you have dry skin) caused discoloration of
the labels. You had to use polypropylene disc sleeves instead of PVC
sleeves. Even when stored in the proper sleeve and kept inside an
organizer case, users would notice the label faded where the sleeve did
not cover the disc (the view center with clear plastic where the disc is
exposed to room light). Reflected sunlight through windows still
contains UV light. Glass stops UVB but UVA gets through and, for
example, is reflected by mirrors and other aluminum surfaces.
Fluorescents generated UV, most is absorbed by the dye covering the tube
and by the glass, but some escapes. Plastic diffusers over the
fluorescents will help. Many disc players have internal temperatures
significantly higher than room temperature so you could not leave a
Lightscribe disc in a player and continuously playing. The colored
Lightscribe discs would develop a white powder coating that could be
wiped away with a water-dampened cloth. After just 2 months,
Lightscribe labelling became visibly faded. Still readable but nothing
like when it was first burned. Discs that me and my buddy did using
Lightscribe burners in our desktops are pretty much illegible after a
couple years.

The Lightscribe discs got hard to find because anyone that used them
soon found the constrast sucked and the labels faded. In a year, they
were difficult to read. After 2 years, forget it. No demand means no
manufacture. The high price is due to the long storage cost of keeping
old stock around for a long time. Lightscribe was killed by inkjet
printable discs.

Char Jackson wrote:
On Sat, 12 Aug 2017 14:49:22 -0500, VanguardLH wrote:

me wrote:

Paul wrote:

I tested a bunch of pressed CDs (aluminum colored), and one is 24
years old and works fine. All of them were readable without a
problem.
THAT will be dependant on how they have been stored. I have some that
age that are fine, others that are useless.
There are archival-quality burnable discs. Most users don't pay the
extra for them. Also, do NOT burn at their max burn rate, especially
since older drives may not support the higher speeds. Use labels. Do
NOT mark archival discs with Sharpies or other markers.

It's probably 10+ years since I've messed with CDs and DVDs, but back
then the advice was to always label your discs with a marker, never with
a label. Labels tended to unbalance the disc, making it harder to read,
especially at higher speeds, and labels had the risk of coming off, thus
destroying the inside of the drive.

Funny how advice changes over time, but it does.


I just label the jewel boxes they are in.

The discs themselves have nothing.

I've stopped using a marker on the hub of the disc.

Paul

pjp wrote:

I don't like that Lightscribe disks have become so hard to find and
expensive if you do find them. They worked fine for my needs and no
balance problems or something wearing off etc.

At Newegg.com:

Lightscribe CDs
$65 for 25-pack
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA3V65TC1112

Inkjet printable CDs
$30 for 100-pack
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA1UH3H72750
plus
Epson XP-360 small-in-one printer (inket printer with disc trays)
$220
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIA8N262F9036

So 100 of the Lightscribe discs would cost $260. Instead you could buy
100 of the inkjet printable CDs for $30 and an Epson XP-960 for $220 for
a total of $250 - less than just the Lightscribe discs alone. Hmm, only
100 Lightscribe discs at $260 or 100 inkjet printable discs at $30 (and
you would have enough to buy a printer to do the printing). With
Lightscribe, you have low contrast and fading. With inkjet printable
discs, you aren't nearly as worried about creating a coaster, the labels
last a lot longer, don't require all the special handling, and the
labels can be in color -- and the printer is usable for other tasks.

There might be cheaper inkjet printers that have specialized disc trays
for printing on inkjet printable discs. Don't have an interest in doing
that now so someone else can find other solutions that are far more cost
effective than using Lightscribe.

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Sat, 12 Aug 2017 22:52:22 +0200, Sjouke
Burry wrote:

On 12-8-2017 5:38, micky wrote:
I hope this is not off-topic.

I have a multi-language word processor that I think I bought
new-old-stock at a hamfest 10 years ago. It may have been 10 years old
then! But it looked like new.

At any rate, it says Windows 95 on the box**.

Now I need it. When I went looking for it I feared it would be on
floppies but it's on a CD. Whew! I kept installing a floppy drive in
every computer long after everyone stopped, but my only working
computers now don't have one or room for one. I thought I was going to
have to go a computer shop to get it converted.

But when I put it in the drive, the drive light blinks for a while and
stops. Then when I click on it in a file manager, the drive opens and
it says "Insert CD in drive".

Is there a program that will read this?

I don't really expect it to run well, but I'm surprised I can't read
the directory.

I'm using 64-bit windows 10. Would I have better luck with some 32-bit
OS?


One google post suggested running in admin mode, and compatability mode,
but if the door of the drive opens up just by selecting the CD, how can
I do that? I tried HxD and the drive opened. I tried it in
compatibility mode for win95 and the program didnt' even open.

I should have tried a file manager instead of an editor. I have six, 3
are 64-bit and can see all the files; 3 are 32-bit and can't see the
HOSTS file for example, but I forget which are which. :-) But until I
find my notes on that, I thought you guys might know the answers!



** and on the side of the box it says it runs on windows 3.1 and higher.
I guess they are wrong about part of that. Says it needs a 386 or higher
and 4MB ram. Installs in 4-9 MB.

Wow, I googled it and it's 23 to 29 years old. But it looks like new!

Boot from a win95(or 98)install floppy, and try the CD.

That's a good idea. I'll do it when I fix up one of the boxes that has
room for a floppy, etc.

In article , NONONOmisc07
@bigfoot.com says...

In alt.comp.os.windows-10, on Sat, 12 Aug 2017 22:52:22 +0200, Sjouke
Burry wrote:

On 12-8-2017 5:38, micky wrote:
I hope this is not off-topic.

I have a multi-language word processor that I think I bought
new-old-stock at a hamfest 10 years ago. It may have been 10 years old
then! But it looked like new.

At any rate, it says Windows 95 on the box**.

Now I need it. When I went looking for it I feared it would be on
floppies but it's on a CD. Whew! I kept installing a floppy drive in
every computer long after everyone stopped, but my only working
computers now don't have one or room for one. I thought I was going to
have to go a computer shop to get it converted.

But when I put it in the drive, the drive light blinks for a while and
stops. Then when I click on it in a file manager, the drive opens and
it says "Insert CD in drive".

Is there a program that will read this?

I don't really expect it to run well, but I'm surprised I can't read
the directory.

I'm using 64-bit windows 10. Would I have better luck with some 32-bit
OS?


One google post suggested running in admin mode, and compatability mode,
but if the door of the drive opens up just by selecting the CD, how can
I do that? I tried HxD and the drive opened. I tried it in
compatibility mode for win95 and the program didnt' even open.

I should have tried a file manager instead of an editor. I have six, 3
are 64-bit and can see all the files; 3 are 32-bit and can't see the
HOSTS file for example, but I forget which are which. :-) But until I
find my notes on that, I thought you guys might know the answers!



** and on the side of the box it says it runs on windows 3.1 and higher.
I guess they are wrong about part of that. Says it needs a 386 or higher
and 4MB ram. Installs in 4-9 MB.

Wow, I googled it and it's 23 to 29 years old. But it looks like new!


First since it's not asked or answered. Are you trying this using a dvd
drive or a cd drive. I can't remember for sure but if it's a dvd disk
and a cd reader you ever going to be able to read that disk unless you
get a dvd drive installed into it.

That not being the case ???

Sounds like the disk has gone bad. They don't last forever. Only
realistic recourse is to try reading the disk using other dvd drives.
I've had numerous occassions where a drive couldn't read the disk, pop
it in a second or even third drive and viola I could read it.

Note : insure you are in a position to make a copy of the disk when
trying other dvd readers, e.g. burn a second disk or at least make an
iso for later burning if you are lucky enough to be able to mount and
read the disk. Assuming the disk copied and burned correctly just use
the copy. There will be no difference to pc or Windows install using the
copy.