Someone please explain this cause I'm baffled

[Spooner]

Right let me try and make this simple...

I have a DVD-R disc that I have written data to. For the last 3 months odd the disc has been working fine, I can access all the data on the disc. Today I put the disc in my laptop and it just wants to format it. The laptop shows 717MB free of 4.79GB...which is normal. Somehow my laptop "formats it"...a DVD-R. For some reason its reports sucessfull, BUT the laptop still shows 717MB of 4.79GB free. When I access the disc, all the files are gone...nothing. Just blank...even though supposedly my data is still there. Now...with the remaining 717 megs free I can use the disc as a DVD-RW??? I can add files and remove files as I please and those files DO show up on every pc i try the disc on.

So...how does this work? And is there any way I can access my data?

 

[LazyLion]

if the disc is not a re-writable disc, then the burning software marks the used data as unreadable and closes off that portion of the disc. The rest of the disc is then made available to you. It's what happens when you use a non-re-writable disc as if it was re-writable. I always close of all my discs to avoid this problem.

so theoretically everytime you "format" a non-re-writable disc, it just uses up more and more of the disc and hides the old data.

 

[Spooner]

Learn something new everyday

Is there any way of getting the old data back?

 

[LazyLion]

Learn something new everyday

Is there any way of getting the old data back?

Yes, there are a few CD data recovery programs around... google for them... or try this one for startes...

File Recovery... straight from the Internet!!! Java Based... works on Windows, Linux and Mac.. any Java console...
http://www.jfilerecovery.com/page/com/jfilerecovery/Download.class
How to recover deleted files with Free Software...
http://lifehacker.com/393084/how-to-recover-deleted-files-with-free-software
8 Free Data Recovery Tools...
http://www.webtechdaily.com/2008/06/29/8-free-data-recovery-software/
Recover Data from CDs and DVDs...
http://www.technobuzz.net/recover-f...pted-cd-dvd-and-dvd-with-cd-recovery-toolbox/
Copy Cat Data Recovery...
http://www.vcsoftwares.com/cc.html
DiskDigger can recover files from any type of media that your computer can read.
http://dmitrybrant.com/diskdigger