*HELP!* Problems with DVD-RW drive...

[Rod32]

Hey guys,

I got myself a SONY Vaio FRV37 with "Matshita UJ-810" branded DVD writer. I don't know too much about it, however i do know i have trouble backing up DVDs... I've been told it's a crappy brand incompatible with most software?

I've tried using CloneDVD, DVD Decrypter and DVD X Copy Platinum and Xpress - nothing seeems to work, maybe 1/10 DVDs would work, usually they're the older type.

I've tried writing the DVD as files to HDD (Decrpyter) then burning with Clone, tried direct copy with Xpress and Platinum and even 'ISO' functions in both decrypter and clone.

Becuase i don't know much, i used Nero to get the details in the drive:



Could anyone tell me:

* What software to use for basic DVD backup/copying? OR
* What should i download, if anything, to get this to work? Or should i just invest in a new DVD writer, such as Lite-on 812S, (i'd connect that to my ext. HDD case).

Any help is greatly appreciated, as i'm running low on patience with my limited knowledge!

Cheers
Rod

[guns1inger]

You don't say what problems you are having, other than "it doesn't work", or what media you are burning to. The stats you posted show that it is a slow burner, so you should restrict yourself if you can to 1x media.

When you say it doesn't work, what do you mean ?
a. It doesn't complete the burn
b. It completes the burn, but is unplayable
c. It completes the burn, but the picture breaks up in blocks, especially in the last 20 minutes
d. It plays OK in the laptop, but not on my settop player
e. none of the above

Give us something to work with here, please.

[Rod32]

When i said 'problems with my DVD drive' would immediately round it down to A or B, but anyway I guess i should've been more specific...

OK:

Sometimes it won't even complete the read process (with decrpyter) after 20 odd retries. With scratched backups, it reads, gets to 99% and fails. For certain other DVDs, the main problem is writing phase - i usually can always get files written to HDD, but when writing the DVD files to disc (Clone DVD 2) it has a couple of different errors:

1: 'found 1 File structure error' - won't even start writing. The other i can't really remember, but this other error, simply put, says it can't burn, "error 5" or something

Other times, this has probably happened about 4 times over past month, it stops burning, usually under 50%.

Rod

[guns1inger]

There was nothing in your original post that explained what your problem was, or why it had to be the drive.

On a scratched disk, 20 retries isn't that many. As a general rule, laptop burners are not as robust or as powerful as desktop burners. Trying to keep power consumption down means sacrifices have to the made, and laser power is sometimes one of those sacrifices. I have used many laptops with different readers/burners and have always found them to be less reliable that their desktop counterparts. Because you have such a mixed bag of problems, you are probably correct in assuming hardware. If you are in warranty, get it replaced and see what happens. If you are out of warranty, the get an external burner only if you have firewire or USB2 ports to connect it to.

I assume you always burn under mains power, and not battery ?

[Rod32]

The discs i've used are only litely scrastched, others are perfect and still that amount of retries.

Bit I think you're right. As i said, i plan on getting Lite-ON 812S 8x +/- burner, connect that to HDD case and then to USB2 port. I only got the laptop because i wanted it for travelling, obviously, because it uses a desktop Pent4 chip, the battery life is much shorter compared to centrino laptops - explaining why it's always plugged into wall for the majority of its usage. So i'm hoping to sell this laptop and downgrade so something less expensive, as it has certain features, such as the DVD-RW drive i won't need.

Otherwise, is there any other internal burner you'd recommend for basic movie back-up, for the majority of DVD's out there? I plan on using Princo DVD 4x media - not great quality, but affordable and compatible with my DVD player. Or, what media would you recommend i use for Lite-ON 812S?

Cheers
Rod