dvd-r reading problem

[uglijimus]

Hi, not sure if this is where I should be asking this so my apologies if it isn't...

I've been trying to save room on my computer by putting various files on to DVD-Rs. I first tried with a computer game which i downloaded from the internet about 3.5GB. Using the drop and drag CD+DVD software, I sucessufully made a data disc ( i think?) it popped out of the CDrom and it had the files written on to it (well as far as I could tell-it had the line that usually indicates where the data stops). I pop it back into my cdrom and it just spins and spins never stopping, never allowing me to even play it (when i tried manually)or even view the files. I then tried it on my friend's new labtop. it worked perfectly. Then i put one of the files from this game (an application file 435mb) and onto a blank CD and burned it. i put it back into my computer and was able to open it up and view it. so I'm thinking that my CDrom is having problems reading DVD-Rs?? or is it something else? according to the microsoft web site "For files too large to fit on a CD, you can copy files to a recordable DVD (DVD-R or DVD+R) or rewritable DVD (DVD-RW or DVD+RW). However, Windows XP does not support copying to a DVD, so you have to use DVD authoring software."
yes i have windows XP. any advice? I'd appreciate it!

thanks
jim

[dvdx_925]

read the forum rules first, no discussion of pirated content. In your case, downloading a game, and i doubt it would have been a freeware game..(3gig+)..lolz

[uglijimus]

sorry, I should have made myself clearer. I didn't even think about this when I posted it. This is a game I bought on the internet around $45 called Temple of Elemental Evil. it was being offered through my email account www.comcast.net in the games section about 2 years ago. besides I'm not very computer savy and I wouldn't even know how to get a pirated game

[Prot]

Just what type of drive do you have? You make no mention of it in your computer details.
You keep calling it a CD drive. That sounds like it has no support for DVDs. No matter waht you may read, there is no software in existance that will allow you to burn DVDs, much less read them, in a drive that has no DVD support.

btw, you do not need authoring software to burn data files.

[uglijimus]

Just what type of drive do you have? You make no mention of it in your computer details.
You keep calling it a CD drive. That sounds like it has no support for DVDs.

if i look at the icon on my desktop it says shortcut to CD drive
if i click on "my computer" it shows the same icon and says DVD-RW Drive (DCD drive. and on the actual front of the drive is says DVD Rom/r/rw and compact disc high speed rewriteable. so i'm pretty sure it's both.

[Prot]

Right click on that drive (under My Computer), click properties, then look under the hardware tab. That should display all your drives....hard drives and optical drives.
If you give us the model number of your dvd drive it would be helpful.
You should have had some burning software that came with the drive or system, unless you bought the drive OEM (bare drive only...no cables, screws, or software).

[uglijimus]

thanks! found it. it's Toshiba DVD-rom SD-R6112. Someone told me to go to the Toshiba website and look for a firmware update, but they didn't have any for this model... it came with the drag and drop CD+DVD software.

[Prot]

If you can replace the drive I would strongly suggest it. It can write only at 2x speed to DVD-R and only 1x speed to DVD-RW.
Without a firmware update, you can only use 2x disks, otherwise drive damage could occur, and those disks are extremely difficult to find now. You MIGHT be able to get away with 4x rated disks. Others on the forum might be better able to advise you.
I'm assuming this drive is in a laptop?

[uglijimus]

I didn't realize that was a bad thing...being able to write only 1x or 2x to DVD-R or DVD-rw... sure enough i checked on the disc that i worked on my friend's computer but not my own and it was 4x. I'll take a look around to see if i can find any 2x discs, or otherwise i'll have to look into finding a new drive. thanks for the info, i appreciate it. btw, it is a labtop.

[Prot]

You're welcome.

Another alternative for a laptop is an external burner, but need a USB 2.0 or Firewire port.

[Bodysurf]

read the forum rules first, no discussion of pirated content. In your case, downloading a game, and i doubt it would have been a freeware game..(3gig+)..lolz

Please don't publicly assume it's warez. Give him the benefit of the doubt.

[dvdx_925]

juz wondering, so can ppl actually download legit games of 3gig+ and need to pay for it? lolz..i wudn't bother with it, if i was buying something, i wudn't want right there for me...without needing to d/l..except with small apps, or games

[psx_pirate]

There are lots of legit games and apps (you have to pay for them) that are download only regardless of their size and are not available on disk ... software houses use this to keep prices down and also to make these apps available worldwide without the need for high shipping costs of disks (it also prevents the "lost in the post" excuse often used by some people to obtain more than 1 copy of an app (get 2 copies 1 for yourself and 1 for a mate and halve the costs)

[uglijimus]

You're welcome.

Another alternative for a laptop is an external burner, but need a USB 2.0 or Firewire port.

do you think it would just be cheaper to get a new dvd rom drive?

[uglijimus]

There are lots of legit games and apps (you have to pay for them) that are download only regardless of their size and are not available on disk ... software houses use this to keep prices down and also to make these apps available worldwide without the need for high shipping costs of disks (it also prevents the "lost in the post" excuse often used by some people to obtain more than 1 copy of an app (get 2 copies 1 for yourself and 1 for a mate and halve the costs)

yeah there are tons out there. the game actually is available on disk, but I'm living in a rural part of japan and needless to say the english version of that game wasn't available at my local electronic/game store... it's really convenient for people who can't wait.

btw, getting back on topic, i found some discs that say they are for 1-4x speed, haven't tried them yet but I will and let you guys know what the results are.

[Prot]

You're welcome.

Another alternative for a laptop is an external burner, but need a USB 2.0 or Firewire port.

do you think it would just be cheaper to get a new dvd rom drive?

I depends on how badly you want to be able to burn faster. If you want +R/RW support and DL support, then you will need to get another drive. Your laptop seems to need what Toshiba calls a "slim line" drive. Looking on Toshiba's web site, I saw no such drive for a laptop. Not owning a laptop, I don't know how difficult they are to replace, or if it would support a different manufacturer.

So.....an external would be your best choice. But again, for DVD burning, USB 2.0 or Firewire is highly desirable, if not required. You need to have the fast data transfers.

[uglijimus]

yeah there are tons out there. the game actually is available on disk, but I'm living in a rural part of japan and needless to say the english version of that game wasn't available at my local electronic/game store... it's really convenient for people who can't wait.

btw, getting back on topic, i found some discs that say they are for 1-4x speed, haven't tried them yet but I will and let you guys know what the results are.

well I tried it and it didn't work.. same thing. sucessfully made it but when i tried to read it, i just kept spinning...

[uglijimus]

[So.....an external would be your best choice. But again, for DVD burning, USB 2.0 or Firewire is highly desirable, if not required. You need to have the fast data transfers.

but if i get an external is that gonna solve my "reading" problem? I mean I can burn the discs fine, i just can't read them

[trhouse]

I have never experienced this problem but others seem to have,

"I tried InCD for a while and found it stopped me from reading RAM discs written on a DVD recorder in UDF 2.0. It even stopped me from reading a copy made to an RW disc. It also stopped me when it was disabled. I had to uninstal to ge acess to the files."

InCD often comes with Nero. It allows drag and drop recording much like the CD+DVD software you mentioned. Who makes CD+DVD?

[uglijimus]

I have never experienced this problem but others seem to have,

"I tried InCD for a while and found it stopped me from reading RAM discs written on a DVD recorder in UDF 2.0. It even stopped me from reading a copy made to an RW disc. It also stopped me when it was disabled. I had to uninstal to ge acess to the files."

InCD often comes with Nero. It allows drag and drop recording much like the CD+DVD software you mentioned. Who makes CD+DVD?

it's drag and drop CD+DVD. btw, i made a disc that i can read, well sort of. I put it on 2x speed instead of 1x and i was able to read the disc (i never thought make it faster would actually result in my drive being able to read it!! but anyway, it still acts a little funny. when i put the disc in, an "autoplay" bar comes up and runs through all the files really quick before i can see the files. I don't have a problem with this but last time I had a disc like this, it eventually degraded making the disc unreadable.

[ofbarea]

You can get updated firmware upgrades for the Toshiba SD-R6112 in here: http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1603