PLEASE HELP! DVD/CD-RW Drive won't recognize blank dvd-rw's

[Guest]

I have an IBM Thinkpad T30. My OS is WinXP Pro. My DVD-RW/CD-RW is an
HL-DT-ST RW/DVDGCC-4160N. I received this laptop as a gift, so I don't know
who the manufacturer of the RW drive is. I know it's a dual layer.

Here's my problem. I can burn and play audio cd's, I can burn a CD-R. I'm
using Nero 6 Ultra Edition as my burning software.

I have wasted 5 DVD-R's on failed projects, so I decided to buy DVD-RW's.
Now, I originally bought the plus RW's, only to have projects fail anyway. I
thought I could erase them. (RW). That didn't happen, so I bought the minus
RW's, thinking the pluses were incompatible. Nero and Windows both are not
recognizing the blank DVD media discs. I can play the one DVD-R that I was
able to successfully burn, but after all the troubleshooting of the DMA
settings, still I have re-writable discs that I refuse to throw out as
ruined. Please help.

 

[Maincat]

Use Verbatim DVDs. They're the only ones that work on my system.

 

[Guest]

Thank you for the rapid response, maincat.

I will try them. Although my drive says it supports both plus and minus
rw's; which one should I get, maincat?

 

[The Guru]

I think the manufacturer is LG. It might be worth checking their
website to see if there is any updated firmware. This might improve
compatibility with different media.

Also disable any resource hogging background apps like Norton while
burning. And try some different burning software.

The PC Guru: www.the-pc-guru.com

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have an IBM Thinkpad T30. My OS is WinXP Pro. My DVD-RW/CD-RW is
an HL-DT-ST RW/DVDGCC-4160N. I received this laptop as a gift, so I
don't know who the manufacturer of the RW drive is. I know it's a
dual layer.

Here's my problem. I can burn and play audio cd's, I can burn a
CD-R. I'm using Nero 6 Ultra Edition as my burning software.

I have wasted 5 DVD-R's on failed projects, so I decided to buy
DVD-RW's. Now, I originally bought the plus RW's, only to have
projects fail anyway. I thought I could erase them. (RW). That
didn't happen, so I bought the minus RW's, thinking the pluses were
incompatible. Nero and Windows both are not recognizing the blank
DVD media discs. I can play the one DVD-R that I was able to
successfully burn, but after all the troubleshooting of the DMA
settings, still I have re-writable discs that I refuse to throw out
as ruined. Please help.

Use Verbatim DVDs. They're the only ones that work on my system.

Thank you for the rapid response, maincat.

I will try them. Although my drive says it supports both plus and
minus rw's; which one should I get, maincat?

Check LG ( I think that is the official manufacturer for your drive) for
firmware updates.. Best bet is to go to the Laptop Manufacturer however...
They may have firmware updates for that drive.

As for the brand - although it can make a difference - 5 of them points more
toward a bad batch that you have or bad drive. Do try a different brand -
but do it in a small quantity.

As for + or -, whatever you can get. Doesn't really matter much for data
and until you burn one, you will be unsure which your stand-alone DVD Movie
players will play anyway.