Not all CD-ROMs burn cooperatively. I've especially run into problems lately trying to burn a distribution beta onto CD-ROM, and there's a few interesting issues that came up while trying to solve the problem:

• Large CD-ROM images can be fussier than we think. If you're consistently having trouble with disks burned at your burner's faster speed, drop the speed down quite low, say to only 4X.
• If your CD burning software has a verification feature, this may not be enough to check a subtle problem with a burn! Some Linux distributions are starting to answer this need. For example, Red Hat Linux provides a function in its installation routine called "mediacheck," as of version 7.3.
• If you're having consistent problems getting CD-ROMs burned and can't stand to deal with the slow speed fix, consider getting a CD-ROM drive that contains BURN-Proof (tm) technology. The BURN stands for Buffer UnderRuN, which is a term that refers to how we make nice shiny coasters when the buffer containing the next bit of data to burn to the CD-ROM is empty or the machine is too busy to send the data, and the CD writer just merrily goes along and writes junk to the media. BURN-Proof burners have a massive buffer and have the ability to stop and wait for more data. There are a number of products and sites that support and contain up to date information about what's happening in this product area, a quick Google search on "burnproof" is pretty educational.

The latest versions of cdrecord support BURN-Proof.

Dee-Ann LeBlanc has written over 10 computer books, over fifty articles, taught classes, and more, mostly involving the Linux operating system and its programs. Her latest book is Linux Routing from New Riders. You can reach her at dee@renaissoft.com, or find out more at http://www.Dee-AnnLeBlanc.com/.

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