PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

Specific Problems and Issues

This section describes some specific problems and the fixes for them:

Test burn succeeds but real burn fails during TOC write

This is usually caused by Auto Insert Notification (AIN, Windows 9X) or AutoRun (Windows NT/2000) being enabled on the CD writer. The actual burn appears to proceed normally, but fails during the TOC write phase. This occurs because Windows periodically looks at CD drives. An unburned (or partially burned) disc contains no TOC, and so is of no interest to Windows. But when the burn process starts to write the TOC, Windows suddenly notices that a real disc is in the drive and attempts to read it, killing the burn. Of course, you really shouldn’t bother doing test burns anyway.

Most CD writing software controls the status of AIN itself, turning AIN on or off as necessary. Generally, CD mastering software (e.g., EasyCD Creator) requires AIN be disabled for proper functioning, while packet-writing software (e.g., DirectCD) requires AIN be enabled. Properly behaved software generally handles this automatically, checking AIN status when you start the program, changing the status if necessary, and then returning AIN to the original status when you exit the program. However, not all software is properly behaved, and confusion can occur if you use a mastering package and a packet-writing package from different makers. For some CD writer software (e.g., Nero Burning ROM), AIN status doesn’t matter.

To check or reset AIN status under Windows ...