Many people have been able to do multi-session CD recording under Solaris, PC
and Mac systems with different software packages. Joe Vaughn use GEAR 3.3.2 on
SGI O2, and it works. It is of general consensus that it is the limitation of
IRIX causing the problem doing multi-session recording on recordable CD using
HyCD software package. I include their comments in this summary.
Since CD-R media is very cheap, one can always accumulate enough data (up to
650MB) and do a single session recording. For my situation, I still prefer
multi-session data backup if possible. After many tries and used up over 10
CDs, I am finally able to do multi-session recording on CD-R (write once, I
don't know about re-writable CD). I believe part of the problem I had before is
caused by HyCD software.
I am using the software package HyCD Publisher from Creative Digital Research on
a SGI O2 with 2nd SCSI chain just for a Yamaha CDR400t CD-Recorder and a 2GB
disk sub-system. Here is the procedure I "have to" follow:
1. Select the Source to be File List, and the Destination to be Image File.
2. Set Disc Format and Layout to PC(ISO9660), UNIX(RRIP), Windows95, and ISO
Level 1. (We noticed that if Macintosh is selected, PC and SGI would not read
the text files. We use PC for some off-line data processing).
3. Establish the file list.
4. Create the image file.
5. Change the source to Image File and Destination to CD-Recorder.
6. Create (copy) the image file to CD-R disk.
It has to be in this sequence (3, 4, 5, 6) for multi-session recording. If I
create several image files first (repeat steps 3 and 4), then copy them to CD
afterword (repeat step 6), it doesn't work. This finding suggests to me that
the problem is in the HyCD software, not IRIX. So far I have been able to make
many CDs with multiple session on each one of them. All data sets are
"visible", and can be retrieve on either SGI or PC.
One other problem we encountered is in naming the NMR data set (filename). For
Bruker's spectrometers running uxnmr or xwinnmr program, NMR data sets are
stored under userid/nmr/filename/exp#.... When I do the data backup, I group
them into a directory with PI's name and date as the main directory (i.e.
PI-date/userid/nmr/filename/exp#....), such that each research group will have
its own CDs. On the CD, the main directory for each session will look like
"PI-date". Under UNIX environment, all characters are case sensitive. But
since I select PC and Window with ISO level 1 for the format, it 'might' cause
the problem in distinguishing upper case and lower case characters. If there
are two data sets with names like At124 and at124 for a user, I will get a error
message, and could not create image file. (If I go down two levels, and select
each individual data set as a main directory on CD, then I can create the image
file containing every data set on the File List. I didn't try to put this image
file on CD and test the result on PC).
So far, my finding and procedure are based on my need and application. There
might be other settings, procedures and tricks to make multi-session CD
recording work.
Best Regards
Dee
Dee-Hua Huang, Ph.D.
Director, Chemistry NMR Facility
The Scripps Research Institute
10550 N. Torrey Pines Rd.
La Jolla, CA 92037
(619)-784-2329
(619)-784-2391 (FAX)
dee@scripps.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 20:02:09 +0000 (GMT)
From: dave@kunmr.chem.ukans.edu (David Vander Velde)
Subject: Re: Multi-session resording CD-R on SGI computers
To: Dee-Hua Huang <dee@chemnmr1.scripps.edu>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Dee, I have the same software, and also don't pay the annual maintenance.
I had problems initially with re-recordable CDs and assumed the cautions in
the documentation that this wasn't correctly handled on the SGI side were
true. I only record single session CDs now, but these CDs are quite a bit
cheaper so I don't think it is a major limitation that you might waste some
of the space on a one-shot CD. I am more annoyed that the SGI will only
recognize the Toshiba (I think) drives that they sell you as original equip-
ment--I cannot use my Yahama read/write drive in read mode. I haven't yet
upgraded the workstation with that drive to IRIX 6.5 to see if that has been
changed. Cheers, Dave Vander Velde, University of Kansas
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Dwaine Thomas <Dwaine.Thomas@AlconLabs.com>
To: "'Dee-Hua Huang'" <dee@chemnmr1.scripps.edu>
Subject: RE: Multi-session resording CD-R on SGI computers
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:51:35 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Dee-
As a matter of fact, I have just been looking at our system for upgrading.
We currently use a SGI Indigo2 running Irix6.2, a Pinnacle Micro RCD4X4, and
GEAR software. So far we have had no problems with anything, using this
setup for archiving our NMR data. The only glitch are the directory names
which on the PC appear very funny. However, we want to upgrade the opsys to
6.5 and GEAR does not support this. The only ones that do are HyCD and
Caldera, but HyCD does not support older CD recorders. Caldera will let you
evaluate their software. In retrospect, it might be easier to set the
system up on a PC and ftp all data onto the PC if your hard disk can handle
it. Let me know what you find out. Good luck.
Dwaine.
Dwaine Thomas
NMR Lab
Alcon Laboratories, Inc.
M/S R2-19
6201 South Freeway
Fort Worth, TX 76134
Email: dwaine.thomas@alconlabs.com <mailto:dwaine.thomas@alconlabs.com>
Phone: 817-551-8003
Fax: 817-551-4584
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 16:57:13 -0400
From: Sara Kunz <kunz@brandeis.edu>
Subject: CD-R
To: Dee-Hua Huang <dee@chemnmr1.scripps.edu>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Hi,
I have made CDs on a PC and viewed them on and SGI using the HY-CD
software. The problem may be that you have changed the way you write
your CDs. I can look at the software next week but the issue has to do
with reading the list of what is on the CD and adding the new stuff to
that list. This information is then recorded as the new file list. I
remember making a CD in my trial and error phase and having just such a
problem.
If you don't find the problem drop me a line on Monday to remind me to
have a look.
Regards,
Sara
-- *********************************************************** Sara Kunz Phone: 781-736-2840 Brandeis Univ Fax: 781-836-2915 PO Box 9110 MS 057 Email: kunz@brandeis.edu Waltham, MA 02454-9110 ***********************************************************-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Content-return: allowed Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:00:40 -0700 From: "Maddox, Mike {RES~Palo Alto}" <MIKE.MADDOX@roche.com> Subject: RE: Multi-session resording CD-R on SGI computers To: "'Dee-Hua Huang'" <dee@chemnmr1.scripps.edu> MIME-version: 1.0
Some of the programs for creating CD on the PC have a switch to change sessions when reading a multisession CD. We currently archive all our NMR data to CD using HyCD but exclusively in a single session mode. Look for a menu that has a switch session choice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 15:06:21 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Strain <strain@mango.uoregon.edu> To: Dee-Hua Huang <dee@chemnmr1.scripps.edu> Subject: Re: Multi-session resording CD-R on SGI computers MIME-Version: 1.0
We have made multisession CD's on PC's running Linux using CDrecord see the following web site: http://www.fokus.gmd.de/research/cc\ /glone/employees/joerg.schilling/private/cdrecord.html
I have sucessfully compiled cdrecord on our SGI, but I haven't had time to try it yet.
We have also made multi-session CD's (ISO9660) on Macintosh using "Toast" that work fine on SGI's.
--Mike ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Strain strain@mango.uoregon.edu Institute of Molecular Biology desk/voice-mail: 541-346-4605 & Department of Chemistry FAX: 541-346-5891 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 11:00:04 +0059 (EST) From: Marty Pagel <mpagel@indiana.edu> Subject: multi-session recording To: Dee-Hua Huang <dee@chemnmr1.scripps.edu> cc: Ulli Werner <uwerner@indiana.edu> MIME-Version: 1.0
Hi Dee,
We use CDR's HyCD Publisher software on a Sun workstation using Solaris 2.5. Our CD-recorder is a HP4020i.
I've only tested multi-session recording twice with our system, checking the disk with a Sun running Solaris 2.5 and ans SGI running IRIX 6.2. In both cases,
1. I couldn't read anything until all sessions were written. This seems to be the standard mode of operation according to the CDR manual. In fact, I wold hardly call this multi-session recording if you can't read the cdrom until all data is recorded!!!
2. I could only read the first session.
Therefore, we don't recommend multi-session writing in our facility. Since cdrom disks are cheap, we don't try to use the remaining space on the cdrom for a second session. Also, since hard drives are also fairly cheap, I think it's better to buy a very large disk and save data on the disk until you have a sufficient amount to write to cdrom.
Also, we've discovered a number of peices of incorrect information in the CDR manual. For example, the manual states that you can use an unlimited number of characters in file names. I have the $500 maintenace contract, so CDR was nice enough to inform me that the limit is really 256 characters for the file names, and 255 characters for the preceeding path. However, I did my own tests to show that file names are limited to 192 characters and paths are limited to about 105 characters (depending on the depth of the path.
Also, if "JOE.fid" and "joe.fid" exist in the same directory, they can't be written to disk---HyCD will hang. In other words, if files have identical names & paths if they are translated to lower-case, HyCD will hang. Again, the CDR manual states that they can recorde a UNIX file system with no problems, and yet they can't handle case-sensitivity!!!
Perhaps the best recommendation is to write to CDROM, but make a backup on another medium (tape?) just in case.
I hope this helps,
Marty Pagel mpagel@indiana.edu --- __o Department of Chemistry Phone: (812)-855-4478 --- \<, Indiana University Fax: (812)-855-8300 --- ()/ () Bloomington, IN 47405-4001 http://nmr.chem.indiana.edu/~mpagel
**Note: My tests were conducted last year and last May, and were not conducted with the latest version, version 4.8, which was released on Aug 11, 1998. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mime-Version: 1.0 Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 14:44:40 -0400 To: Dee-Hua Huang <dee@chemnmr1.scripps.edu> From: Joseph <vaughn@pro.sb.fsu.edu> Subject: Re: Multi-session resording CD-R on SGI computers
Dee We use Gear 3.3.2 with our SGI o2. I have use it only a few times and one of my users has used it a few times for both full CD single session and multi-session writes. So far there are no problems. It has no graphic interface, so you must type commands at the command line. Hope this helps.
Dr. Joseph Vaughn, NMR Facility Manager Chemistry Department Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 32306-4390 Phone 850-644-3334 Fax 850-644-8281 email vaughn@pro.sb.fsu.edu