Burning problem witn SONIC or media?

[spiderico]

Heres my problem, as brief as possible:

I've been using Sonic Record Now with a Sony DRU-530A (they came together) for a few months with no problems. I bought a 100 pack of Fuji DVD -R, 4X speed a few weeks ago and have successfully burned at least 30 DVDs using this combination.

Then a few days ago, I started getting an error message while burning that say something along the lined of "Cannot continue copying. There was a problem with your disk. It could be dirty or incompatable media".

I though maybe it was bad disk, but I tried it a few more times and got a few more coasters. I also tried burning a differerent file to the disks. Same problem.

The disk is being read by the software because when you put it in it tells you how much space you have free. Then when you add the files, it shows how much room you have left on the disk. It lets you start burning and the clock shows you about 15:00 minutes left in the process (this is the normal amount of time it would take with a successful burn). It seems fine for 3 or 4 minutes, then it stops and the error message comes up.

I've tried the Sony disk test and it said everything was ok with the hardware. I also reinstalled Sonic Record Now and DLA. Still getting the problem.

Finally I tried to burn the file to a DVD+RW because I was sick of waisting disks. The DVD+RW worked.

I've heard that some brands of media sometimes don't work with certain hardware, but I was able to burn a bunch successfully and it still reading the blank disk and starting the process. I've tried it with DLA on and off. This is very frustrating because it was working fine and then one day ot just stoped. Is it possible that I got a bad batch of disks half way through the spindle.

And help would be GREAT! Thanks.

[dxj40c]

I have found the media to be the weak link in this DVD stuff. We have been spoiled by prior success of CD media which is all pretty good now. Some day I hope the DVD media will be as good.
There is a lot of crap out there, more bad than good. The rule 'you get what you pay for' applies here. If you are buying DVDs that are less than 1.50 each you are entering a spooky arena.
I have many horror stories involving those 'sale' disks and have conceded that I must pay high prices to insure success. Since I have been using only the Name Brand disks, usually individually packaged, I haven't burned a coaster.
I know they are usually made by someone else, but I am depending on the hope that companies like TDK, Maxell, Panasonic, etc will be more likely to insist on quality from their sub-contractors since it is their name that will appear on disk.
And yes, quality can vary within one spindle. Sometimes I think spindles are the way the companies get rid of the 'not-quite-right' batches.
Good luck.

[g00kster]

dxj40c wrote:

The rule 'you get what you pay for' applies here. If you are buying DVDs that are less than 1.50 each you are entering a spooky arena.


I don't agree with this statement. I have a DRU-530A with firmware 2.0A.
Here's my pc configurations:
XP Pro
Nero 6.3.1.6
Dvd Decrypter
Dvd Shrink 3.1.7

I burned over 1000's blank dvds (no coasters) with cheap media (Matrix 4X) for $.55 a piece at

http://www.shop4tech.com/user.htm?go=view_item&id=1600&cata=1&s_cata=88

No, I don't work for them. You should try this media from shop4tech. It's cheap and consistent media that I ever used. However, it's work on all my dvd player. (Apex 1100 and Sony 5 disc changer)

You should upgrade your firmware to 2.0A and try to buy cheap media. Good luck!!!!

[spiderico]

Not too familiar with updating firmware. How can I tell what version I already have? And If I need to up date it, I'm assuming I can get the download on Sonys site, but is it easy to install/update? I don't want to create a bigger problem. Thanks again.

[handyguy]

When you update it says what firmware you have now but DD & shrink might also do that.

BTW, do not update if you do not have a copy of your old firmware because you won't be able to get it from Sony, they don't keep the old stuff.

I use Accus, abouat $60/100 they play on any dvd writer or recorder that I put them in, including ps2.