[CentOS] CD burning issues & questions

[Lanny Marcus]

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 11:57 AM, Anne Wilson <cannewilson at googlemail.com> wrote:
>> >> >> >> >> I do have an issue with k3b (CentOS 5.2, 32 >bit), but nothing
>> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> grave. I cannot erase >CD-RW media with k3b, most
>> >> >> >> >> or all of the
> >> >> >> > I struggled with this, trying as many ways as I >could think of,
>> >> >> >> > and eventually thought it must be impossible. > Then a couple of
>> >> >> >> > days ago I desperately needed a CD, and I'd run >out of blanks.
>> >> >> >> > I put a CD-RW into the drive on a box where I hadn't >used k3b
>> >> >> >> > before.  K3b opened up with a tip-of-the-day - and miracle >of
>> >> >> >> > miracles, it asked if I knew that I didn't need to erase the
>> >> >> >> > >CD-RW as k3b could do it on the fly. I'd nothing to lose, so I
>> >> >> >> > asked it to >burn the iso. It asked if I wanted it to blank the
>> >> >> >> > disc and use >it.  I got a clean, verified burn, and used the
>> >> >> >> > CD-RW to do an >install!
>> <snip>
>> OK. I've made  some tests and if you believe that anything I ran into
>> warrants a bug  or support request against K3b, on CentOS.org and/or
>> RedHat.com please tell me.
>>
>> I opened a terminal window, "su -"  and then "umount /dev/hdd" and
>> then I exited from the shell.
>>
>> (a) I can use the drop down menu, "Tools" > "Erase CD-RW", without any
>> problem.
>>
> That seems to prove that it's simply a mount problem.

Yes.
>
>> (b) I can write new files to the CD-RW. I did not get a message,
>> asking me if I wanted it to erase the CD-RW media. It did *not* erase
>> the existing files on the CD-RW media, before writing the new files.
>> It added the new files, as if the CD-RW were a multi session disk.
>>
> Probably you only get that message when it needs a whole disk, like burning an
> iso (bootable).

I wonder why it did not erase the four (4) photos I had on the CD-RW
media, before it wrote the two (2) files I wanted it to write? There
are now six (6) files on the CD-RW media. No problem, it was only a
test, but I assumed, incorrectly, as usual when I assume, that it
would erase the CD-RW, before writing the files I wanted it to write
to the CD-RW.
>
>> (c) In the K3b list of files in my home directory (/home/lanny) it
>> showed files that had been deleted previously.
>>
> Not sure what you mean there, but maybe it's relelvant that any files in your
> wastebin are still actually there in your home directory?  I've never seen
> anything that makes me suspect a problem with this - never seen files that I
> believed to be deleted.

When you use K3b to  create a Data disc (CD-R, CD-RW, etc) it shows a
list of files to choose from. In this case, I previously had two (2)
files in my home directory and when I used K3b to make the tests this
morning, they were shown. However, if I look at my home directory,
they are not shown, even if I tell Nautilus to show Hidden files.
>
> You need to know if anyone else has seen this problem, before reporting it.

That last one is trivial. If you think it is OK (or even "normal")
that it did not offer to erase the CD-RW media before writing the new
files, or, that it did not erase the old files, I will not report it.
Maybe that behavior is what the program is expected to do.