I use Nero and can copy/create all DVD[bold]+[/bold]R discs fine. DVD[bold]-[/bold]R discs however, always fail in during the finalizing portion. Tried several brands at several speeds with no luck. Also upgrade the firmware to the latest version.
Hi there Denkers, welcome to aD, Is your burner a dual format burner ? Exactly what brands have you used ? Some pple have no luck and always pick poor media without any way to tell the difference - Let's take Memorex as an excellent example as DVD media goes, 90% of Memorex is sub-standard as far as DVD backups are concerned, figures as high as 50% coasters have been reported (One member bought a stack of 50 and got 23 good burns.), not what I would call an impressive record. Memorex made a name for itself with their magnetic tapes (VHS and audio cassettes) and have been living off it ever since. There are 4 different companies that manufacture Memorex DVD's BTW and product quality varies widely as you might imagine. Only 10% of the Memorex out there, those are discs manufactured by Mitsubishi in the 25 pack spindle , and they're the exception – they are the good ones. It's easy to see now why the quality of a big-named company can’t be trusted - “ Who’s making your Memorex tonight ?” Is it just Memorex ? No ! I just used Memorex as an example, Princo, Orange Pack, Great AZO and most "store" discs aren’t all that suitable as a DVD backup media – that’s why we are specific in the type of media we are recommending. 1. * Cheap media freezes, skips, pixelats and may refuse to be recognized by both burners and players :-( Besides "Freezing", "skips" many times you’ll get a “Cyclic Redundancy error” or an "I/O error". This message can mean that your discs are scratched or dirty, it can also mean that your burner won’t accept your “cheap” media :-( Another problem which, “Pops up” is a “*Power Calibration Error”. This can stop you right in your tracks and most often is caused by, Yep, you guessed it, inexpensive media. *A “Power Calibration Error” can also be attributed to the Optical Components of a DVD Writer, though this isn’t usually the case. Orange Pack, Princo, Great AZO and 90% of Memorex plus many others are just not that good for DVD burning. Those same discs however, are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets and Data..Even DataSafe G04’s made by Ritek have been reported as an inferior quality media and are evoking that “Oh no, I shouldn’t have gotten those.” What we are suggesting is to download this DVD Identifier to find out who manufactured your DVD and if it's a decent quality. http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/ Once you have your disc identified, click the "More information" icon and see what information you're given. if you're not sure of the quality, come on back and we'll check it out for you - 2. A good grade, Hi-quality media is needed for DVD reproduction ! RiData, Sony, TDK, "Branded" Ritek G04's or "Branded" Verbatim Data Life, Verbatim DataLife plus, Taiyo Yuden's and generally, almost any discs manufactured by Mitsubishi are excellent bets. Among the better discs we're looking for, any media boasting "Advanced Metal AZO" - BUT it must say "METAL" AZO !, this indicates a superior dye and dye application on a good composite disc, while they are sometimes a bit "pricey" they are just the type of media we're looking for to do our DVD backups, Prices online from Meritline.com OR Newegg.com have gotten Ritek G04 starting at about a $ .45 (USD) a disc – For DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win BUT the majority lose, they lose varying amounts true but, they still lose :-( Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt. In an effort to clear the air, when I speak of "Cheap" or "Inexpensive" media, I'm not referring to the price you pay at the counter - I'm referring to poor quality control used during manufacturing and the quality of the dye, dye application or composite type used. I'm not saying it won't burn - Some may burn, some may not. It's quality is inconsistent, meaning it's not dependable. When I say "Branded" that means that when you pick up a disc in your hand, it says "Ritek" or "RiData" on the disc itself. The monetary cost of the media we recommend many times is cheaper than what you are purchasing now. We like to verify our information prior to recommending things. There are certain things we look at. For instance, when their dye and dye application are listed as unknown, this almost guarantees us they are using whatever they can get at a cheap price. Companies that use quality materials like to BRAG about it, naming names and staying with quality manufacturers who produce their media. Using DVD identifier and MediaMatch can help you find out a lot about what you're using. Purchasing your DVD media online can insure that you're getting quality merchandise at a good price. Shopping wisely will save you time, aggravation and money. Cheers, Pete I'm assuming your complaint was about the -R media though you didn't say what you wanted an answer too.
Hello Pete, Thanks for your extensive reply. The burner is dual format, as you'll see in the DVD Identifier report hereafter. ** INFO : An Empty Writable Disc Is Recommended For Accurate Results ** INFO : Drive = LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1213S [FW TS0D] ** INFO : Write Capabilities = DVD+R DVD+RW DVD-R DVD-RW ** INFO : Disc = [DVD-R:RITEKG04] ** INFO : Write Speeds (Supported By This Drive On This Disc) Listed Below ** INFO : GET PERFORMANCE Write Speed Descriptor(s) Descriptor #1 = 5540 KBPS ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV] ** INFO : MODE SENSE Write Speed Descriptor(s) [Legacy Command] Descriptor #1 = 5540 KBPS ( 4.00x) - [CLV/Non-Pure CAV] I use Nero 6.6. After 15 minutes the write was at 100% but stayed there for 21 minutes more and the resulting error is: "Could not perform end of Disc-at-once" I've also tried TDK, Verbatim and a Lite-On thet came with the burner, but all give the same result. I don't think it's the media, since "+"discs from the same brands burn fine. I've noticed that most dvd-roms can read only the "-"discs so people always have trouble reading my discs. That's the main reason I'd like to be able to burn "-" discs. The Lite-On site does not provide any help either. thanks again, Brian
Hi Brian, Your media seems fine, but there are some things we should check as they have a direct influence over how our drive behaves – 1. Check for up-to-date Firmware for your burner. At the bottom of the page look for "What's my firmware? - Try this little tool I found," Download this tool and check out your Firmware's health (up-to-date wise). You can probably get a current upgrade there also - http://flashman.rpc-1.com/ Firmware page - http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_all.php 2. Check for your ASPI Layer. If not present, get one and reinstall it, reboot to allow it to "settle in". ASPI Checker - http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/su...oduct/EZ-SCSI_5.0&filekey=aspichk.exe&sess=no Force 1.8 ASPI Layer - http://forceaspi18.w.interia.pl/ If you've found you need an ASPI layer OR would like some additional information about it - here you go - http://cd-rw.org/articles/archive/aspisetup.cfm 3. Check your Drives transfer mode. It should be DMA-4, not PIO. Windows XP downgrades the Ultra DMA transfer mode after receiving more than six CRC errors. To enable DMA mode using the Device Manager 1. Open Device Manager 2. Double-click IDE ATA//ATAPI Controllers to display the list of controllers and channels. 3. Right-click the icon for the channel to which your burner is connected and select Properties. Now click the Advanced Settings tab. 4. In the Current Transfer Mode drop-down box, select DMA if available if the current setting says, "PIO Only." If the drop-down box already says, "DMA if Available" but the current transfer mode is PIO, then the user must "toggle" the settings. That is, change the selection from "DMA if available" to PIO only, and click "OK". Then repeat the steps above to change the selection to "DMA if available". OPTION: Right-click the burner and select "Uninstall" and then "OK" all prompts until the PC reboots. Upon rebooting, the PC should "find" your burner and reinstall it setting it by "Default" to DMA. Now let's try again but this time, if you have any errors, let's print out your complete Nero log so that we can see where what went wrong - Pete
