Problem: DVD-R to DVD-R, can't playback copy in my PC...

[BlizZ]

I'm hoping someone out there can help me with a problem I'm having:

I want to copy a DVD-R disc to another DVD-R disc.

I have been using DVD Decrypter to rip (even though the disc isn't encrypted), and then Nero to burn.

It rips fine, and I can play back the rip on my DVD player software (PowerDVD) just fine. It seems to burn fine.

The problem comes when I put the new DVD-R back into any one of my PC DVD-Rom drives, either the one that burned it (BenQ DW1620) or my DVD-Rom/CD-RW Drive (Samsung 348B).

The DVD starts up great, but when I skip a few chapters or get away from the beginning of the disc, it gives me a read error.

I also am unable to rip the NEW copy back to my hard drive.

What I've done to try in attempts to remedy the problem:

--Bought a new DVD writer... My old DVD writer was an Optorite DD0203 (bought last year) that was a 4x DVD+/- writer. That had worked great, except any disc I burned COULD NOT be even READ by my PC DVD-Rom Drives, but played back fine in a standalone DVD player.

So I updated the drive's firmware to the newest successfully (2.50) and was able to get so far as mentioned above. I figured it was a problem with the drive, and that the firmware was still not working properly, so I went out and picked up my new burner: BenQ DW1620 (I/O Magic rebadge, but it shows up as a BenQ DW1620 in device manager/sticker)

--Used different media... 2 different types of DVD-R's now. Platinum 4X DVD-R's (generic) and TEON 8x (also generic). Problem is identical. Even though the media is on the cheap side, I wouldn't think that the drive BURNING the disc would have a problem reading it, but it apparently does.

I had hoped that the problem existed in my old DVD writer (the DD0203) and I could just pop in a new one and it would work. But now I'm beginning to think it's either a problem with the rip (though I can playback the rip from PowerDVD just fine) or something I'm doing wrong some other places.

I just would like to know where I should start trying to troubleshoot this some more. Should I use another program to rip? If so, what is the latest and greatest program out there? Any other suggestions are much appreciated.

Thanks.

[jimmalenko]

You could try smartripper (guide here), but if DVDDecrypter can't do it, you might be SOL.

[BlizZ]

Thanks for your reply.
Smartripper seemed to have ripped a few non-DVD files or something...
It's very possible I'm not doing something right, but...

I tried using DVD Shrink and was able to burn a perfect copy of the DVD using just that program.

The weird thing is...

I went to burn that very same ripped DVD (the one that DVD Shrink ripped) just using Nero, and it gives me the same problem I described earlier.

I'm beginning to think maybe I'm missing something really obvious here...

When I burn a DVD with Nero, what setting should I be selecting?

Right now I've been using "DVD-Video"... I don't know if that's what DVD-Shrink was burning as, but if it wasn't, then I think I found out the root of my problem.

Should I be burning using another method with Nero?

Surely I must be able to burn a DVD after the initial rip with DVD Shrink.

Thanks for your help.

[BobK]

> I tried using DVD Shrink and was able to burn a perfect copy of the DVD using just that program.

> The weird thing is...

> I went to burn that very same ripped DVD (the one that DVD Shrink ripped) just using Nero, and it gives me the same problem I described earlier.

Do I understand this right- You burn using Nero and the disk doesn't work. You burn using DVD Shrink and the disc works. Then you burn using Nero and it doesn't work again?

If I got that correct then it seems pretty obvious that the problem is with Nero.

[BlizZ]

Yes, that is correct.

Though I believe that DVD Shrink burns using Nero so the fact that it works but using Nero itself does not is quite puzzling.

The easy solution would be just to burn with DVD Shrink itself, so I tried opening the FILES in DVD Shrink and then hitting "BACKUP", but it wants to backup the ripped files again, so it's sort of redundant.

I would rather not have to rip the disc each time I want a copy, so getting the ripped files to work in Nero or some other burning software would be ideal.

Any further help is appreciated.

Thanks.

[offline]

Ok, try this simplistic but sometimes effective approach.

- uninstall nero and decrypter via control panel
- uninstall all cdroms and your dvd burner in system/device manager
- reboot & re install nero & decrypter (best to get latest versions)
- test
- if fails, try forceaspi (see tools section left hand side)
- try disabling ACPI in bios
- Download and run sisoft sandra and follow any tips
http://www.sisoftware.net/dload/sware_figure.php?&a=&langx=en

[BlizZ]

Well, I uninstalled the drives through device manager like you said, uninstalled Nero, etc... Rebooted, installed the Nero 6 OEM version that came with my drive...

Burned the files that I had ripped with DVD Shrink using the Nero Express DVD-Video option and popped it in both of my drives...

And it worked great. I could skip around the disc and get to the end with no problems.

So, problem solved. For now, anyway.

I guess sometimes the best solutions are the ones you overlook.

Thanks for all your help, EVERYBODY!

[Gurm]

How about you burn with DVD Decrypter?

Mode->Iso->Read
Mode->Iso->Write

Not rocket science, here.