DVD problem

[the posse]

I don't know what has happened to my computer(imacG4 17")it won't burn onto DVDs that i have been using for over a year(PRINCO)i know there cheap and crappy but they worked fine.Now aswell my computer won't read DVDs that i recorded before on this computer,whats going on! Do i have a bug or something?.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
scott

[galactica]

You said it yourself, they are cheap and crappy.

PRINCO disks use a dye that is lower grade than even dye's in ball point pens. These days you can get great disks [Ritek] for well less than what you probably got these PRINCO's for

The dye degrades and there goes your chances of burning to them or reading disks that have been burned before.


Its like expecting a plastic hammer to work on metal nails. Sure in the beginning it might work but after a while it just doesnt hold up

get yourself some more reliable media, Ritek's, TDK's etc

[the posse]

cheers mate i'll do that

[WiseWeasel]

It's also possible that your DVD drive is dying. I'd suggest getting it replaced if it's still under warranty, or trying a different drive if you have access to one. First and foremost, however, stop using the crappy Princo media.

[decay]

i have seen DVD drives that only partially work.

turns out there are 4 lasers in there; read CD, write CD, read DVD, write DVD. 1, 2, 3 or all of them can stop working. so you might have a drive that reads & burns CDRs, but won't deal with DVDs.

dk

[miksu]

i have seen DVD drives that only partially work.

turns out there are 4 lasers in there; read CD, write CD, read DVD, write DVD. 1, 2, 3 or all of them can stop working. so you might have a drive that reads & burns CDRs, but won't deal with DVDs.

dk

There aren't really four of them, since same unit is used for reading (at low power) and writing (high power). There maybe two, for CD and separate for DVD, but it's nowadays usually combined. It's some kind aperture trick or other optical thing that only one laser and lens can be used.

[thoughton]

i have seen DVD drives that only partially work.

turns out there are 4 lasers in there; read CD, write CD, read DVD, write DVD. 1, 2, 3 or all of them can stop working. so you might have a drive that reads & burns CDRs, but won't deal with DVDs.

dk

There aren't really four of them, since same unit is used for reading (at low power) and writing (high power). There maybe two, for CD and separate for DVD, but it's nowadays usually combined. It's some kind aperture trick or other optical thing that only one laser and lens can be used.

FWIW, I've got a CW-8121 combo drive from a powerbook in the cupboard that no longer reads or writes CDs, but the DVD part works fine.

Which reminds me, can anyone suggest a half-height external firewire housing that would fit a slot-loading combo drive?