DVD/CD Burner not recognising Disks

[Ribeye]

Hi all,
I have a unique problem. I have a combo DVD/CD burner. It recognizes blank
DVD's and will record to them (not using vista burning proggie of course, it
never worked right, I mean never !!) but half of my blank CD's don't show up
in Win Explorer and I can't use them. Out of a 100 pack I'm lucky if 50 of
them work. Sony DVD 100 Pack - trashed into the garbage. Bought a new pack
and they all work. Am I missing a setting or something. I've never heard of
sooo many bad media.I either buy TDK or memorex and dont store them next to
magnetic fields (unless a sub-woofer would count). Please help, I mean what
good is a PC if you can't copy stuff off them.
Thanks in advance. PS- I was using Nero and then switched to roxio, same
problem with both, thanks ....Eric

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Eric.

I don't know all the answers to your problems, but I do have a couple of
thoughts.

First, the DVD and CD functions use different lasers. My first DVD/CD
burner still works - for DVDs. But the CD laser died a couple of years ago.
My son already had a CD but not a DVD, so he was happy to get my unit as a
hand-me-down.

I either buy TDK or memorex and dont store them next to
magnetic fields (unless a sub-woofer would count).

Many PC devices use magnetics (hard and floppy drives, and tapes), but
DVD/CD drives do not. They are optical devices. Data is stored as tiny
pits on the disc surface, rather than as magnetized spots.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64)

 

[Ribeye]

R.C.,

Yeah I figured that was the case so i went and bought a new DVD/CD combo
unit. I hope this solves the problem. Thanks for the knowledge of the
different types of lasers though and not to worry about magenetic fields, I
appreciate it...Eric

PS - I'll let you know if it works when it comes if I can find the post...

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Ribeye.

Yes, please report back so we know if our advice is correct and helpful.

I'm not sure how you can find your own post in the web-based interface you
are using. I always use Windows Live Mail and it has an option to Show
Replies to My Messages. I can toggle that on and see only the threads where
I've participated. It seems to me that most of the users who ask the
questions here prefer the web approach to these newsgroups (also known as
discussions or Communities), but most experienced users who try to answer
prefer the news readers.

If you have Vista (or any Windows in the past decade or more), then you
already have a news reader. Outlook Express was the newsreader up through
Windows XP. Vista comes with a rewritten version called Windows Mail. In
the year since Vista debuted, Microsoft has introduced the Windows Live
suite, including Windows Live Mail, an improved version of Windows Mail; WLM
runs on both WinXP and Vista. You can download WLM - and other parts of the
Live family - at http://get.live.com/wl.

But, whether you use OE or WM or WLM, just click this one link:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices

That one click will start your newsreader (if it is not already running);
create a News Account for you on the Microsoft public news server, which is
free and does not require you to log on; subscribe you to THIS hardware
newsgroup; download the 300 newest posts; and open the latest message for
you to read. You can explore from there; you should find your own posts
because you are looking at the same messages, just in a different format.
Read a few. When you are comfy with the program, click Tools | Options and
customize it to suit yourself.

In a few days, you'll know whether you like the newsreader interface better
than the browser approach. And it's not irreversible; you can go back to
the browser or even use both side by side. ;<)

Sorry. Didn't mean to turn this into a promo for OE/WM/WLM, but when you
said IF you can find the post...

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64)

 

[Ribeye]

R.C.
I use a newsreader called newsleecher. Would I be able to find this forum on
there?
and if so what would it be called?
I also realized i am using 52X CD's and my writer only writes at 48X. That
wouldn't make a difference would it?...Thanks again for the help

Would I be right in assuming it's this:
microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices

 

[Leecher]

Yup, found it through newsleecher but the web thing seems easier.
I'll let you know what happens when i get the burner...Eric

 

[Leecher]

PS - How would I find my own posts using newsleecher. It seems very
unorganised. maybe i'll try windows live...Eric

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Ribeye.

I use a newsreader called newsleecher. Would I be able to find this forum
on
there?

I'm not familiar with newsleecher, but many news servers simply "slurp"
messages from the Microsoft public news server and relay them - and your
responses - back and forth. But this often results in messages that are
delayed or out of sequence or just lost completely. Also, they usually do
not offer all the 2,000+ newsgroups that MS hosts there. Your best bet is
to go directly to the MS server and "cut out the middleman", who doesn't add
anything and often subtracts a lot.

Would I be right in assuming it's this:
microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices

Yes.

But you don't have to find either the server or this newsgroup. Just click
the link I gave you earlier:
news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windows.vista.hardware_devices

That will take you directly to msnews.microsoft.com, which is the MS server,
and to THIS newsgroup. Since you are running Vista, you have Windows Mail
built in automatically and it will run, unless newsleecher has hijacked the
"function. Click the link and let us know what happens. I expect
that WM will start, as I said earlier.

And please set whichever program you use to quote the prior messages in the
thread so that we have some context in each post.

I also realized i am using 52X CD's and my writer only writes at 48X. That
wouldn't make a difference would it?...Thanks again for the help

It might, but I'm not technical enough to say for sure. Maybe someone else
can jump in with help on that question.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64)

 

[Ribeye]

yes, this was the problem. I replaced it with a new DVD/CD burner and it now
works fine. Thanks for help...Eric

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Ribeye.

Great! I'm glad you got it working. And thanks for the feedback.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64)