Can't burn disks with cdio any more

[acampbell]

I can no longer burn CDs on either my desktop or my laptop with cdio. It says either the disk is not writable in tao mode or that the file is not multiple of block length 2048. I have tried with literally dozens of disks,from different sources, most recently with a brand new batch of 25 Verbatims from Amazon.

I know people complain that a lot of the disks one buys these are duds but surely at least one ought to work? I don't know if the problem is with cdio or the disks.

I made a USB stick but I couldn't get the machine to boot from that. In the end I used a pretty old installation disk that allowed me at least to get a working installation (i386 instead of amd64) from which I could then upgrade.

Is anyone else having problems making CDs? At this rate OpenBSD will soon become uninstallable for me.

[shep]

Last time used cdio in 6.6 it worked with the caveat that I was root and provided full paths to the iso.

This also works for me:

http://daemonforums.org/showpost.php...80&postcount=9

[acampbell]

I think these disks are definitely dodgy. I see numerous other people on Amazon have had a similar experience. The trouble is that none of the other disks listed there seem to be appreciably better.

[jggimi]

If you want useful help, please post information that would help us to help you. Otherwise you're only going to get useful help from those of us who are in the room with you.

As an example, the script(1) utility will record all interactive shell input and output. You can then use col(1) with the -b option to strip out control characters, and then post your console/terminal session here.

[acampbell]

script just gives what I see on screen, nothing more:

Script started on Fri Mar 27 08:40:37 2020
cdio: The media can't be written in TAO mode

Script done on Fri Mar 27 08:40:49 2020

[jggimi]

Look behind you! Because ... there ... we ... aren't. And because we're not behind you, we can't see what exact commands you were using. We don't know what hardware you are using because we haven't seen a dmseg.

If you are unwilling to provide information to us, you might be able to provide it to yourself. The cdio(1) utility has an "info" command that can print media capabilities and a table of contents, if one exists. Maybe you're trying to burn onto used discs?

[acampbell]

I'm not unwilling but I don't know what info would be useful or helpful. I didn't want to plague the list with irrelevant stuff.

The command I use:

# cdio tao bsd.rd (or install66.fs)

#    cdio  info     (blank disk)
Starting track = 1, ending track = 1, TOC size = 18 bytes
track     start  duration   block  length   type
-------------------------------------------------
    1   0:02.00   0:57.54       0    4329   data
  170   0:59.54         -    4329      

# cdio info (a previously made disk which works)
Starting track = 1, ending track = 1, TOC size = 18 bytes
track     start  duration   block  length   type
-------------------------------------------------
    1   0:02.00  41:48.50       0  188150   data
  170  41:50.50         -  188150   

# cdio  info (a different blank disk)
  cdio: getting toc header: Input/output error

dmesg:

OpenBSD 6.6-current (GENERIC.MP) #78: Thu Mar 26 10:15:42 MDT 2020
    deraadt@amd64.openbsd.org:/usr/src/s...ile/GENERIC.MP
real mem = 4268425216 (4070MB)
avail mem = 4126466048 (3935MB)
mpath0 at root
scsibus0 at mpath0: 256 targets
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: SMBIOS rev. 2.5 @ 0xfc670 (18 entries)
bios0: vendor American Megatrends Inc. version "R01-A3" date 08/28/2007
bios0: ACER Veriton M460
acpi0 at bios0: ACPI 1.0
acpi0: sleep states S0 S3 S4 S5
acpi0: tables DSDT FACP APIC MCFG SLIC OEMB HPET GSCI SSDT
acpi0: wakeup devices P0P2(S4) P0P1(S4) PS2M(S4) MC97(S4) P0P4(S4) P0P5(S4) P0P6(S4) P0P7(S4) P0P8(S4) P0P9(S4) USB0(S3) USB1(S3) USB2(S3) USB3(S3) EUSB(S3) PWRB(S4)
acpitimer0 at acpi0: 3579545 Hz, 24 bits
acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20GHz, 2194.79 MHz, 06-0f-0d
cpu0: FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE,SSE3,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,LONG,LAHF,PERF,SENSOR,MELTDOWN
cpu0: 2MB 64b/line 8-way L2 cache
cpu0: smt 0, core 0, package 0
mtrr: Pentium Pro MTRR support, 8 var ranges, 88 fixed ranges
cpu0: apic clock running at 199MHz
cpu0: mwait min=64, max=64, C-substates=0.2.2, IBE
cpu1 at mainbus0: apid 1 (application processor)
cpu1: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E4500 @ 2.20GHz, 2194.53 MHz, 06-0f-0d
cpu1: FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE,SSE3,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,LONG,LAHF,PERF,SENSOR,MELTDOWN
cpu1: 2MB 64b/line 8-way L2 cache
cpu1: smt 0, core 1, package 0
ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 2 pa 0xfec00000, version 20, 24 pins
acpimcfg0 at acpi0
acpimcfg0: addr 0xe0000000, bus 0-255
acpihpet0 at acpi0: 14318179 Hz
acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0)
acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus 3 (P0P1)
acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 1 (P0P4)
acpiprt3 at acpi0: bus 2 (P0P5)
acpiprt4 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P6)
acpiprt5 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P7)
acpiprt6 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P8)
acpiprt7 at acpi0: bus -1 (P0P9)
acpicpu0 at acpi0: C1(@1 halt!), PSS
acpicpu1 at acpi0: C1(@1 halt!), PSS
acpitz0 at acpi0: critical temperature is 110 degC
acpipci0 at acpi0 PCI0: 0x00000010 0x00000011 0x00000000
acpicmos0 at acpi0
acpibtn0 at acpi0: PWRB
cpu0: Enhanced SpeedStep 2194 MHz: speeds: 2200, 1600, 1200 MHz
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "Intel 82G33 Host" rev 0x02
inteldrm0 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel 82G33 Video" rev 0x02
drm0 at inteldrm0
intagp0 at inteldrm0
agp0 at intagp0: aperture at 0xd0000000, size 0x10000000
inteldrm0: apic 2 int 16, G33, gen 3
azalia0 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 "Intel 82801GB HD Audio" rev 0x01: msi
azalia0: codecs: Realtek ALC888
audio0 at azalia0
ppb0 at pci0 dev 28 function 0 "Intel 82801GB PCIE" rev 0x01: msi
pci1 at ppb0 bus 1
ppb1 at pci0 dev 28 function 1 "Intel 82801GB PCIE" rev 0x01: msi
pci2 at ppb1 bus 2
re0 at pci2 dev 0 function 0 "Realtek 8168" rev 0x01: RTL8168 2 (0x3800), msi, address 00:19:21:4f:2e:c3
rgephy0 at re0 phy 7: RTL8169S/8110S/8211 PHY, rev. 2
uhci0 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel 82801GB USB" rev 0x01: apic 2 int 23
uhci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 1 "Intel 82801GB USB" rev 0x01: apic 2 int 19
uhci2 at pci0 dev 29 function 2 "Intel 82801GB USB" rev 0x01: apic 2 int 18
uhci3 at pci0 dev 29 function 3 "Intel 82801GB USB" rev 0x01: apic 2 int 16
ehci0 at pci0 dev 29 function 7 "Intel 82801GB USB" rev 0x01: apic 2 int 23
usb0 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub0 at usb0 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
ppb2 at pci0 dev 30 function 0 "Intel 82801BA Hub-to-PCI" rev 0xe1
pci3 at ppb2 bus 3
pcib0 at pci0 dev 31 function 0 "Intel 82801GH LPC" rev 0x01
pciide0 at pci0 dev 31 function 1 "Intel 82801GB IDE" rev 0x01: DMA, channel 0 configured to compatibility, channel 1 configured to compatibility
pciide0: channel 0 disabled (no drives)
pciide0: channel 1 disabled (no drives)
pciide1 at pci0 dev 31 function 2 "Intel 82801GB SATA" rev 0x01: DMA, channel 0 configured to native-PCI, channel 1 configured to native-PCI
pciide1: using apic 2 int 19 for native-PCI interrupt
wd0 at pciide1 channel 0 drive 0: <WDC WD5000AAKX-08U6AA0>
wd0: 16-sector PIO, LBA48, 476940MB, 976773168 sectors
wd0(pciide1:0:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 5
atapiscsi0 at pciide1 channel 1 drive 0
scsibus1 at atapiscsi0: 2 targets
cd0 at scsibus1 targ 0 lun 0: <ATAPI, DVD A DH16A3S, 3A12> removable
cd0(pciide1:1:0): using PIO mode 4, Ultra-DMA mode 5
ichiic0 at pci0 dev 31 function 3 "Intel 82801GB SMBus" rev 0x01: apic 2 int 19
iic0 at ichiic0
spdmem0 at iic0 addr 0x50: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL6
spdmem1 at iic0 addr 0x52: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL6
usb1 at uhci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub1 at usb1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb2 at uhci1: USB revision 1.0
uhub2 at usb2 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb3 at uhci2: USB revision 1.0
uhub3 at usb3 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb4 at uhci3: USB revision 1.0
uhub4 at usb4 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
isa0 at pcib0
isadma0 at isa0
fdc0 at isa0 port 0x3f0/6 irq 6 drq 2
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8/8 irq 4: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
com1 at isa0 port 0x2f8/8 irq 3: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5 irq 1 irq 12
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
spkr0 at pcppi0
lpt0 at isa0 port 0x378/4 irq 7
it0 at isa0 port 0x2e/2: IT8718F rev 4, EC port 0xa10
uhub5 at uhub0 port 6 configuration 1 interface 0 "Terminus Technology USB 2.0 Hub" rev 2.00/1.11 addr 2
uhidev0 at uhub5 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Logitech USB Optical Mouse" rev 2.00/72.00 addr 3
uhidev0: iclass 3/1
ums0 at uhidev0: 3 buttons, Z dir
wsmouse0 at ums0 mux 0
fd0 at fdc0 drive 0: 1.44MB 80 cyl, 2 head, 18 sec
uhidev1 at uhub5 port 2 configuration 1 interface 0 "Logitech USB Keyboard" rev 1.10/49.00 addr 4
uhidev1: iclass 3/1
ukbd0 at uhidev1: 8 variable keys, 6 key codes
wskbd1 at ukbd0 mux 1
uhidev2 at uhub5 port 2 configuration 1 interface 1 "Logitech USB Keyboard" rev 1.10/49.00 addr 4
uhidev2: iclass 3/0
uhid0 at uhidev2: input=2, output=0, feature=0
vscsi0 at root
scsibus2 at vscsi0: 256 targets
softraid0 at root
scsibus3 at softraid0: 256 targets
root on wd0a (276ba6d3d8095f2a.a) swap on wd0b dump on wd0b
inteldrm0: 1920x1080, 32bpp
wsdisplay0 at inteldrm0 mux 1: console (std, vt100 emulation), using wskbd0
wskbd1: connecting to wsdisplay0
wsdisplay0: screen 1-5 added (std, vt100 emulation)

[jggimi]

Originally Posted by acampbell

I'm not unwilling but I don't know what info would be useful or helpful. I didn't want to plague the list with irrelevant stuff.

For six years, every time I've tried to help you I've had to ask for more information. It is IMPOSSIBLE for you to post too much. Really.

The command I use:
# cdio tao bsd.rd (or install66.fs)

Thank you! Neither file is correct for optical media, and if you successfully burn either, you will not have a bootable disc. The bsd.rd file is a kernel that is only usable by an OpenBSD bootloader, the install66.fs file is a hard-drive-image file that cannot be booted from an optical drive. The correct optical media images for OpenBSD are ISO files that end with the string .iso.

# cdio info (blank disk)
Starting track = 1, ending track = 1, TOC size = 18 bytes
track start duration block length type
-------------------------------------------------
1 0:02.00 0:57.54 0 4329 data
170 0:59.54 - 4329

This is not a blank disc, this is a used optical disc. It has an existing track. This is why you are getting the error message you have been getting.

# cdio info (a different blank disk)
cdio: getting toc header: Input/output error

This disc is actually blank, because there is no table of contents.

dmesg:
OpenBSD 6.6-current (GENERIC.MP) #78: Thu Mar 26 10:15:42 MDT 2020
deraadt@amd64.openbsd.org:/usr/src/s...ile/GENERIC.MP
real mem = 4268425216 (4070MB)
avail mem = 4126466048 (3935MB)...

This is an incomplete dmesg(1) fragment, and is missing information about your optical drive. But based on the information you've posted so far, your problem is not caused by your optical hardware, so a complete dmesg(1) may not be necessary.

---

Fix, part 1: use a confirmed blank optical disc. You cannot overwrite a used CD -- one that already contains tracks or tables of contents. CD-Rs are write-once media. CD-RWs must be erased (blanked) separately before reuse. cdio(1) has a blank command.

Fix, part 2: use one of the two bootable CD/DVD image files: install66.iso or cd66.iso, as these contain a proper El Torito optical bootloader.

---

Advice: in the future, surround any of your pasted information inside of [code] and [/code] tags. It makes what you post much, much more readable. Thanks in advance!

[acampbell]

OK points noted. I had spotted the incomplet dmesg myself and had replaced it but no doubt after you saw it - apologies for that.

I'll try to get some better CDs from somewhere. Tbe partially written disk must be one of those that started to write but gave up. - should have been thrown out. Most just say they can't be written in tao mode.

Thanks for your comments.

[jggimi]

Just to hammer the point home, because it doesn't yet seem clear to you:

• When you get the "media cannot be written in TAO mode" error, the most likely reason is there is already data on that disc.
• CD-Rs can only be burned with data one time. If you've burned data onto a CD-R, that disc cannot be changed.*
• CD-RWs can be burned multiple times, but they must be blanked before burning, each and every time.

So when you find a disc you cannot burn, there is something already on it. If it is CD-RW media, you can "blank" and reuse it. If it is CD-R media, then what's on it is stays on it, it cannot be erased or re-written.


* Yes, I know audio CD-Rs can have more than 1 track and that additional tracks can be burned if there is space and if the disc was not burned in DAO mode. But please, I'm trying not to confuse Anthony further by adding any audio discussion to this. He's confused enough.

[bsd-keith]

You will see two different colour tones on a previously written disc too.

[jggimi]

And if there's some felt-tip penmanship on the label side, it is often an indication of what was burned on it.

[acampbell]

Just to be clear: I've been aware of the difference between single-use and rewritable disks for years. The disks giving "cannot be written in tao mode" were out of the box so could not have been written to previously by me (I've just got a refund from Amazon).

I started this post just to see if anyone else was having similar problems with CDs they bought, not to get help with how to write disks in general, which as I say I've done successfully for 10-15 years. The thread snowballed in a direction I didn't intend. I should have said that earlier to forestall misunderstanding.

I wish I hadn't posted the output of script for a partially written disk but I hoped it might indicate why it didn't complete. It didn't mean I failed to realise the disk couldn't be rewritten.

I don't want to darken counsel further so I'll shut up about this now.

[bsd-keith]

Duff discs are always a possibility, but if none of them worked, I'd be thinking your laser is dying, (or maybe just very dirty).

[jggimi]

I'm glad you posted. Because even with a good disc and a good drive, you'd still be burning un-bootable coasters as you were selecting the wrong data files / data images.

[acampbell]

bsd-keith: I thought of those possibilities but I had the same results with two other machines (laptops which have worked in the past). A lot of people on Amazon reported similar total failure with these particular disks.

iggimi: Yes, you are right, of course about the data files. I realised that later. Temporary mental aberration probably compounded by visual problem (glaucoma), which means that portions of my visual field are missing so proof-reading of my posts before sending them is a hit hit and miss.

[shep]

cdio(1)

My older invocation of cdio stopped working from a user shell that I su'd to root. When I follow the FAQ with full paths it works. As noted in the FAQ, specifying the device is important, particularly if you have more than one.

https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq13.html#burnCD

# cdio -f /dev/cd0c tao -s 8 full_path_to/sys.iso

I use optical media for backup, usually Ridata that I buy shrink-wrapped off Ebay. It has been years since I have made an aluminized coaster.

[acampbell]

Thanks, Shep, I'll try that. In the meantime I got hold of a fourth laptop and this did produce bootable CDs (3 times out of 5).

[victorvas]

I always purchase CDRs and DVDRs in a form of 50 disk packs. Usually out of 50, 10-15 are defective.

[shep]

Not sure what is available in the UK. In the States I've had good luck with RiData and PioData and can usually buy CD or DVD in quantities of 100 shrink wrapped. I keep reusing my old spindles.

Amazon UK has them:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/50pcs-Wrapp...%2C341&sr=1-17