Hi I seem to have a problem with my burner not recognising blank DVDs. Dell support seem to think that the problem is Nero - I have uninstalled Nero and the same problem exists. The drive picks up blank CD's but not blank DVD's. Just wondering if anyone has the same problem and what you did to fix it?? The drive is still able to play DVDs - just unable to read blank discs.. Currently trying to use LASER DVD-R. Your help would be appreciated..Thanks!!
Has the drive ever functioned the way it is supposed to. It's not unheard of to get the wrong drive installed in a machine. You can use Infotool in the Nero Toolkit to see what the drives are on your PC. Then you get into firmware and things along those lines. I had to flash my DVD ROM and burner after I bought the PC. The free analysis program, SiSoft Sandra will sometimes tell you your brand and model drive and it's been known to include serial number on some hardware. It also runs tests on the drives. You may want to download it from SiSoftware and give it a try.
Thanks for that. I hadnt actually tested the drive before with a blank dvd. I looked up the specs in nero infotool kit and seems ok to me.. but then again Im fairly new at this. How did you flash your dvd rom?
I just got onto firmware and says that there are no updates available for for drive. Drive is NEC ND3100AD - Current firmware is 107E which is what I have. Does this mean that I just wont be able to copy DVD's? When I spoke to Dell support they wanted me to do a complete system restore - which means I would lose everything - maybe I should just do this and if it still doesnt work they can replace it. Still under warranty.. I cant understand why it picks up blank CD's and not blank DVD's.. Makes me think that it never worked to begin with. Any more ideas??
according to videohelp.com, your burner only will burn the + format discs i would also get some quality discs and not something like the laser -R's you are using one more thing, Dell customer support SUCKS!! they are a waste of time and i would never recommend doing what they tell you to do
Thanks kchev. I'll try some other dvds. I agree with you that Dell support sucks.. They are really really bad.. I wish I knew that before I bought this computer. Thanks again. ;-)
rinoula In answer to how I flashed my DVD ROM drive; with a floppy disc. The process with my Samsung DVD ROM was a bit different from most burners. My burner flashed from a hard drive file like most others. Instrunctions for the Samsung DVD ROM required putting the file on a floppy and flashing from it. I purchased an 8300 just before the 8400s came out. BTW, I've had no problems with Dell support. Then again, I don't need them very often, except for downloads and an occasional piece of hardware. When dealing with a lot of support for computer companies, including Dell, you'll find the support has been farmed out to other countries and the techs are sometimes reading scripts. Some of my associates say you can get better help if you can contact a higher tier in the support group. The companies usually keep some people around that actually know computers. The system restore is a nice feature of the XP OS. However, now anytime you go to tech support, that is the first question they ask. Since it only takes a few minutes to do, it is an easy fix for a lot of problems (without having to go into troubleshooting the cause of a problem). So, before going to tech support for a software problem always do the system restore on XP, just so you can say, "I tried that". Sometimes it actually works. For those not familiar with System Restore, it may be an idea to read up on it. Sorta got off track, PC support and not anything on DVD drives not working.
By the way, is that Lazer with a Z or Laser with the S. Lazer -R media is made by a little known company, Digital Disc Dessau. They make media for companies most people haven't heard of; PRIMEON, SK, Gut & Billig, Hacon, and Intenso. I'd suggest trying something like Verbatim, TDK, or Maxell, before going into deeper analysis of the drive. Those are available in most shops and are usually a decent media. Then if it doesn't work, try running the Drive Module in the free SiSoft Sandra analysis program. http://www.SiSoftware.net
Forgot the warning. If you run the complete computer Analysis (don't know if that is on the Lite version), be prepared to be swamped with a load of info. It's best to run a module for the particular info needed.
Im just about to go out and buy some other dvds to try - i guess i will just take it from there. This forum is excellent - good to speak to people who know what they are talking about. I'll let you know how it goes. Have a great day!
Thank you. Starting with the media is a good plan; it's the easiest thing to check. Even if that isn't it, you can still use the media later; so nothing lost.
Hi again Just wanted to let you know that I tried imation DVD+R discs and they worked just fine. What a relief! Thanks for your help!
You're welcome. Imation carries some good media. Just to let us know, you could check the media for the manufacturer code and let us know who made it. To completely tell the forum what media you're using, you need to give the brand, speed, + or - and type (R, RW), and manufacturer code. DVD Identifier is a freeware program that is simple to use for reading codes. I've used a lot of Imation, but it was 4X +R with a RICOHJPN production code.
