Problems with Disc-To-Disc Copy using Sonic RecordNow

[JohnnyWadd]

First off, let me apologize if I've posted in the wrong spot. I've got a DVD copying issue that I need help with. My brother has two young kids that he likes to buy DVDs for. You know... "Finding Nemo", "The Incredibles", and stuff like that. Anyway, I'm a DVD Back-Up nut. If I'm going to spend 20-something dollars as soon as it goes back, I'm not risking messing it up when I can back it up and use the copy for whatever I choose. Hell, I can use it as a frisbee if I should so feel inclined because you can buy the discs for a quarter!!

Anyway, a little while back, I set him up with the capabilities to copy the DVDs for his kids so that he could turn them loose with copies and not be worried about the consequences. I did the initial conversion from his store bought DVDs to a DVD-R a while back, told him to put that copy on a shelf, and taught him how to do a disc-to-disc copy so that he could make copies of that copy whenever the copy that his kids have starts skipping. Neither he nor his wife are very computer savvy, so I figured that the copy-of-a-copy method was about all that they can handle.

So, anyway, all is well for a while, then a couple of days ago, he calls me to tell me that the process won't work any longer. He uses the newest version of RecordNow Max by Sonic. I think it's version 8, and it came on his computer. It's been working fine, but now, whenever he tries to copy, he puts the copy in the reader and a blank disc in the writer. Then he hits record, and the writer immediately ejects. No error message or anything. Just ejects.

I did some research before posting, and I was figuring that something was wrong with his burner. He's using the same discs that he's always used and the same program that he's always used. No updates to his computer or add/removal of programs has been done. He always calls me for that!! Just quit working.

Anyway, here's what I've found out: apparently, the writer is ejecting because it thinks that the blank disc doesn't have enough free space to copy the material. Plus, I know that the writer is just fine. I performed a disc-to-disc copy using one drive (saving a temporary image to the hard drive) and it worked like a charm. I tried a different program (Nero) and got the same result. However, Nero told me something that RecordNow initially didn't: it said that the drive is recognizing the finalized copy as having over 32,000 megs (32 gigs!!!!) of information on it. That's impossible, since the max on a single layer disc is 4.7 gigs. I confirmed this in RecordNow using the "Disc Information" feature on the program. However, when I move the disc to the Sony and check the "Disc Information" in RecordNow, it shows up fine - just over 4GB. Under both programs, it says that the source is over 32,000 MB when I put it in the source drive, so it won't let the program copy the disc.

Anyway, here's all the information I have:

Computer: Compaq Presario SR1603WM Purchased in 12/2005
Memory: 448 MB RAM
Hard Disc Space: 68GB Total (36GB Free)
Writer: Sony CD-RW/DVD-RW DRU-710A
Reader: Lite-On CD-RW/DVD-ROM SOHC-4836K

I know that the firmware is updated on the Sony. However, I tried to do the same to the Lite-On, but couldn't find any updates available. So, I'm assuming it's up to date.

Anybody got any ideas how I can teach this Lite-On to recognize the disc as being a more manageabe size? I was thinking about uninstalling and reinstalling the driver on the drive. Would that accomplish anything?

Sorry to be long winded. Figure it's better to write too much than not enough, right? Anyway, if anybody has any ideas for me, I'd appreciate hearing them.

Thanks
Jon

[JohnnyWadd]

Update: I tried opening DVD Decrypter with the Lite-On as the source drive and I get an error. When I try it in file mode, it says:

UDF File System Parsing Failed!
Device: [2:0:0] LITE-ON COMBO SOHC-4836K SPK2 (E
Reason: Function 'UDFFindPartition' returned 0

When I try it in ISO mode, it says that there is not enough free space. Guess the drive is telling DVD Decrypter the same thing that it's telling the burn programs: 32 GB.

Any ideas on any of this?

[ebenton]

Are you sure that the folder on the hard drive, from which the movie is being written, doesn't already have like 32 or 28 GB already in it? Maybe it needs to be emptied. Usually, when you back up a movie and the folder to which you are writing already has VOB files in it, you get asked if you want to overwrite them. But maybe it's doing sub-directories or using a temp folder or something. Just a guess.

[JohnnyWadd]

No, it's not that. No matter what I do, if I use the Lite-On as the source, it's saying that the disc is 32 GB, but when I use the Sony as the source, it says 4+ GB. It does this whether I copy "on the fly" or whether I try to save to the hard-drive whenever I use the Lite-On as the source.

Funny thing is that my brother told me that this happened all at once, meaning that he was copying about four discs, from discs that he already had. He'd done one or two and it worked fine. Then when he tried the third, it quit working. I'd only taught him "on the fly" copying, so I know that he wasn't saving an image to the hard drive.

Also, like I said, it works fine if I leave the Lite-On out of the equation. If I do a disc-to-disc copy using the Sony as the source and the destination, it works like a charm.

Thanks for the input, though.
Jon

[SingSing]

Isn't that implied the lite-on is broken ?

[JohnnyWadd]

Well, I don't know if it's broken or not. It seems to work for everything else. I'll check it all out and let you guys know.