# Cannot Burn DVD discs, just DVD-RW's



## Da Mail Man (Jan 31, 2008)

greetings all,

very unique problem here that i am encountering!...

.... i have win xp pro, 1gb ram, 300+ sata hd....3.6ghz processor speed...

.....in each and every case i have attempted to burn a dvd (files) onto a dvd disc and it has *FAILED*..... however, everything being the same if i use *dvd-rw discs* i get a successful burn!

i have tried 4 different types of dvd discs (not the rw's) and at varying speeds and usually at the lowest, and each time the disc has crapped out EXCEPT when i use DVD-RW'S!...

..i have used a few burning programs (i.e. nero, etc) and get the same results so, it is not an issue with the burning programs....

... i have a older *CYBERLINK 16x dvd+/-r/rw, 8.5gb dual layer writer* (as taken from the faceplate)...

...how do i fix this problem?...the writer obviously works but, only with "rw" discs........any help would be appreciated! ***I AM NOT LOOKING TO BUY A NEW BURNER, JUST ONLY TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM.***


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## PC eye (Jan 31, 2008)

With the prices on dvd burners down low at this point in time the obvious best move is to go for a new drive. Here I can burn dvds but won't get anywhere with rws. That's a switch! Sony-NEC, LG, Lite-On, Asus are some of the better brands to go through for under $40 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...025+1036506653+1037608017+1037127054&name=20X


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## Da Mail Man (Jan 31, 2008)

PC eye said:


> With the prices on dvd burners down low at this point in time the obvious best move is to go for a new drive. Here I can burn dvds but won't get anywhere with rws. That's a switch! Sony-NEC, LG, Lite-On, Asus are some of the better brands to go through for under $40 at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...025+1036506653+1037608017+1037127054&name=20X



..thanks for he reply however, i was looking for a resolution to the problem, not to run away from it to buy a new burner! (your response is well taken!)


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## dznutz (Feb 1, 2008)

microcenter has a samsung 20x oem for 20 dollars.

as for the solution that's the best solution.  i haven't seen any fix regarding your issue using a registry edit, cleaning, format, firmware upgrade, etc.


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## Da Mail Man (Feb 1, 2008)

dznutz said:


> microcenter has a samsung 20x oem for 20 dollars.
> 
> as for the solution that's the best solution.  i haven't seen any fix regarding your issue using a registry edit, cleaning, format, firmware upgrade, etc.



thanks for reply..not interested in the "replacement" as stated above. i too cannot figure out why this is happening.


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## dznutz (Feb 1, 2008)

my final attack would be using different brands of disks. you may have a bad batch


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## Da Mail Man (Feb 1, 2008)

dznutz said:


> my final attack would be using different brands of disks. you may have a bad batch



....i already have!  see my 4th paragraph of my initial post _" i have tried 4 different types of dvd discs.."_


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## dznutz (Feb 1, 2008)

try upgrading the firmware


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## Da Mail Man (Feb 1, 2008)

dznutz said:


> try upgrading the firmware



and how is that done?.....i think they were bought out or similar...


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## dznutz (Feb 1, 2008)

find the manufacturer.  

you can use:
- nero info tool or equivalent
- everest
- open my computer, right click on the hard drive, choose properties, click hardware, locate your burner, google that name with the word "firmware"


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## Da Mail Man (Feb 1, 2008)

dznutz said:


> find the manufacturer.
> 
> you can use:
> - nero info tool or equivalent
> ...



....ok, i will give that a shot......


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## Da Mail Man (Feb 1, 2008)

dznutz said:


> find the manufacturer.
> 
> you can use:
> - nero info tool or equivalent
> ...



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
doesn't tell me much!


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## PC eye (Feb 1, 2008)

You forgot the drivers tab in the screen shot there. I think that's what dznutz is referring to there mainly a need for an updated driver for the drive itself. When first setting up XP or now Vista the first search online for all updates will generally include any for hardwares detected during that time. 

The burner itself apparently was designed for the older media and won't recognise the newer format. It's like going from the old 60min. cd-r to 74min and now 80min. in some ways. Older media won't work on newer drives. And sometime newer media simply won't work on older ones. You're caught inbetween there.


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## dznutz (Feb 1, 2008)

here are some hacked firmwars for your old pos.  use at your own risk
http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1958

here's the official firmware page but is no longer in service.
http://www.cyberdrive.com.tw/Firmware.htm

from google it tells me that it's a phillip's drive.


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## Da Mail Man (Feb 1, 2008)

PC eye said:


> You forgot the drivers tab in the screen shot there. I think that's what dznutz is referring to there mainly a need for an updated driver for the drive itself. When first setting up XP or now Vista the first search online for all updates will generally include any for hardwares detected during that time.
> 
> The burner itself apparently was designed for the older media and won't recognise the newer format. It's like going from the old 60min. cd-r to 74min and now 80min. in some ways. Older media won't work on newer drives. And sometime newer media simply won't work on older ones. You're caught inbetween there.



....thanks for the reply......i will rel-ook at the tabs again...


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## Da Mail Man (Feb 1, 2008)

dznutz said:


> here are some hacked firmwars for your old pos.  use at your own risk
> http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1958
> 
> here's the official firmware page but is no longer in service.
> ...



...hey, easy on the ''pos" eh?...i know it isn't a decent drive to say the least...i have looked at the firmware page link and wil give it a try......thanks for the reply.


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## PC eye (Feb 1, 2008)

I'm still trying to figure out why I see the "no media inserted" message when tossing in a dvd-rw fron a new container on a new sata model burner for drag and drop operations not permanent burns. That way I can add or remove items until dedicing on a regular data disk burn.


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## dznutz (Feb 1, 2008)

dunno never used re-writable discs before.


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## PC eye (Feb 2, 2008)

When the first cd-rws were coming out I tried some there years back but simply ended up with the Rs having them left open for multiple sessions when planning to add more to a burned disk. Buying in large 100cd-r containers the cost is low enough in the event of any frisbie contest. 

Despite not being able to use the rws here I generally burn data disks for long term storage. So far I've used Sony branded drives for several years now and never seen one fail. This is why the advice on looking at a new drive would be the most likely end result there as well.


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## OvenMaster (Feb 2, 2008)

I had a problem almost exactly like this: my NEC DVD-CD combo burner would work fine with _everything_ except (after six months) CD-RW's. I uninstalled and reinstalled all my burning software (Roxio, Nero 6, DeepBurner), firmware, even reformatted and reinstalled Windows _twice_; I tried four different brands of discs, too. 

The *only* solution that worked was... replacing the burner.


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## PC eye (Feb 2, 2008)

Here the dvd burner is a new sata model over the old ide type and still refuses to see an rw disk while speedily burns a data dvd on the R type. What gets you is the Sony brand name on the blank rws! For an older brand drive not seeing the Rs the option is essentially down to the one choice there.


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## MightyKing (Feb 2, 2008)

Yeah I had a very similar problem. I tried Nero 7, 8, MagicIso, PowerIso, Roxio, etc... etc... etc... 

Only one thing fixed the problem.... I stopped using that optical drive for burning and began using my laptop to do the burning. I will probably have to change the optical drive.


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## PC eye (Feb 2, 2008)

I went through a full container of 50 blank rws and got nowhere just with the Windows popup messsages of no disk in drive! I imagine that is what is being seen with the Rs on the Cyberlink model there. It's likely due to the lazer itself simply not recognising the format of the disk itself.


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## MightyKing (Feb 2, 2008)

Agreed


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## PC eye (Feb 2, 2008)

If it wasn't for mainly burning data backups or working on video projects I would have been pulling hair trying to find out just why a new drive was running into this type of problem with their own brand name on the blanks! 

The regular Rs burn as well as any other blank media tryed out while the rws are not seen? Should I add a third optical drive?


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## MightyKing (Feb 2, 2008)

get rid of those you have and get bran new shiny ones


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## PC eye (Feb 2, 2008)

Gee? The cd writer simply sees the SOF II game disk left in there for some occasional gaming while the dvd burner is generally used for everything else since that is designated the D drive through the Disk Management tool. But first I would have to remove the current Vista drive(ide) to allow for a 3rd optical there or lose a sata port for that anyways. 

Another ide optical on a board with 6 sata ports?  no thanks!  Eventually maybe I'll find a drive ... maybe I could swap optical drives with Da Mail Man? That would solve everyone's problem!


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## dznutz (Feb 2, 2008)

so both your drives can't see rw or is it just the sony drive?

sony pc burners are made by many companies but mostly by liteon.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters...&hddvdrom=&orderby=Name&hits=50&Search=Search

same goes for sony dvd media.  made by a bunch of companies.  however, sony media made in japan that are not by TAIYO YUDEN is made by sony.
http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia?d...s=50&search=Search or List Media&next=50#next

as long as your firmware is up to date it should recognize and burn most media out there even if both media and burner are not made by the same company..... unless there's some sort of defect.


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## MightyKing (Feb 2, 2008)

Perhaps this is all just a nightmare that eventually you will wake up and realize that your optical drives work perfectly...


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## PC eye (Feb 2, 2008)

Both the ide cd writer and sata dvd burner have Sony on them here. The cd writer most likely made by Lite-On while the sata dvd burner is Sony-NEC.  In the last case with an ide dvd burner(Lite-On) the exact same thing was seen with the Sony model there. 

Here this has been limited to the one container of dvd-rws making me assume a bad batch of blanks while Da Mail Man has idencated trying out different brands as well as containers of Rs and not getting anywhere there. For the Cyberlink drive there I have to assume the worst with the drive itself as the problem. 

A low cost replacement compared to seeing as much as $150-$180 retail price tags on drives not too many years ago now for under $40 as a rule is the obvious answer.


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