I have a fairly new HP Lightscribe dual layer DVD burner installed in an eMachines W3118 with 256 megs of RAM, using Nero CD/DVD burning software. When I first got the drive, it could burn anything, just fine. Lately, however, I can’t burn anything. CDs won’t work, single layer DVDs won’t work, nor will dual layer DVDs. Everything’s fully patched and updated, and I can’t think of anything I might have done to screw up the software (though I am running a bit low on harddrive space). So I’m wondering if there’s a problem with the drive or if it’s a software issue.
Try using the built in windows burning applet. I think (not sure) it may only burn CDs regardless of hardware capabilities, but it will tell if the burning laser is working. If that won’t work, and all hard connections are good (IE you tried tightening connectors, swapping cables etc.) then the burning laser is probably fried or misaligned. Not economically repairable - Replace in warranty or buy a new one. DVD burner prices are fairly cheap these days @ $30 - $70.
I had a similar problem and reseating the ribbon cable to the drive at both ends solved it. It’s worth a try. Is Nero throwing up error messages?
Only when it completes the burn and checking the disc.
Did you try buring using the built in windows applet?
I am having a similar probelm with my burner. I still burn stuff, and since verything I burn is media (i.e. movies or audio) it still works fine even though the disc verification says there is a problem. I would be interested in seeing if there was anything i could do to fix it though.
Yeah, and it gave me an error message, so it’s looking like either I’ve got a loose connection or the drive’s hosed.
Forgot to mention: I haven’t tried it with the windows applet because I don’t have any CDRs, only DVDRs. I will try the reseating thing when I get home.
I have not had any experience with this myself, but it had been reported that applications protected with “Starforce” copy protection can affect burners. See Boycott Starforce and use the “detect” instructions to see if you have Starforce on your system. There’s also a “games list” tab.
Tuckerfan, can you read from CDs or DVDs? If you can, then the IDE cable is fine, as are the basic servo mechanisms of the drive, and the problem is most likely with the write laser(s) or the software. If you can’t read disks, then the IDE cable is bad – or poorly connected – or the drive is hosed, or (less likely) the IDE channel on the motherboard has a problem, but that’s easy enough to test with other drives.
[I have a couple of DVD writers that have gone out of alignment for writing, but are fine for reading. They go into donated PCs where write capability is not required.]
As astro said, burners are cheap these days.
It’ll read just fine, so it looks like it’s the write laser.