Unmountable DVDs

[Basil Chupin]

On 31/10/13 21:32, O. Sinclair wrote:
> On 10/31/2013 10:22 AM, Basil Chupin wrote:
>> On 31/10/13 19:11, O. Sinclair wrote:
>>> On 10/31/2013 10:05 AM, Basil Chupin wrote:
>>>> On 31/10/13 18:00, O. Sinclair wrote:
>>>>
>>>> [...]
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> I think you misunderstood him - as I read his post he states that 
>>>>> once
>>>>> the RW disc is reformatted using K3B nothing happens. No actions
>>>>> options etc, but the disc just spins in the reader a few times
>>>>
>>>> In his opening post Phil states, quite categorically, "A batch of DVDs
>>>> were formatted using K3B so that they could be reused."
>>>>
>>>> "...so that they can be reused."
>>>>
>>>> What does this state?
>>>>
>>>> k3b will NOT reformat a RW disc if it has already been formatted.
>>>>
>>>> k3b will only format a NEW, UNUSED, blank RW disc.
>>>>
>>>> Try it and read the message which k3b shows.
>>>>
>>>> If Phil means something else then he should describe exactly what the
>>>> situation is and what was formatted with what et al.
>>>>
>>> Well I think this is semantics. Clearly he means erasing a rewritable,
>>> something many call reformatting. K3b says "format/erase rewritable
>>> disc" in its menu
>>
>> <Sheesh>
>>
>> I know that.
>>
>> Read what I wrote.
>>
>> k3b will NOT format or erase any WR disc is it has already been 
>> formatted!
>>
>>> And as I get it following that procedure the discs are not recognised
>>> by his Kubuntu system.
>>
>> If k3b will not format an already formatted RW disc then how can this
>> happen?
>>
> Well I am not sure what we seem to be debating here.
>
> 1. he has RW DVD with old content, he wants to wipe/erase/reformat 
> whatever to reuse it as a blank DVD

OK, I will repeat this very slowly....... :-)

Once a RW DVD has been formatted there is no need to erase it or format 
it, if this is the terminology you want to use.

If you want to writ to it again then simply write to it and whatever is 
on the RW disc will be overwritten.

Is this clear enough?

> 2. using K3b and the menu Tools/Format-Erase K3b does something and 
> then ejects the DVD

I already stated to see the message you get from k3b.

This message is quite clear: the RW disc does not need to be formatted 
(as it is already formatted), and all you need to do is to write to it 
to overwrite what is already on it.

The disc is therefore untouched by k3b and k3b shows SUCCESS! in the 
outcome window.

> 3. on reinserting the DVD the system does not react to it

If a menu comes up asking how this disc is to be opened - with Dolphin 
for example - then the disc is recognised and accessible - but *only* if 
you first open it with Dolphin *OR* mount it manually. This has all to 
do with new fangdangled way which udev now handles these things.

So, if the menu shows that Dolphin can open the disc then the disc is 
available to be written to.

> 4. if taken to a windows system and same procedure done by whatever 
> software DVD is again reacognised by Kubuntu

I already said that Windows does its own thing. In the first instance it 
doesn't recognise anything Linux so it would treat such a disc as some 
foreign body which needs to be flogged into shape - and will reformat it 
in its own protocol. Of course Linux recognises this protocol.

If you check around you will find that there is 'warning' about playing 
some discs formatted in Windows on Linux because of the whacky way 
Windows does things. I cannot point you are any references but you will 
find them if you search the web.


>
> I have no RW DVD so I can not do this at the moment but I have several 
> times done it with CD RW discs without this problem. When I reinserted 
> the CD my Kubuntu would recognise it and the device-notifyer give me 
> some action options (Dolphin, K3b and so on)
>
> So, as I understand it, the problem lies in that K3b does something 
> to/with the DVD RW that disables Kubuntu recognising it

Nothing to do with k3b.

BUT I will concede that there just may be the case where k3b is at 
fault: it all depends on which version of k3b is being used. (In fact 
the OP does not mention anything about which version of Kubuntu or KDE 
he is running or which versin of k3b is used.)

There was, a few years ago, where k3b was spitting the dummy because 
following some copyright stoush the engine on which k3b relies was 
changed (drecord or something like this comes to mind - someone here may 
remember the real facts). But this has been resolved a looooong time ago 
and k3b works perfectly. I don't use anything else.

BC

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