Remaining/completed writing cycles: Measurement on ReWriteable optical disc

[TechLord]

Hello.
I am typing this off at mobile device, so please excuse the bad grammar or typographic errors. I am too lazy to struggle against the mobile virtual keyboard.

I would like to measure the remaining quality of sectors on a blank CD-RW/DVD-RW/DVD+RW/HD-DVD-RW/BD-RE.
Probably, the inner surface of the disc has more writing cycles behind than the outer edge. I would like to measure the media quality individually for each physical place or sector of the disc.


[Signature]

[transporterfan]

The remaining quality? Do you mean you want to predict how many write cycles are left until the disc fails? Or do you mean you want to check the disc for existing errors? The first one's a bit of a quantum problem so is not possible. For the second you could use a program such as

http://www.ariolic.com/disk-scanner.html

Edit: I suppose, you could put a figure on how usable a disc is, or even judge it unsafe to use, at some arbitrary error level.
Then again, who's to say the remaining 'good' sectors will fail as fast as the initial weak ones.
I have not used rewritable media for years, but I seem to remember them as being able to to be written to upto 1000 times.
It makes as much sense to keep a tally on a piece of paper for how many times a particular disc has been burned,
with fingers crossed if it goes over the 900 mark.

I would just use one 'til it failed. They're cheap enough to replace.