Author Topic: ARGHHH .... CD/DVD burning woes ... any ideas. (Read 12,176 times)

Carol Haynes · « **on:** August 15, 2007, 01:06 PM »

My system has been running smooth and happy for some time (apart from the odd minor glitch) and I have had no problems whatsoever burning DVDs.

I use Verbatim 16x DVD+R discs - and they have always been good quality and reliable.

My system started as normal the other day and I was getting odd issues - almost all of which have been cured by removing Webroot Spyware (the last update seems to have caused all sorts of issues). EXCEPT that now when I burn discs I get verification errors.

I have tried using MSCONFIG to restart my system with just MS services and no startup items but I still get problems. I have also tried logging on as Administrator in case my user profile had been corrupted (an account I rarely use - though my normal account is in the admin group).

The discs burn fine if I start in Safe Mode - but then only PIO mode is available and they take up to 45 minutes to burn and verify.

I have tried reducing the burn speed to 4x (the lowest offered by burning apps for these discs) but the problem persists. Normally I have no problems burning at maximum speed setting (16x).

I have used various software to try to burn - ImgBurn, Ashampoo Burning Studio 7, Nero Burning ROM 7 - and they all have the same problems.

Anyone any ideas how to troubleshoot this issue? There are no errors listed in my system logs.

Setup is:

IDE 0: PATA M & S hard discs
IDE 1: PATA M & S Pioneer DVD drives
IDE 5: SATA Hard disc (Win XP system disc)

Armando · « **Reply #1 on:** August 15, 2007, 04:42 PM »

That's weird. Have you tried using PIO in Normal mode?
Have you tried with another dvd drive on the same machine?...
Or the same dvd drive on another machine ?

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #2 on:** August 15, 2007, 05:22 PM »

It seems to be affecting both DVD drives. They are relatively new and worked faultlessly until the last couple of days.

I haven't tried PIO in normal mode - it is just too slow.

The drives are reading happily at normal speeds.

I have noticed that when I put in a new CD/DVD as it loads there is a pause when my mouse doesn't move. I wonder if there is an interrupt from a device driver that has become corrupted?

Armando · « **Reply #3 on:** August 15, 2007, 07:19 PM »

Quote from: Carol Haynes on August 15, 2007, 05:22 PM

I haven't tried PIO in normal mode - it is just too slow.

I was just asking because it could be something with UDMA... Maybe there's some registry corruption, or driver conflict-corruption, as you suggested... Since it works in PIO mode, why not in UDMA... that's weird.

Have you checked your device manager and what it says about transfert mode, current transfer mode, etc.?

Armando · « **Reply #4 on:** August 15, 2007, 07:28 PM »

Also, if it seems driver related, you could try to uninstall the dvd and controllers' drivers and reinstall them ? (It shouldn't do any harm and I remember that I fixed some weird DVD problems by doing that, many years ago...)

PS: Carol, you know I'm not an expert... and you are much much more qualified than I am...

I'm suggesting stuff to offer another perspective (lateral thinking, if you wish...). Nothing more!

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #5 on:** August 15, 2007, 08:55 PM »

Thanks Armando.

Actually I am beginning to suspect it might be a duff pack of disks as I just opened a new pack out of curiosty and burned two of them at 16x without a problem.

If it is that it is strange as I bought 4 x 50 tubs at the same time and have never had problems with Verbatim discs before (and I have burned hundreds of them in the past - literally). The first pack in the current order caused no problems.

All very strange.

...

I'll probably wish I hadn't said any of that next time I burn a disc and it fails!!!

Armando · « **Reply #6 on:** August 15, 2007, 08:59 PM »

Well, if it's only a bad DVD pack... it's a good thing.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #7 on:** August 16, 2007, 12:40 AM »

Hmmm ... just burned 10 DVDs without a single error - so presumably it was a bad pack.

Now what do I do with about 35 Verbatim discs that don't record properly?

app103 · « **Reply #8 on:** August 16, 2007, 12:42 AM »

Quote from: Carol Haynes on August 16, 2007, 12:40 AM

Hmmm ... just burned 10 DVDs without a single error - so presumably it was a bad pack.

Now what do I do with about 35 Verbatim discs that don't record properly?

If you still have your receipt, how about contacting the manufacturer for a replacement or refund?

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #9 on:** August 16, 2007, 01:08 AM »

Just emailed my supplier - hopefully they will send out a new pack.

I can't believe I have spent so many hours trying to sort out my system when it wasn't the problem!

KenR · « **Reply #10 on:** August 16, 2007, 02:41 AM »

Quote from: Carol Haynes on August 16, 2007, 12:40 AM

Hmmm ... just burned 10 DVDs without a single error - so presumably it was a bad pack.

Now what do I do with about 35 Verbatim discs that don't record properly?

Make a holiday decoration with them or a sun block for your car windows.

Regarding the time spent, don't worry Carol, the rest of us make mistakes all the time!

We will however, expect you to return to your normal self and not make any more.

Ken

nudone · « **Reply #11 on:** August 16, 2007, 07:16 AM »

Quote from: Carol Haynes on August 16, 2007, 01:08 AM

Just emailed my supplier - hopefully they will send out a new pack.

I can't believe I have spent so many hours trying to sort out my system when it wasn't the problem!

ya know, i was going to ask if you'd tried using other media just in case you had a bad batch - i even wrote the post but i never clicked the button.

i decided not to because it seemed like a dumb solution to your problem just as you obviously thought so yourself.

Carol, it's just another example that you should try the obviously daft solutions when you are trying to fix things - will we ever learn, i guess not.

(oh, and i guess it also means you shouldn't shy away from making a post even if it seems silly.)

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #12 on:** August 16, 2007, 09:55 AM »

LOL - too true ... always try the obvious.

Actually I didn't figure it was that obvious. I bought a box of 200 Verbatim discs (in tubs of 50) and have been using these discs for months and can't remember a bad burn with them from day 1 (even burning at 16x speed and leaving other apps running - though not actively using the computer for other things). It never even occurred to me that a single box of 50 could suffer from this problem. They all came from the same supplier, packed in a Verbatim box so I assumed they were all the same batch. I did inspect the discs but there doesn't look like there are physical problems or uneven dye coverage etc.

Oh well you live and learn!

Does make me wonder about the security of these discs for archiving though. One of the reasons I bought these disks is that they are supposed to have a long (100 years plus) shelf life.

nudone · « **Reply #13 on:** August 16, 2007, 10:20 AM »

all i can add is, are absolutely sure that it's a bad batch?

i know i've had bad batches before but i can't remember if they were branded. other times, some disks would work on one drive but not on another and for no good reason that i could see.

100 years shelf life sounds too good to be true. i thought disks were only reliable for about 15 years - but that's old information. i hope they do last longer.

tomos · « **Reply #14 on:** August 16, 2007, 11:35 AM »

100 years disk life does sound too good to be true.
I have heard Verbatim are very good though...

I just got a test here lately from the very rigorously testing Stiftung-Warentest.
Funny,
the overall best in test was a Verbatim Rewritable disc -
most discs did poorly in terms of damage from light/UV except the RW discs
which in turn did poorly in terms of damage from temperature fluctuation

the DVD+R discs in order:

Maxell DVD+R 1-16x Xtreme Protek
TDK DVD+R 1-16x Scratch Proof
Verbatim DVD+R 8x LightScribe
Intenso DVD+R 1-8x
Philips DVD+R 1-8x Lightscribe
Ricoh DVD+R Ultra Speed 1-16x
Aldi-Süd / Tevion DVD+R max 8x
Intenso DVD+R 1-16x
Verbatim DVD+R 16x Advanced Azo+

with that particular Maxwell well ahead of the posse

but I've reading a couple places (CDfreaks forum I think..) that Taiyo-Yuden make the best discs -
Plextor sell them rebranded, but they're hard to get - only a couple of suppliers here.
I got some lately & the quality is very impressive - I just mean how it's made -
nice rounded edges (hey, they even smell good

) but of course that doesnt necessarily mean much at the end of the day..

f0dder · « **Reply #15 on:** August 16, 2007, 11:54 AM »

I need to find some new DVD+R recordables, I've been using verbatim for a long time myself... but even though they're rated for 16x, I hardly ever reach that speed - when about 75% done (after perhaps having peaked 16x), the burn almost always goes down to 12x again for the remainder of the burn.

And no, there's no buffering errors/underruns.

Lashiec · « **Reply #16 on:** August 16, 2007, 03:02 PM »

Taiyo Yuden manufactures for a lot of brands these days. Have a peak at some drive test in CDFreaks and you'll encounter quite some discs from them.

tomos · « **Reply #17 on:** August 16, 2007, 04:03 PM »

Very off topic:-
Looking cool there Lashiec, cool and breezy I guess

Lashiec · « **Reply #18 on:** August 16, 2007, 04:16 PM »

Hey, I just finished up conquering that mountain

lanux128 · « **Reply #19 on:** August 17, 2007, 09:56 AM »

luckily i saw this thread, i was having this problem too and i thought it was InfraRecorder acting up and was even thinking of installing Nero again..

however after 6 DVDs, things came to a head..