DVD Burns Very Slowly

[romeovoidd]

I just recently set up my roomate to be able to copy DVDs. He has a 900mhz processor running XP Home edition, 512 MB memory with an internal LG DVD player and an internal LG DVD DL/DL burner. Oddly... it only takes him about 15 minutes to burn a 2 hour movie on his system but mine takes 1:45 min. I have a 1.9 ghrtz processor with 40 gig HD, 724 MB memory, an internal DVD player with an external Sony DL/DL drive using a USB port. I'm pretty sure it's a 2.0 USB port. We both use Nero and have all the same software. Why would it take me SO long to burn a dvd and he can do it in a matter of minutes with a much less powerful system?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

Steve
stevegetstechnical@gmail.com

[guns1inger]

15 minutes sounds about right for a 4x burn. Burn speed has little if anything to do with processor speed or memory. If his burner has a maximum speed of 4x, or the disc is a 4x disc, or if the burner simply does not recognise the disc in it's firmware then he may be limited to 4x.

When you mentioned slow, I though you meant really slow - 1 hour per disc is not unheard of when a drive slips back into PIO mode. This just sounds like old equipment. I would expect a burner in a machine that old to be around that speed.

[romeovoidd]

My sony burner is 1 year old. Both burners were burning at 16X onto a normal size DVD. Firmware is up to date on both. What is PIO mode and why would my burner be "slipping" into that mode when his does not? Bottom line is... my burner should burn at least as fast as his but it is not. There has to be a reason. My system is newer than his as well. It doesn't make any sense.

[GeorgeW]

1hour 45 minutes tells me something is wrong -- the slowest DVD Burners at 1x would take around 1 hour to burn a DVD5 disc.

I would check your USB ports -- perhaps they are USB 1.1 -- or maybe you have other USB devices connected that will slow down your external USB drive.

How about this -- connect your burner to your friends computer, and have him burn something to it to see how fast it will burn...

Regards,
George

[romeovoidd]

Excellent idea George... I'll do that. But if my burner works fast on his system... what does that say about MY system and how do I go about getting mine to run at least as fast as his? BTW... how can I tell if my USB port is 1.1 or 2.0?

[theewizard]

defrag your drive, and also check your system processes, how many things are running and how many access USB ports, is your burner on a HUB, is your internet connection also on that hub etc..

[handyguy]

If it were 1.1 it would probably take a lot longer than that.

[SLK001]

At 1 hour, 45 minutes, you shouldn't have any successful burns. What format (+/-R) are you using?

Also, your 1.9GHz mb is probably old enough to only have USB1.1 only on it. The max speed of a USB1.1 port is around 12Mbps, or about 1.2MBytes/sec. A 4.7GB file would take about 1.1 hour to transfer over a USB1.1 port.

[SCDVD]

If you system only has a USB 1.1 port, you can add an add-in USB card that will support USB 2.0. Just make sure the card you buy is rated for 2.0 and also be sure to install the driver that comes with it.

[ntscuser]

If you system only has a USB 1.1 port, you can add an add-in USB card that will support USB 2.0. Just make sure the card you buy is rated for 2.0 and also be sure to install the driver that comes with it.

...and also upgrade Windows XP to at least Service Pack 1 standard. Installing a USB 2.0 card was in fact the only reason I bothered to upgrade to SP1.

[SLK001]

If you system only has a USB 1.1 port, you can add an add-in USB card that will support USB 2.0. Just make sure the card you buy is rated for 2.0 and also be sure to install the driver that comes with it.

...and also upgrade Windows XP to at least Service Pack 1 standard. Installing a USB 2.0 card was in fact the only reason I bothered to upgrade to SP1.

???

I plugged in a USB 2.0 card in my WIN2000P system and it works flawlessly.

[Abond]

@romeovoidd
What are you burning from?
What you are burning with?
what are you burning to?
The reason I am asking these questions is your statement in the first post that you are burning 2h movie.
The burning time does not depend on the duration time, but it is depend on the file size.

[ntscuser]

If you system only has a USB 1.1 port, you can add an add-in USB card that will support USB 2.0. Just make sure the card you buy is rated for 2.0 and also be sure to install the driver that comes with it.

...and also upgrade Windows XP to at least Service Pack 1 standard. Installing a USB 2.0 card was in fact the only reason I bothered to upgrade to SP1.

???

I plugged in a USB 2.0 card in my WIN2000P system and it works flawlessly.

Which proves what?

Windows XP had no support for USB 2.0 prior to Service Pack 1.

Windows 2000 had no support for USB 2.0 prior to Service Pack 4.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/bus/USB/USB2support.mspx

[SLK001]

Which proves what?

Windows XP had no support for USB 2.0 prior to Service Pack 1.

Windows 2000 had no support for USB 2.0 prior to Service Pack 4.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/bus/USB/USB2support.mspx

Which proves that what you said was not correct. Hell, even you provide the evidence to contradict your own statement. Perhaps it would have been better to suggest that the OP make sure that he has the correct service pack installed for his operating system, or a driver for the card which would give him the proper USB 2.0 support.

Sorry to ruffle your feathers.

[ntscuser]

Which proves what?

Windows XP had no support for USB 2.0 prior to Service Pack 1.

Windows 2000 had no support for USB 2.0 prior to Service Pack 4.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/bus/USB/USB2support.mspx

Which proves that what you said was not correct. Hell, even you provide the evidence to contradict your own statement. Perhaps it would have been better to suggest that the OP make sure that he has the correct service pack installed for his operating system, or a driver for the card which would give him the proper USB 2.0 support.

Which is exactly what I did. The OP already suggested he was using Windows XP Home Edition but was not getting full USB 2.0 speeds which in turn suggests he has not yet upgraded to Service Pack 1.

It was you who introduced the totally spurious subject of Win2000 without mentioning it needed an even later update.

[SLK001]

No, his roommate has the XP home. He has (according to his COMPUTER DETAILS button) Win 2000 Pro.

But we digress...

[ntscuser]

No, his roommate has the XP home. He has (according to his COMPUTER DETAILS button) Win 2000 Pro.

In which case he would need to upgrade to Service Pack 4 though it is possible he is already using Windows XP but has not yet updated his personal profile.

[SLK001]

No, his roommate has the XP home. He has (according to his COMPUTER DETAILS button) Win 2000 Pro.

In which case he would need to upgrade to Service Pack 4 though it is possible he is already using Windows XP but has not yet updated his personal profile.

We can only go with the information that he has provided. If this is wrong, or outdated, then any information given could be incorrect and this would be his problem.

[mats.hogberg]

@SLK001 & ntscuseron't let this thread slip into a personal shoot out. Stay on topic please.
@romeovoidd:Unless it's a DVD image (or plain data files) you are burning, there may be much going on, not related to the actual burning - like video trancoding/conversion, that (depending on application used) may seem like burning.

/Mats