Problem with burning DVD's

[MarkZ]

Hello.

My benQ dvd writer is driving me up the wall.

I've made several attempts to burn a video file onto DVD. After going through the whole process, the software tells me that my "disc has been created succesfully". When I try to view the disc however, my dvd player fails to read the content. My computer also fails to read the data on the disc.

Do you think it's a software problem? Or maybe hardware? Possibly the lens might need cleaning? Or should I better throw away my drive and get a new one??

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated!

Thanks
Mark

[Baldrick]

tried different software?
tried different media?

[MarkZ]

Yes. I've just tried Nero. Verification failed. I think there would not be much point in trying different media, because I'm using benQ dvds with my benQ drive, and these always worked beautifully until very recently!

[bazooka]

It is possible that you need to look for a firmware update for your burner. Every so often, you need to update your firmware to keep up with the discs that are out on the market.

[MarkZ]

Thanks!

[ybeard]

Is your writer a relative new one or does it have a few miles on it? I had a Pioneer 107 that behaved just as you described and it turned out to be a dirty optics inside the drive. I took the drive out of the computer, took the top cover off of it to expose the inside and blew out that area with a can of air. I'd already replaced the drive in my primary PC, but when I installed it in a PC at work it worked just fine.

[MarkZ]

well I've been using it for a few months. How long had you been using yours, yBeard?

[ybeard]

I'd been using mine maybe a year to 18 months. I don't smoke (which can cause problems in any removable device) and have a fair load of demand on my writer as far as usage goes. It's worth a try trying some canned air on it at least. Mine would read fine, apparently burn fine, immediately error out on the verify under Nero. It would work on my standalone DVD players but not in my writer.

[MarkZ]

Thanks for the advice! Re: Smoking .... yes, that's the reason why I don't smoke ... to protect my drives

[winifreid]

Can you access the disk on your computer? Try making a data disk to help eliminate hardware problems.

[MarkZ]

Good Idea.... Reading is no problem though. Only writing is giving me headaches.

[winifreid]

What I mean is can you access the video disk that created on your computer? If yes, then the problem could be how you finalize your disk or the type/brand of media. If you can burn a data disk, then your burner should be in good order and the problem lies elsewhere.

[MarkZ]

No.... the video disk can't be accessed on compuer either. When I try to open the disc from Windows, the computer responds with "can't access drive E:"; But I don't think the brand of the discs is the problem. I'm using benQ discs (quite reputable, I think) with my benQ drive. And the performance was, until recently, just lovely. So something must have happened quite suddenly, in the meantime.

[winifreid]

Check to see if the drive is still in DMA mode.

[MarkZ]

Excuse me.... what is DMA mode and how can I check?
Thanks!

[budz]

Excuse me.... what is DMA mode and how can I check?
Thanks!

if you have windows xp use the link below:
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=7625

if you have windows 2000 use this link below:
http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=9668

both guides have pictures instructions.

[winifreid]

Thanks, I didn't want to have to write it all out. I kinda doubt that this is what it is since usually the drive will not write at all without dma or if it does it is just real slow. But anything is possible.
Try burning a data disk