I can burn CDs, but not DVDs

[Big-Dave]

Hi all, and thanks in advance for trying to help.

 

I have looked through all the existing threads in search of a solution to my woes, and despite thinking I have managed to solve it on a few occassions, I am exactly where I was when I started. I really hope someone can help.

 

I will give you as much information as I can, and nowhere better to start than by saying I do not believe the fault is with ImgBurn at all! I have come here for your help as I have been unable to sort things out elsewhere, and I figured that someone among you may have the answer I need.

 

I have a Packard Bell PC, which is all OEM except for the DVD-writer.

 

I originally bought a DVD writer from a computer fair many years ago, and it worked perfectly, though was rarely used. I ran out of discs (I was using Datawrite yellow DVD-R and not once did I have a problem with writing to them). I wasn't aware at the time that there was a noticeable difference in reliability in discs, and just picked up some more DVD-Rs from Tesco - their own discs.

 

Since this moment I have been unable to write to DVD

 

Obvious cause of the problem was the new type of disc, so I went this time to my local computer shop. They agreed the Tesco ones were liable to be of poor quality, and gave me some others - not sure what they were but they are totally white (printable), and they said these were excellent. I took them home, and I had the same problem.

 

I took the discs back, they tested one from the pack and said it was fine. Then we got talking about my DVD-writer, and the fact it was a few years old. They said it could well be that it's had enough and needs replacing. I bought myself a new Sony DVD RW DRU-190a all-singing all-dancing writer. I fitted it, and I had EXACTLY the same problem. This to me suggests it is neither the writer nor the discs at fault.

 

But I decided to source some of the original Datawrite yellows that I had previously, got them from eBay, and they don't work either! Now convinced it isn't the discs at fault, nor the writer.

 

Sorry this is going on so long, just wanna make sure I include everything.

 

Within the PC, I moved the new SONY drive to the top position, moved my DVD-Rom to underneath, and set them both to Cable Select (Enable Cable Select was bridged on my Hard Drive). I fitted a new ribbon cable which I was given at the shop when I bought the SONY drive. I have been into Device Manager, uninstalled the Secondary IDE channel and Primary IDE channel and rebooted a couple of times. Everything I look at suggests that everything is wired up correctly and has the right drivers. I have also updated the Firmware for the SONY writer.

 

I do not think the problem is caused by hardware, although I guess it is possible the new drive I bought is a dud. Having said that, if it is then it has the same problem as my old one as it fails in exactly the same way.

 

Before I actually mention the problem (hope someone is still with me), I need to add that I reformatted the hard drive, and installed a fresh copy of Windows XP Media Centre a while ago. This will sound stupid I know, but I am not sure if my DVD writing problem started prior to the reinstall, as a result of the install, or after the install. I can't remember how long the problem has been plaguing me, but only this week have I really had a chance to look into it in depth. I am so gutted I have been unable to fix this alone, but hope you can help.

 

Other than writing DVDs, my PC seems in tip-top form, no other problems of any kind with any hardware or software.

 

When I was successfully writing to DVD it was mainly movies and I was using DVD Decrypter with DVD Shrink. It was still these programmes when my problems started, though I have now got ImgBurn - and the problem is the same.

 

The Sony reads CDs and DVDs perfectly, and I have been able to rip both (CD's using WMP and DVDs using RipitForMe) with no problem. I can write data to CDs, and also music files to CD with no problem - using ImgBurn. However, when I try to write either data or a movie to DVD, the problem occurs.

 

Log to follow, but basically the problem is that it all seems to start ok, it says Writing LeadIn, the time elapsed starts to run, the time remaining pops up, then the time remaining goes to 'unknown'. It is when this happens I know it's not gonna work. The time elapsed will just keep on running and running. After a while, the 'write retries : 0' goes to '1', and this will just keep going up to 20 where it will give up.

 

This log is from a go I had earlier. As soon as write retries : 0 went to one I took the log, as I didn't want to wait for the 20 tries to write this thread.

 

I 20:44:47 ImgBurn Version 2.4.2.0 started!

I 20:44:47 Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition (5.1, Build 2600 : Service Pack 3)

I 20:44:47 Total Physical Memory: 523,760 KB - Available: 184,152 KB

I 20:44:47 Initialising SPTI...

I 20:44:47 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...

I 20:44:48 Found 1 DVD-ROM, 1 DVD

[mmalves]

I 20:46:05 Contents: 5 Files, 0 Folders

I 20:46:07 Source File: -==/\/[bUILD IMAGE]\/\==-

I 20:46:07 Source File Sectors: 608 (MODE1/2048)

I 20:46:07 Source File Size: 1,245,184 bytes

Was this intentional? I mean, you're only burning 5 small files to a DVD disc. If this wasn't intentional, go to the Options tab of ImgBurn's Build mode and click Reset Settings, then confirm.

 

I 20:46:07 Destination Media Type: DVD-R (Disc ID: MCC 03RG20) (Speeds: 4x, 6x, 8x, 12x, 16x, 18x)

I 20:46:07 Destination Media Sectors: 2,297,888

I 20:46:07 Write Mode: DVD

I 20:46:07 Write Type: Incremental

I 20:46:07 Write Speed: MAX

Please put the Write Type back to DAO/SAO (it's in Tools -> Settings -> Write tab). You can change the write speed in the Device tab of ImgBurn's Build mode. I would recommend trying 8x or 12x and it should work. Are those blanks made by Verbatim or other brand? Have you tried with DVD+R blanks?

[Big-Dave]

Thanks very much for your reply

 

I 20:46:05 Contents: 5 Files, 0 Folders

I 20:46:07 Source File: -==/\/[bUILD IMAGE]\/\==-

I 20:46:07 Source File Sectors: 608 (MODE1/2048)

I 20:46:07 Source File Size: 1,245,184 bytes

Was this intentional? I mean, you're only burning 5 small files to a DVD disc. If this wasn't intentional, go to the Options tab of ImgBurn's Build mode and click Reset Settings, then confirm.

 

I intentionally chose a few small files just to see if they would write. If they did, I would then have tried a serious burn. If it can't burn something so small, then no way would it work on a normal size file. Also, I figured, it was something which I would get results from quite quickly. It was a waste of a disk I know, but these past few days have seen me build up quite a collection of coasters anyway!

 

I 20:46:07 Destination Media Type: DVD-R (Disc ID: MCC 03RG20) (Speeds: 4x, 6x, 8x, 12x, 16x, 18x)

I 20:46:07 Destination Media Sectors: 2,297,888

I 20:46:07 Write Mode: DVD

I 20:46:07 Write Type: Incremental

I 20:46:07 Write Speed: MAX

Please put the Write Type back to DAO/SAO (it's in Tools -> Settings -> Write tab). You can change the write speed in the Device tab of ImgBurn's Build mode. I would recommend trying 8x or 12x and it should work. Are those blanks made by Verbatim or other brand? Have you tried with DVD+R blanks?

 

I have changed the write type back to DAO/SAO as you suggested. I dropped the write speed down to x4 (same logic as above - if it successfully writes at x4 I can bring the speed up for the next one). I'm now using Datawrite Yellow DVD-R discs, and have not yet tried DVD+R; In fact all the discs I have tried have been DVD-R.

 

I tried a burn with the changed settings, it failed in the same way as usual, here is the log:

 

I 11:08:07 ImgBurn Version 2.4.2.0 started!

I 11:08:07 Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition (5.1, Build 2600 : Service Pack 3)

I 11:08:07 Total Physical Memory: 523,760 KB - Available: 192,864 KB

I 11:08:07 Initialising SPTI...

I 11:08:07 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...

I 11:08:07 Found 1 DVD-ROM, 1 DVD

[LIGHTNING UK!]

At least you got an error that time.

 

Your 'bus' should not be resetting itself (this is normally caused by a timeout in processing an I/O command).

 

I would advise against using 'cable select'. Just set the drives up properly on master / slave and make sure you're using decent 80 wire cables.

 

It might be an idea to forget about the DVDROM for now and just have the burner on its own channel (secondary), setup as a Master.

 

The hdd should be on the primary channel, also setup as master.

[Big-Dave]

At least you got an error that time.

 

Sorry, it's my fault for being impatient on the attempt that I initially posted. I always get the same error. It will cycle 20 times then eventually fail, same reason each time.

 

Your 'bus' should not be resetting itself (this is normally caused by a timeout in processing an I/O command).

 

I would advise against using 'cable select'. Just set the drives up properly on master / slave and make sure you're using decent 80 wire cables.

 

I have amended the setup. The HDD is set up as master, there is no slave, on the primary. The DVD-RW is now set up as master, there is no slave, on the secondary. CS is no more.

 

It might be an idea to forget about the DVDROM for now and just have the burner on its own channel (secondary), setup as a Master.

 

As per previous answer, I have now disconnected the DVDROM completely

 

The hdd should be on the primary channel, also setup as master.

 

I've now rectified this.

 

Since making these changes, I have had two more attempts at writing to DVD - each time just a small file using ImgBurn - both of these attempts have failed exactly the same way as previously.

 

Any more ideas?

 

I am starting to think I may have a registry issue, and am getting to the point where I am ready to reformat my HD and do a clean XP install. Think it could be a registry problem?

 

Thanks again

[karlos]

Had a look around the web and found these links! hope they help

 

http://www.dvd-software.info/forums/post-81141.html

 

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/65419

 

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=115124

[Big-Dave]

Had a look around the web and found these links! hope they help

 

http://www.dvd-software.info/forums/post-81141.html

 

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/65419

 

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=115124

 

Thanks very much for the links. I hadn't tried googling the fault which is just so stupid of me after everything I have done!

 

I have read those threads, and they have some good info in them.

 

I will look into updating the bios of my mainboard and also the chipset of my mainboard too. No idea where to start lol, hope google is in fine spirits this evening

 

My startup is quite clean, only a few items, I like my PC to whizz round lol. I have a couple of items in Task Manager I can look into though.

 

Thanks again for the advice and please keep the ideas coming

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Look at your filter drivers (via the feature in the Tools menu), maybe there are some buggy ones in there. Feel free to copy + paste what's listed into your next post.

[Big-Dave]

Look at your filter drivers (via the feature in the Tools menu), maybe there are some buggy ones in there. Feel free to copy + paste what's listed into your next post.

 

===============================================

Filter Driver Load Order - ImgBurn v2.4.2.0

===============================================

 

Upper Device Filter: redbook

Upper Class Filter: [None Found]

Device: CD/DVD-ROM Device

Lower Class Filter: [None Found]

Lower Device Filter: [None Found]

 

Filter Name: redbook

File Name: C:\WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\redbook.sys

File Version: 5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2108)

File Description: Redbook Audio Filter Driver

Product Name: Microsoft

[Big-Dave]

 

I am very pleased to report that this evening I have written both a data DVD and also a movie DVD!

 

I visited the Packard Bell website to find information on how to find any suitable BIOS/Chipset upgrades for my PC. The PB site was excellent, and invited me to enter my PC's serial number (thank you Belarc Advisor for telling me what it was) then presented me with all the upgrades / drivers / etc that my PC needed. This included a more recent BIOS update, and also a more recent Chipset upgrade.

 

It also included an IDE patch!! The file was called col2idepatch in case anyone looks here in the future with a similar problem.

 

I installed the Chipset upgrade and the IDE patch (not the BIOS update yet as I need a floppy and for some reason my floppies aren't formatting - a job for another day!)

 

I believe one of those two updates solved my problem. The discs wrote at x8, very quiet and I have watched the film on my own DVD player and it was perfect throughout.

 

Just wanna thanks everyone for all your help and ideas, nice one