The need for speed
By Charles Miller 

Once, while standing around the workbench in the back of a computer store, chewing the fat with other computer technicians, we discussed how phenomenal the increasing speeds of CD-ROM drives are. The original single-speed drives (1X) progressed to double-speed to 8X, 32X and now 52-speed. One of my buddies commented on a story he had heard about how the fastest drives could explode with enough force to kill a person.

That discussion took place 10 years ago. In the following years, I never saw an obituary for anyone who met their end due to an exploding CD, so I put my friend’s story into the category of “urban legend” until an Atención reader asked me about it recently.

Researching the answer to this question took me to a television program, Myth Busters, on the Discovery Channel. Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage—two movie special effects guys experienced in all things explosive—did some experiments to determine the validity of the myth about exploding CDs.

Their findings, carefully recorded on high-speed camera, showed that when CDs are spun up to their operating speed of 20,000–30,000 revolutions per minute, they can sometimes fail with devastating consequences. At those speeds, an exploding CD would remind you of broken glass in a Kansas tornado. Their crash-test dummy was severely lacerated by flying shards of sharp plastic.

No cause for alarm, though. Even if an explosion occurs, it will be contained behind one or two layers of sheet metal. The Myth Busters video showed how an explosion could put a few dents in the metal case, but the computer user was perfectly safe. Their crash-test dummy had been deliberately exposed to an unshielded explosion.

A more relevant concern for everyone is now that we know how incredibly fast those CDs and DVDs turn, we also know why you should never place any stick-on labels on them. Any label on a disk could come off at a high RPM and gum up the drive. A paper label on a disk might also throw it out of balance at high speed.

This quest for speed has not been necessarily a good thing for writing CDs and DVDs. Generally, the faster a CD or DVD is recorded, the more likely it is the quality of the resulting disk will be compromised. From my own experience, I can attest to the fact that disks burned in my newest CD burner could not be read on my oldest computer.

Fortunately, an easy solution is available, as most disk recording software offers the option to change the writing speed of the drive. The lower the speed, and the longer it takes to burn a disk, the more likely it is that the disk will be compatible with other computers. In Microsoft Windows, simply open “My Computer,” then right-click on your CD or DVD drive’s icon. Click on “Properties” and then click on the “Recording” tab. Here you may choose the speed to use for writing disks.

Another unrelated problem users encounter is that on rare occasions we find that a batch of blank disks is suddenly no good. This happened to me recently; I had used the same brand of disks for years, when suddenly my drive started failing to burn disks half the time. I first thought I needed a new disk drive, but the problem went away when I bought a new batch of blank disks.

It also has been shown that a certain brand of computer does not work with a particular brand of blank disks.


Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044 (415) 101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.
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