This is driving me nuts...

[Ed Cregger]

im not entirely sure, maybe the format, but i would think it would
download it in WMA format which should burn fine. Perhaps its the
software??? I would
recommend Nero 6 Ultra Ed but i dont even think thats your problem.
Re-install the drivers for the optical drive and restart. If all else
fails, maybe buy a new optical drive.

I have a brand new NEC drive I could install. But this drive goes along with
the RoboCop decor of the comptuer - know what I mean? <G>

Ed Cregger

 

[Ed Cregger]

Just for the record, I was not one of those folks and while you may very
well have a marginal power supply I would not have leapt to that
conclusion from that particular symptom. (I don't have an alternate
conclusion to leap to either)


That's why I asked because, to me, (the computer) "behaving marginally"
suggests unexpected behaviors that randomly crop up under seemingly normal
operation and not identifiable, repeatable, specific problems. At that
point it's a problematic (marginal) this or that, not the whole thing.



Doesn't sound to me like that should have any noticeable effect on the
PC's PSU.

***That is what I was thinking too.

Na, I was a wiseass long before I was knowledgeable

***I don't know much at all, these days, but I was a wiseass long before
learning what little I do know. Salutations, Brother.

But back to the problem, have you tried more than one burning program?

***Yes, none seem to work any better than the built-in burner XP utilizes.

Second, if you have more than one installed maybe they're interfering with
each other (for example, EZCDCreator used to be notorious about that).

***I have removed them all, but I'm not sure that all was removed, if you
know what I mean? Which reminds me to run a clean up program sooner rather
than later.

Of course, you may have something really oddball like a funky wall outlet
acting up. (I once bought a whole new motherboard/CPU combo before
discovering it and that was the closest I ever came to losing my mind. You
know, it is *impossible* for this to *not work*, but it doesn't.)

***I had this happen in an apartment that I was living in over fifteen years
ago. It was maddening. I am an RF/analog technician, but was new to digital
in those days. I was pulling out the remainder of my hair trying to figure
out what was causing the hard drive to screw up daily.

Thanks for the help.

Ed Cregger

 

[David Maynard]

***That is what I was thinking too.




***I don't know much at all, these days, but I was a wiseass long before
learning what little I do know. Salutations, Brother.




***Yes, none seem to work any better than the built-in burner XP utilizes.

It's beginning to sound like you have an incredibly picky burner. Have you
checked for a BIOS upgrade for it?

***I have removed them all, but I'm not sure that all was removed, if you
know what I mean? Which reminds me to run a clean up program sooner rather
than later.

I'm not up on the latest 'woops' in burning software removal, because all
mine presently work, but I do remember that EZCDCreator used to (a few
version levels back) cause a problem that was irreversible by simply
'uninstalling' it. It left some funky 'filter' key in the registry that
effectively blocked the burners from anything.

Probably not what's happening to you as it wasn't intermittent, they were
just 'gone', but perhaps someone found a new way to screw it up.

***I had this happen in an apartment that I was living in over fifteen years
ago. It was maddening. I am an RF/analog technician, but was new to digital
in those days. I was pulling out the remainder of my hair trying to figure
out what was causing the hard drive to screw up daily.

Sounds like you had the same wall outlet <g>.

My problem began when I tried to boot what had been a perfectly fine system
and the boot loader rudely asked "oh yeah? what hard drive? the one with no
partition on it?"

Couldn't install either. It would start off good enough and then go insane
at random points in the process. Check CD. good. Can't install. Alternate
CD. Can't install. New hard drive. Can't install. New motherboard. Can't
install. New everything. Can't install. Bang head on wall but still can't
install.

Did, in fact, check power during that disaster and it was good too, when I
checked. Turned out to be intermittent (took an hour of monitoring to catch
it). It didn't drop power but chattered and put out the most impressive
blast of RF hash you ever saw when it did. Marconi could have picked me up
across the pond

 

[Ed Cregger]

It's beginning to sound like you have an incredibly picky burner. Have you
checked for a BIOS upgrade for it?

Yes, but I can't get that to work either. It's been one of those days. <G>

Ed Cregger

 

[David Maynard]

Yes, but I can't get that to work either. It's been one of those days. <G>

Ed Cregger

Well that sure sucks.

Could be it's defective. For example, I've got a DVD player with something
intermittent so that some times it just don't do nuttin even though it's
lit up. Other times it works fine.

You also might want to recheck cables and jumpers on it just to make sure.