Caltech Astronomy : Writing DVDs

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Writing DVDs

DVD writer attached to pathos (RedHat Linux) in the Robinson ADPF lab:
This is capable of writing DVDs in 1-speed mode, and reading DVDs in 6-speed mode. It can also write CD-Rs in 8 speed mode (see the documentation on writing CDs). To mount a data DVD:
```
 % mount /mnt/cdrom 
```
```
 or 
```
```
 % mount /mnt/cdrom1 
```
To unmount a DVD:
```
 % umount /mnt/cdrom 
```
```
 or 
```
```
 % umount /mnt/cdrom1 
```
To eject a DVD from the drive:
```
 % cdrecord-prodvd  -eject 
```
Or, just press the eject button on the writer.

Writing a DVD is a two stage process:

Stage 1: Creating the ISO file - to be done on the computer with the data files
1. Arrange no more than 4.6 GB of files into one directory on the disk. The structure of the directories and subdirectories will eventually be transferred to the DVD.
2. Use the mkisofs program to create the large ISO file and store it on the disk. For pathos, that disk is /home/pathos/cdr.
```
% cd /scr/cld
% mkisofs -R -J -r -o /home/pathos/cdr/iso.raw -V 12JUL02-scr .
```
  (note: The -V flag gives the volume ID)
Stage 2: Burning the ISO file onto a disk
1. Log into pathos.
2. Put a blank DVD-R or DVD-RW disk into the drive.
  (NOTE: Only DVD-R and DVD-RW disks may be used; DVD+R and DVD+RW disks will NOT work!)
3. Use the cdrecord-prodvd program to burn the ISO file onto the disk.
```
% cdrecord-prodvd -v /home/pathos/cdr/iso.raw
```
  Linux Note: There is a bug in the cdrecord-prodvd program when running the magicdev program and this might cause your Linux computer to crash during the fixating stage. Until this bug is fixed, please kill the magicdev program before you run cdrecord-prodvd.
4. Mount the DVD with the mount command to verify that it has been written properly.
5. Delete the ISO file.

Special note when using pathos:

The network visible disk called /home/pathos/cdr, which is local to pathos, is available for storage of large ISO files so that network bandwidth will not effect the burning of DVDs and CDs. FILES ON THIS DISK WILL BE PURGED ON A DAILY BASIS IF THEY ARE MORE THAN 24 HOURS OLD.

An 'xfig' template for making CD-ROM labels is available at :
/usr/local/admin/doc/forms/cdrom.fig
This template can be printed on self-adhesive labels, available in Robinson Room 10.

For more information:

See the man pages for mkisofs and cdrecord.
Look at the CDRECORD web page.

Created by Cheryl Southard.

Please send your feedback to webmaster@astro.caltech.edu