faulty CDROMs

[mark at buttery.org (Mark J. Dulcey)]

gbburkhardt at verizon.net wrote:
> I've been having trouble with burning CDROMs; every so
> often, I can't read a file from a CDROM I've created.
> This is especially annoying when working with an ISO
> image from a distribution.
> 
> Does anyone have any general rules of thumb on how to increase
> the yield?

Tip #1: slow down the burn speed. Recent CD burners will try to burn at 
very high speeds -- 48x or higher -- but some blank discs, especially if 
you have some older ones, aren't up to it. Try 8x or 16x. (You hit 
diminishing returns with burn speeds higher than 16x, anyhow; at 16x, 
you can burn a full disc in 5 minutes.)