Optical Drive Testing - Revision history

Kevin.Williams at 20:03, 1 August 2014

2014-08-01T20:03:22Z

KevinWright at 16:31, 29 March 2014

2014-03-29T16:31:29Z

Dhughes at 22:27, 31 October 2013

2013-10-31T22:27:43Z

Dhughes at 23:07, 30 October 2013

2013-10-30T23:07:36Z

Dhughes: Corrected application and selection names and added labeling instructions

2013-10-30T22:41:20Z

Corrected application and selection names and added labeling instructions

KevinWright: /* Setting Up */

2013-10-26T14:13:30Z

Setting Up

RyanDodd at 23:01, 20 August 2013

2013-08-20T23:01:02Z

RyanDodd: /* Setting Up */

2013-08-20T22:59:23Z

Setting Up

RyanDodd: /* Testing Burning */

2013-08-20T22:52:44Z

Testing Burning

RyanDodd: /* Testing Burning */

2013-08-20T22:44:26Z

Testing Burning

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-{{migrate}}
+{{migrated}}
 ==Setting Up==
 #Select a drive to test. Check for the following:

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:31, 29 March 2014
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		+	{{migrate}}
	==Setting Up==		==Setting Up==
	#Select a drive to test. Check for the following:		#Select a drive to test. Check for the following:

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 #Exit Parole and eject the disc. If there were no playback issues then proceed with testing! If the audio skipped or a track could not be played then recycle the drive.
 #Insert a video DVD into the disc drive and VLC media player should start automatically.
-##If VLC doesn't start, go to 'Menu' → 'Multimedia' → 'VLC media player'. When it opens, look for the testing video DVD by clicking the 'Playlist' button, expanding 'Devices', selecting DVD drive and then double clicking on the disk name.
+##If VLC doesn't start, go to 'Menu' → 'Multimedia' → 'VLC media player'. When it opens, look for the testing video DVD by (if needed, clicking the 'Playlist' button), expanding 'Devices', selecting 'Disks', expanding 'DVD' and double clicking on the disk name.
 #Let it play for for at least 15 seconds to make sure there is no skipping during playback. If you encounter skipping be sure to check the DVD and try another one in case it's just a scratch on the media.
 #Exit VLC and eject the disc. If there were no playback issues then proceed with testing! If there were, recycle the drive.
@@ Line 29: / Line 29: @@
 ==Testing Burning==
 '''If you have an Optical Drive with CD-RW function, Test CD Writing'''
-* Insert a CD-RW disc into the drive and open Brasero (or K3b) (under '''Menu''' >>> '''Multimedia''' >>> '''Brasero'''.) Select '''New Data Composition''', then navigate to ''' File System''' >>> '''USR''' >>> '''Share''' >>> '''Sounds''' and click '''Add'''. Click '''Proceed to Burn''' in the lower right-hand corner. A new window will pop-up with a few options. If available, select '''Use burnfree''' and click '''Burn'''. When the disc is done, verify that it contains the examples file by re-inserting the disc and seeing what pops up on the desktop.
+* Insert a CD-RW disc into the drive and open Brasero (or K3b) (under '''Menu''' >>> '''Multimedia''' >>> '''Brasero'''.) Select '''Data project''', click on the plus sign,then navigate to ''' File System''' >>> '''USR''' >>> '''Share''' >>> '''Sounds''',select a sound file (.ogg or .wav file) and click '''Add'''. Click '''Burn''' in the lower right-hand corner. A new window will pop-up with a few options. If available, select '''Use burnfree''' and click '''Burn'''. When the disc is done, click '''close''' and verify that it contains the examples file by re-inserting the disc and seeing what pops up on the desktop.
-* Blank the disc using Brasero by selecting '''blank cd-rw''' from the icons. If blanking does not work, the drive may still be completely functional! Ask your instructor about software bug workarounds.
+* Blank the disc using Brasero by selecting '''Tools >>> Blank''' and '''Close''' when it's done and re-insert the disk to verify that it was blanked. Close Brasero and remove the disk. If blanking does not work, the drive may still be completely functional! Ask your instructor about software bug workarounds.
 '''If you have an Optical Drive with DVD-RW function, Test DVD Writing'''
-* Insert a DVD-RW disc into the drive and in the Basero file browser follow the same steps as above to burn a data project. Except, when blanking available, '''uncheck the "Fast Blank" option.'''
+* Insert a DVD-RW disc into the drive and in the Basero file browser follow the same steps as above to burn a data project. Except, when blanking, if available, '''uncheck the "Fast Blanking" option.'''
 ==Finishing==

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 #Insert an audio CD into the disc drive and Parole (media player) should start automatically.
 ##If Parole doesn't start, go to 'Menu' → 'Multimedia' → 'Parole'. When it opens, look for the testing audio CD under 'Media' on the left and select it.
-#Click the play button to start the music and let it play for for at least 15 seconds to make sure there is no skipping during playback. If you encounter skipping be sure to check the CD and try another one in case it's just a scratch on the media.
+#Allow the music to play for for at least 15 seconds to make sure there is no skipping during playback. If you encounter skipping be sure to check the CD and try another one in case it's just a scratch on the media.
 #Skip to a later track on the disc and let the music play for 15 seconds again, still listening for skipping.
 #Exit Parole and eject the disc. If there were no playback issues then proceed with testing! If the audio skipped or a track could not be played then recycle the drive.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Setting Up==
-#Select a drive to test from the bins under the workbench. Check for the following:
+#Select a drive to test. Check for the following:
 ##Interface type and functionality - If the drive is IDE without DVD/RW, recycle it!
 ##Damage and dirt - Is anything broken or missing? If so, recycle it! Is it filthy? Try to clean it up, but if it would take a herculean cleaning effort to get it into a condition that you would consider saleable then just recycle it.
-##Manufacture date - If the drive was manufactured in 2006 or earlier, recycle it!
+##Manufacture date - If the drive is IDE and was manufactured in 2006 or earlier, recycle it!
-##Jumpers (IDE Only) - Make sure the jumpers are configured so the device is set to ''Master''. On most drives this is accomplished by placing a single jumper vertically between the pins closest to the IDE connection, though other configurations are possible. Often times a chart will be present on the drive's label.
+##Jumpers (IDE Only) - Make sure the jumpers are configured so the device is set to ''Master''. On most drives this is accomplished by placing a single jumper vertically over  the pins closest to the IDE connection, though other configurations are possible. Often times a chart will be present on the drive's label.
-#'''Make sure that the testing station is powered off''', then attach the drive to the testing station's IDE or SATA cable. If the device requires a SATA power connector you will need to attach the converter to the standard molex power connector.
+#'''Make sure that the testing station is powered off''', then attach the drive to the testing station's IDE or SATA data and Molex or SATA power cables. If the device requires a SATA power connector you may need to attach the converter to the standard molex power connector.
-#Boot the system into Ubuntu. Note that the current testing station has BIOS settings for expected drives and may complain that it has not detected all expected drives; this message can be bypassed with a keypress (though is grounds for current considerations of testing system replacement).
+#Boot the system into Xubuntu. Note that the current testing station has BIOS settings for expected drives and may complain that it has not detected all expected drives; this message can be bypassed with a keypress (though is grounds for current considerations of testing system replacement).
   Pay close attention to the capabilities of the drives you are testing.
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 ==Testing Playback==
-#Insert an audio CD into the disc drive and Rhythmbox should start automatically.
+#Insert an audio CD into the disc drive and Parole (media player) should start automatically.
-##If Rhythmbox doesn't start, go to 'Applications' → 'Sound & Video' → 'Rhythmbox Music Player.' When it opens, look for the testing audio CD under 'Devices' on the left and select it.
+##If Parole doesn't start, go to 'Menu' → 'Multimedia' → 'Parole'. When it opens, look for the testing audio CD under 'Media' on the left and select it.
 #Click the play button to start the music and let it play for for at least 15 seconds to make sure there is no skipping during playback. If you encounter skipping be sure to check the CD and try another one in case it's just a scratch on the media.
 #Skip to a later track on the disc and let the music play for 15 seconds again, still listening for skipping.
-#Exit Rhythmbox and eject the disc. If there were no playback issues then proceed with testing! If the audio skipped or a track could not be played then recycle the drive.
+#Exit Parole and eject the disc. If there were no playback issues then proceed with testing! If the audio skipped or a track could not be played then recycle the drive.
 ==Testing Burning==
 '''If you have an Optical Drive with CD-RW function, Test CD Writing'''
-* Insert a CD-RW disc into the drive and open XFBurn Disc Burning (under '''Menu''' >>> '''Multimedia''' >>> '''XFBurn'''.) Select '''New Data Composition''', then navigate to ''' File System''' >>> '''USR''' >>> '''Share''' >>> '''Sounds''' and click '''Add'''. Click '''Proceed to Burn''' in the lower right-hand corner. A new window will pop-up with a few options. If available, select '''Use burnfree''' and click '''Burn'''. When the disc is done, verify that it contains the examples file by re-inserting the disc and seeing what pops up on the desktop.
+* Insert a CD-RW disc into the drive and open Brasero (or K3b) (under '''Menu''' >>> '''Multimedia''' >>> '''Brasero'''.) Select '''New Data Composition''', then navigate to ''' File System''' >>> '''USR''' >>> '''Share''' >>> '''Sounds''' and click '''Add'''. Click '''Proceed to Burn''' in the lower right-hand corner. A new window will pop-up with a few options. If available, select '''Use burnfree''' and click '''Burn'''. When the disc is done, verify that it contains the examples file by re-inserting the disc and seeing what pops up on the desktop.
-* Blank the disc using XFBurn by selecting '''blank cd-rw''' from the icons. If available, '''uncheck the "Fast Blank" option.''' If blanking does not work, the drive may still be completely functional! Ask your instructor about software bug workarounds.
+* Blank the disc using Brasero by selecting '''blank cd-rw''' from the icons. If blanking does not work, the drive may still be completely functional! Ask your instructor about software bug workarounds.
 '''If you have an Optical Drive with DVD-RW function, Test DVD Writing'''
-* Insert a DVD-RW disc into the drive and in the XFBurn file browser follow the same steps as above to burn a data project. When the disc is done, verify that it contains the examples file by re-inserting the disc and seeing what pops up on the desktop.
+* Insert a DVD-RW disc into the drive and in the Basero file browser follow the same steps as above to burn a data project. Except, when blanking available, '''uncheck the "Fast Blank" option.'''
-<!------
 [[Category:Hardware Testing]]
 [[Category:Howto]]

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 #Boot the system into Ubuntu. Note that the current testing station has BIOS settings for expected drives and may complain that it has not detected all expected drives; this message can be bypassed with a keypress (though is grounds for current considerations of testing system replacement).
-  Pay close attention to the capabilities of the drives you are testing. There are many different types of drives with many different combinations of functions that you need to be aware of when you are testing optical drives.
+  Pay close attention to the capabilities of the drives you are testing.
   -The basic features on the drives we test:
   CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD ram

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:01, 20 August 2013
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	~~{{draft}}~~
−
−	~~Instructions for using K3B to test optical drives will be here in the near future!~~
−
−	~~For now please use the old instructions at [[Optical_Drive_Testing_10.04]]~~
−
	==Setting Up==		==Setting Up==
	#Select a drive to test from the bins under the workbench. Check for the following:		#Select a drive to test from the bins under the workbench. Check for the following: