Burned CDs recognised as Audio CDs

Hey all,

After doing my first ever mod to my Saturn (64 pin PAL using mal's A+B method), I tried to burn a few games using Nero 5.5.9.13 (Disc-at-once, 12x). The games were all in the ISO&WAV format, and I used the .CUE file to burn them. While the Saturn boots ok, it seems hellbent on recognising my games as audio cds. Only once now and then does it actually boot the cd as the game it is. I have found a way around this by letting the Saturn (if it boots into the audio menu) play the tracks of the cd for a few seconds and then press reset. This leads to the Saturn recognising the cd as a game and boots the way it should.

It's not a big price to pay, but I would like to see if anyone has any idea as to what to do about this. Should I change my burning software, the media (different brand), speed of burning?

Thanks.
 
I'd definitely suggest trying a different brand of media (what were you using by the way?) and a lower burning speed. 12x actually sounds good to me, but 8x or even 4x might do the trick for you.

You didn't mention whether you were having your problem on a random basis or only with certain games. If the latter is the case, make sure that your cuesheets ALWAYS include a pregap/postgap after the first track. This gap is actually vital in letting the Saturn recognize a disc as a game... (I found out the hard way).
 
Thanks for the tip!

I tried burning with a lower speed (4x) and it seems to be working, I'm going to try a few more games to make sure.

The brand I'm using is Kodak CD-R Ultima (max burn speed is 12x, so a lower speed may be the best), and the .CUE file has a gap of two (2) seconds between the data track and the audio track (actually all the games so far has this gap, and my guess is that it's been added by the SegaXtreme crew. The "ReadMe First" file says so atleast).

Again, thanks for the tip!
 
They do sound decent. But I'm also surprised to hear they max out at 12x, maybe your particular CD writer was pushing these Kodak media just a little too much at that speed. Nowadays everything seems to go up to 40x or 48x...
rolleyes.gif
Could be that those highspeed media have better reflectivity - at least when burned at 12x or faster - than the Kodak media.
 
They're about two and a half years old those cds. Bought them for my never working external burner... Piece of crap.

It seems I'm not rid of the problem yet, even those games I've burnt at 4x boot into Audio mode now and then - the reason eludes me. I still have to use the play-reset metod I described above. There's another occurance I think I should mention: When I pause Cotton 2 it freezes. It works like a charm unless I pause the game though, so it's no big deal, but I'd like to go to the bathroom now and then...
biggrin.gif


I'm going to try and use my other 2½ year old Platinum cds. Let's hope all goes well. If that doesn't work I'd like some recomendations on what brand to use.

Being almost totally ingnorant of these things, I'm guessing I did nothing wrong when installing the modchip? Since the Saturn works fine.

Back to burning...
 
You never said your blank CDs were 2-1/2 years old!!!!!
ohmy.gif


Were they properly stored? In a dark, not too hot or humid place? ... At this point I'd REALLY suggest trying some FRESH media ...
 
You never said your blank CDs were 2-1/2 years old!!!!!

Heh, well, you know...

They were all stored their plastic containers with thin dark plastic wrapping around them. In other words, never unpacked or used in any way. Probably should exchange them for som new media...

Are you saying that (blank?) cds can age? That's one thing I've never heard of.
 
All things deteriorate with age. With something critical like a CD-R how it ages can be important. Most likely the dye on the surface will start to behave strangely after a while - running...not "sticking", etc.
 
can i get a how-to on burning saturn discs? this seems like it might be the thread to ask in, and i don't want to make a new one. i can't find a reliable source anywhere on the internet. thanks in advance
 
Back
Top