Burning CDs with MS Windows for OpenVMS 8.3

[Kenneth Toler]

I am trying to determine the most reliable way to burn CDs using Windows XP so that I can sucessfully transfer the zip file to an OpenVMS System.

I need to make this repeatable because my customer has many users that have different MS Windows configurations.

[Jon Pinkley]

I am trying to determine the most reliable way for my employees to get to work using their personal vehicles.

I need to make this repeatable because my employees live in many locations, and have different types of vehicles.

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Kenneth,

Please explain the problem you are trying to solve, and why you feel burning CD's this the best solution (perhaps it is).

What version of VMS are you currently running? What software will you use to unzip, and what version?

Is this somehow related to your previous questions about transferring data between VMS systems?

http://forums12.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1114625

http://forums12.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1121642

http://forums12.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1122470

http://forums12.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=1133933

If CD's are the way to go, what software is available on the "many Windows configurations".

And what type of system and software is creating the zip files? A VMS system, which then transfers the zip file(s) to an XP box to burn, or is the zip file being created on the XP systems.

Please give us more info if you want meaningful answers.

Jon

[Hoff]

For recording disks for use with OpenVMS, consider skimming through the PDF document at the following web site as a start:

http://64.223.189.234/node/28

That document contains details of the entire process involved, as well as caveats, volume structure requirements and limitations, and other details.

As for the tools required, one of the very few Microsoft Windows CD-R/RW recording tools I have encountered that has been relatively reliable is CDburnerXP Pro -- many of the well-known (and often expensive!) commercial media-recording packages for Windows are surprisingly unstable and unreliable -- and there's a link to the (free) tool's web site in the document. Do test the burns with your particular tool and your particular drive(s), regardless of the Windows tool you select.

Once you've read through the PDF document at the above-cited web page, I may be able to answer any questions you might have.

Stephen Hoffman
HoffmanLabs LLC

[Richard Whalen]

Are you using the Windows XP system to create CDs of data from an OpenVMS system that you are taking to another OpenVMS system or are you moving files from a Windows XP system to the OpenVMS system?

For creating a CD of OpenVMS files the best way is to use the LD device to create a logical disk the size of a CD, mount the logical disk and then copy the VMS files to the logical disk. When you are done, FTP the file that is the logical disk to the Windows XP system (make sure that you use image/binary mode), and burn that as a CD image.

If you are dealing files on the Windows system, then ISO-9660 is a good format and you can use MOUNT/MEDIA_FORMAT=CD on the VMS system.

[DECxchange]

Hello,
Are you perhaps trying to transfer .ZIP files that are intended be unzipped on a VMS system? If so, you can just FTP the .ZIP files form a PC to a VMS system and then use UNZIP, available on the VMS Freeware CD that comes with the VMS operating system distribution CDs.

You can also FTP VMS .EXE files intended for a VMS system from a PC to a VMS system. But when you FTP binary files like .ZIP, .EXE, etc. you must transfer them as an Image file or binary file.

[DECxchange]

Hello again,
Another thing, I once had an HP VMS service engineer make VMS OS and layered product CDs for me on his laptop PC. I think he had software for it. I've never tried it myself but I don't know why a package like Nero wouldn't work.

[Craig A Berry]

A package like Nero has trouble because it plays its own compression tricks. What you want is the dumbest, simplest, most raw image processor you can get. I know I've done it successfully on Windows with one of the OEM-supplied CD burner packages (though I don't remember which one at this point). I know I've failed with Nero. Apple's Disk Utility that ships with Mac OS X seems to work fine.

[Kenneth Toler]

I am burning CDs from an unclassifed network.

I then take the CD to a classified PC to transfer the .zip file from the PC made CD to a ZIP Disk.

The classified and unclassifed networks are not connected for security reasons.

I need to know what is the most reliable CD Burning software on the PC side which is the most compatable with Open VMS 8.3

[Hoff]

Please take the time to skim the document at the web page I cited earlier:

http://64.223.189.234/node/28

That will get you closer to understanding what is involved here. Recommendations and such are included in the document.

FWIW, information classification and network security partitioning is only relevant to the direction of information flow. While you might have to deal with the sourcing of the tool in certain high-security environments, the tool itself is not directly relevant to the mastering process and the issues around file and volume structure compatibility. Ensuring the compatibility is the biggest area here, in my experience.

Yes, the recording tool can be a factor -- some versions of Nero can and do work, and I know with certainty that some can and do fail, and some versions lack features necessary for specific sequences.

It's the issues around the construction and format and contents and file structure and volume structure are far more relevant to the mastering process.

As an alternative to the Windows box, you can install an OpenVMS box outside the secure area, and burn your CD and DVD media there, too.

If you're not in a position to do some research and some reading and some experimentation within the topic here due to budget or time constraints or most any other factor, then you'll want to consider getting somebody in to provide you with a solution. Even with somebody experienced in this area in to assist, you'll still need to test the sequence.

Stephen Hoffman
HoffmanLabs LLC