burning problems: Nero, Ulead and CloneDVD

[woodkeeper]

Hello all, Im having some serious probs burning to DVD here fellas and Im lookin for some small guidance.

I've used all the above and they ALL fail no matter what I'm burning. CloneDVD just simply stops between 70-80% with error "process was aborted" when I haven't touched it; Ulead just crashes and Nero shows repeated buffer error before crashing out anyway from 1-92%. All these problems happen whether I'm backing up or burning mpeg-2 files on my computer.

I am at a loss. Anybody have any suggestions? Is it the hardware? High CPU useage or what??? I am demented

[Duchess]

How about some more info. PC? RAM? DVD Burner? Make of blank discs? Etc..

We can't help you if you are miserly with your data.

[woodkeeper]

I'm at work at the moment so the DVD burner info is not accessible but I'm using XP with 256Mb RAM (80gb HDD) using Budget DVD-R. I have a dual layer DVD-/+R rewritable combo drive.. I'll update with exact make as soon as I can tonight (that may hold a vital clue).

Sorry for being a bit sparse with the specifics I just wanted to know if anyone had suffered similar problem generally. More specific burner info will follow...

[Duchess]

using Budget DVD-R

Sounds as though that could be the problem. Do you have access to a source of the better blank discs where you are (preferably DVD RW discs), so that you can try again tonight ?

Most of the problems that happen to people who are new to DVD burning are down to faulty discs. Everyone tries to do it the cheapest way possible, and it just doesn't work.

[woodkeeper]

So it's possible i have a whole batch of faulty discs? Damn. Tey were recommended to me by someone who has the same dvd burner and he's never had a problem. I was thinking of getting some RW to keep testing. Have also tried Memorex but had a different problem. Will get a diff brand of DVD-RW and mess around. Thanks for help so far it's much appreciated

[Duchess]

He could have just been very lucky, it happens as I have good reason to know (been there, got the T shirt). Anyway while you're at it also check that you have DMA enabled, that plays quite an important part.

Good luck !!![/quote]

[woodkeeper]

What is DMA please?

[Duchess]

DMA - Direct Memory Address

[woodkeeper]

..how do I know if its on/off? (Should have asked that in prev post really)

[Duchess]

Go to "Control Panel" then select "Computer Management". Now go to "Device Manager" and select "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and double click.

Now Right click on "Primary IDE Channel" and select "Properties".

Click on "Advanced Settings" tab.

You should now see a "Transfer Mode" box which should have "DMA if available" showing. If it isn't then make it so. Do it for both devices abd then click "OK"

Repeat for "Secondary IDE Channel".

[woodkeeper]

Thanks for all your help I'll make sure I check this tonight.

[thecoalman]

Besides the DMA also try the following. May or may not fix your problem but I always try and eliminate the easy and free things first.

1. Make sure the software you are using is up to date. If your using those apps out of the box I can just about guarantee there's updates.
Update the firmware for your DVD drive, that can be fpound at the manufacturers site.