Win7 DVD – Format over bad sector

[ChrisGreaves]

I recall seeing somewhere, sometime, that FORMATting or CHKDSK or the like could map-out bad pieces of a disk (floppy? hard?) so that a disk that was ever-so-slightly defective could be used.
Leaving aside the issue of my wisdom in storing data on a disk that is only slightly defective …

I have several DVD-RW disks; I use them to carry movies between disk and tape on my DVD/VHS recorder.
On one disk I find that somewhere around the 2h30m mark there is most likely a bad spot. The movie records to DVD, but playback introduces an apparent pause of about twenty seconds, after which the playing resumes. I have, of course, missed the vital twenty seconds of car-chase, horse-chase, or chaise-longue so critical to the development of the plot.

So what is it that maps around bad chunks?
If I FORMAT from the cmd.exe prompt and elect NOT to do a Quick Format will that do it?
Is it CHKDSK /F I am thinking of?

FWIW I could even tolerate the DVD as is, if only because I could shuffle just one movie per day and never go as far as that critical 2h30m point. Or I could map the bad spots myself and always copy a dummy movie over a bad patch before Resuming Normal Service on the other side.

Thanks
Chris

[DaveA]

I would throw it away and replace it with a good one, but then there are others.

[viking33]

I don't think that any of your methods will actually FIX a bad sector or spot. Rather, it can map that part as BAD and it will not be able to be used.
I agree with DaveA. Chuck the disk out or use it to scare away a hungry woodpecker by pinning the shiny side out right next to the area where the bird thinks has some tasty morsel hidden. ( it works! )

[StuartR]

Mapping out bad sectors is automatic on most hard drives, it happens at the firmware level and the operating system doesn't get involved. Maybe an event will get logged, but that's about it. I don't think that DVD-RW drives have this capability.

[HansV]

I agree with DaveA and viking33 - discard the faulty DVD and use it as a Christmas decoration, a wind chime or a scarecrow. New DVDs are dirt cheap nowadays.

[ChrisGreaves]

I would throw it away and replace it with a good one, but then there are others.

I am going to have to throw out about half my remaining stock.
Of course, it could be corruption brought about by my DVD/VHS player.

Memorex DVD-RW are impossible to buy in Bonavista, and impossible in Clarenville. I couldn't find any in Toronto before I left (anticipating a drought), and a quick glance at Amazon/eBay seems to show everything BUT "Memorex-DVD-RW", which is what drives me (Nice one Chris!) to think about recovering from bad sectors.

I will keep looking ...
(signed) "Still happy to be here" of Bonavista

[ChrisGreaves]

Bingo!

Untitled.png

Cheers
Chris

[HansV]

Happy RW New Year!

[ChrisGreaves]

Happy RW New Year!

:sulk: :petulant: Nope. It has to have that minus.
"-RW".
Not "RW".
:complain: :grouchy:
Chris

[HansV]

Here are a few extra minuses for you:

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[BobArch2]

Happy RW New Year!

:sulk: :petulant: Nope. It has to have that minus.
"-RW".
Not "RW".
:complain: :grouchy:
Chris

Does it have to be Memorex? Research shows many vendors in Canada ... just not sure about the + - designation.

[ChrisGreaves]

Does it have to be Memorex? Research shows many vendors in Canada ... just not sure about the + - designation.

Hi BOB.
Yes.
I am on my 3rd or fourth VCR/DVD machine.
The previous one insisted on Panasonic or something.
Bought the current dubber and it refused to deal with the spindle of Panasonic disks.
I bought a 10-pack of Memorex and it did the trick.

Mostly the user guides that come with the machines specify a brand, and that brand works, but other brands don't.

I am, as always, mystified by the multiplicity of standards in what is supposed to be a basic consumer device.

Don't get me started on the debit machines in stores and restaurants, doubtless soon to appear in a church near you.

(signed) "I lived through the year-2000 debacle" of Earth,