Nero stops burning halfway through! How do I check DVD disks?

[cavepunk]

Hi there!

Just stumbled over your fab site and wondered if you guys could help me? My PC runs on Windows XP2 and I've been learning how to burn DVDs over the last few weeks. Recently though Nero has been spitting out discs halfway through copying, which it's never done before. When I check the rejected DVD in My Computer it shows up as being empty but I'm not sure if that's the case. Sometimes they are and I can rerecord on them (I'm using DVD+Rs - not rewritable DVD+RWs) - which I guess means the discs ARE blank - but sometimes I can't and Nero spits out the disc again.

My question: Is there any program that can check my DVD+R's to see if they are empty or if they're corrupted? I've tried DVD Identifier but it always comes up with the same results, i.e. it verifies the disc is empty but sometimes Nero still rejects it again at the end of the burning process.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.....

Thanks in advance!
jay

[bendixG15]

try Nero Info Tool for info on the disk.

you could also browse thru your Nero configuration setup.

What version of Nero are you using ?

[cavepunk]

Hi - and thanks for the speedy reply!

Haven't changed Nero's configuration/settings since when everything was working, so no worries there. Have tried Nero Infotool but it only recognises drive J - (WSO390Q LEW234X SCSI CDRom Drive) - whatever that is - not the C drive or the CD/DVD drive F (SONY DVD RW DW-G120A) which Nero burns with. I can't get Nero InfoTool to select different drives...

Also SpyBot just found something called Realsearch.forte which seems to keep installing itself...

I think I'm using Nero version 5 - (|Nero Vision Express 3)? Can't seem to find out which version it is...

Any ideas?

Cheers!
jay

[redwudz]

When Nero fails to burn a disc, it generates a log file that often tells you what the problem is: http://forum.digital-digest.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=45942

Nero 5 doesn't usually work at all with many newer burners. I liked Nero 5.5, but I had to upgrade to 6X when it failed to recognize my newer drives. If you can just save the output from Nero Vision to your hard drive without burning, you could use the freeware ImgBurn to complete the burning. In ImgBurn, use the 'Build' mode and select the VIDEO_TS folder that NV produced

The Nero version should show in the Nero Express page by clicking on the question mark, then scrolling down to 'About Nero Express'

Concerning 'Realsearch.forte', you might look here: http://forums.spybot.info/showthread.php?p=75679

And welcome to our forums.

[bendixG15]

If you go into Nero Info Tool, you can.........

-Select the drive that you want info about
-Display DVD info, like is the disk blank or not
-Get info on all the Nero files loaded on your computer

Suggest you go to Nero site and download all the last versions that apply to you.
Spend some time learning Nero, when a screen comes up, look at it and read it.

Some of this grunt stuff you have to learn on your own.

[cavepunk]

Thanks for the follow-up help...

I have been reading around on the internet since December and have learned most of the basics (converting file types, burning S/VCDs, adding subtitles, etc.) and thought I was up and running but these new problems make me feel like I have to learn all over from scratch!

Seems I'm using Nero Express 6 (version 6.6.1.4 bundled) but I'm wary about upgrading to a newer version as lots of these type of sites advise against it - the new updated versions causing conflicts, etc. After a bit of research I'm thinking it might be the cheapo Tuff Disk DVD+Rs I've just started using and so should probably go back to Verbatim or something similar...

Anyway - top website with ultra-fast help here so I'll try burning using better discs and see what happens...

Thanks again!
jay

[cavepunk]

Just to follow up...

I've checked the discs using Nero Express's disc info tool and compared them with several blank ones and it seems the DVD+Rs that got spat out already had data encoded on them, hence I couldn't use them again (not being rewritable). Just wondering what data is copied as nothing seems to show up on My Computer? Does this mean the burn was only half completed?

Sorry for hassling you like this, by the way; it's just really bugging me!

Cheers!
jay

[jman98]

I'm not trying to be rude, but I want you to think seriously about which of the following you prefer. Choose one.

1) I want my DVDs to be playable in the future. I am willing to spend longer to make them if they will be made correctly.
2) I want to burn my DVDs as quickly as possible. I am unwilling to do anything that will make the process take longer or make me use anything but Nero.

If you choose number 2, I can't help you. If you REALLY want to make your DVDs correctly read this
http://www.digital-digest.com/~blutach/pgcedit_guide/burning_with_pgcedit/burning_with...pgcedit_v2.htm
Pay attention especially to the bottom part where it explains why you should not use Nero to make DVDs. This does not solve your Nero problem, but you really shouldn't be using Nero anyway. I bet you won't have this problem any more if you use this method. And yes, you should consider using better media, although if you don't care at all that maybe in 2-4 years your burns won't be playable at all due to media degredation, then use the cheap discs.

To be fair, some people don't care at all about anything but ease of use. If you are one of those people (my best friend is totally like this), then suggestions to make Nero maybe work better would be the following:
Don't do ANYTHING on your PC while burning.
Burn at lower speeds (4x or 2x).
Use better media.
Consider upgrading the firmware on your burner as sometimes weird burn problems are related to firmware issues.

[oldandinthe way]

Have you begun to use a new package of media just before the problem occurred?

The symptoms could be media incompatibility due to unupdated firmware.

Certainly you should update your firmware before performing any further troubleshooting.

AS for recommendations as to burning for longevity, the manufacturers of optical devices have a study group on DVD longevity and to date have not made the recommendations which some posters on this forum advocate. I burn many DVDs, follow none of their rcommendations and so far my world has not collapsed.

I specifically take exception to recommendations which call for burning 16x media at 2x or 4x. I know that this is inferior to higher speed burns,