Nero hangs on -R. Not on +R

[yelloguy]

IOMagic/Optorite DD0203 dual format burner FW2.15 (currently. Tried it with the latest 2.30 as well). Nero 6.

I can burn +R's without any problems but Nero consistently hangs on -R media. I have tried Ritek G04, Imation (CMC mag) and KHypermedia DVD-R media but it consistently hangs before starting the write (so thankfully DVD is not wasted). I think the step that it fails on is "Caching files" but not positive.

Does anyone have any ideas I could try?

I have tried burn-at-once to burn -R and it succeeds in burning. However, I have problems playing those DVD's and would much rather use Nero 6.

Also tried Pinnacle Instant copy and DVD Decryptor -- no go with these (hang).

Any suggestions appreciated.

[matthewmalay]

I had the same problem when I upgraded my BIOS, DVD-R would hang but not DVD+R when nero would start caching the file. Only way to quit Nero was to restart my computer. I then tried using EasyCD 6 but that resulted in 2 coasters (EasyCD 6 would spit out the DVD-r in the middle of burning saying that it found errors. All was good when I went back to my old BIOS. What is your m/b? Does it use a VIA chipset?

Here is a post with someone having a similar problem on the cdfreaks forum. My burner is an LG 4040b.
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?s=5b2059e095ab8122bf9708ad0f2accb7&threadid=83827

[yelloguy]

Thanks Matt. I cannot determine if the BIOS is the culprit but by the look of things, it sure looks that way. I have searched Compaq website for info on my PC (Presario 5868) but could not find the BIOS/MOBO manufacturer. When I looked in the device manager, it does list VIA for a couple of components but not where I would expect it (against MOBO/BIOS related components). I even tried going into the BIOS but could not find the version/manufacturer id there.

Anyways, in the thread you linked, people have had luck with Nero Express, so I tried that. But that hanged too.

Eventually, I decided to try DVD Decryptor (since people say the problem is only with Nero on certain BIOSes) and BINGO! It burned a DVD-R from an ISO image created using ImgTool Classic and that DVD played in my standalone who has never (so far) played a -R burned in this DVD burner (using other tools). I am hoping to burn a couple more discs to see if this process is fail safe.

Thanks for your help. It really helped.

[Phil Thomas]

New version of Nero 6 released yesterday 6.3.0.3 .... might be worth trying.

[Irkgod]

Are you using an external dvd burner?I am..... Mine burns dvd+r but not dvd-r it hangs when using the new version of NERO 6.3.0.2 but it burns both formats with NERO 6.0.0.0 I had to downgrade to get it to burn the dvd-r's without my drive freezing up before it would start writing. I Explained it more here on another post Cannot burn DVD-Rs with USB 2.0. CD-R works though. HELP?

[indolikaa]

Hello yellowguy.

I have three of these drives. Never had any major problems with any media format but the drives seem to be picky about what DVD-R media are used. The few times I've used them, Riteks have not been a problem for me, though.

Two possible solutions if you need them: uninstall and reinstall Nero, and make sure (especially on a Compaq!) that your drives are jumpered for master/slave and not Cable Select. I don't think Nero likes Cable Select too much...

[yelloguy]

Thanks Indolika. I am pretty sure mine is master/slave. I don't have version 6.0 so cannot install it. I have already tried re-installing this version.

However, I am able to burn -R with this burner using either Movie Factory or DVD Encryptor.