Ahhhhh, DVDs no longer burn!

[n7]

I had an LG GSA-4120 DVD+/-RW that seemed to have major issues burning 8x DVDs at 8x.
It could do them quite happily at 4x, but that defeated the whole point of course.
I tried various medias, thinking it was likely just poor blank DVDs.
However, a few guys i know had other burners that were doing all the types of media i was trying, but at 8x (or even at 12x) with no troubles. Another buddy of mine had the same burner as me, & he too couldn't get any 8x burns to work.

Just before i got fed up with that burner, i tried one last type of media, & it wouldn't burn at all 😕
In fact, my whole system (A64 that never freezes) froze up & had to be restarted via the power button.
I tried using various software to burn, & each one resulted in a frozen system :|

I figured that the LG was really f*cked, so i got a BenQ DW1620 tonight.

Well, apparently my system is messed up somehow as well, as i still cannot burn any DVDs with this new burner, & i am unable to get the firmware flash utility to work without failing.

I remembered people always mentioning checking that DMA is enabled...& here's the kicker...when i go to check that...there is no advanced tab showing DMA enabled or not!?! (on my other comp it's there)
Wtf?

I also was able to burn a CD with no trouble, but no DVD R or DVD RW will work.

I really don't like the idea of reformatting, but i have no other ideas of what to do, or what could be causing such a screwup!



Cliffnotes: System freezes when i attempt to burn a DVD, & nothing's changed recently (aside from the new DVD Writer that still doesn't work).

Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!


System specs are linked in my sig; there are no viruses/spyware/etc. either.

 

[xbassman]

I tried using various software to burn, & each one resulted in a frozen system

Did you install any packet writing software (ie INCD) on an XP box?

I have had them render a burner useless.....
Windows XP writes in RAW format to CD/RWs and is incompatable with packet writing software.
Also if you have installed both Roxio and Nero they can conflict.

 

[Big Lar]

Sounds to me like a DMA prob, have you checked the DMA settings in bios, as well as in Device Manager?
For what its worth, I disabled the XP burning software in services, before I ever even installed nero, and have not had any probs with my Plex.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: xbassman

I tried using various software to burn, & each one resulted in a frozen system

Did you install any packet writing software (ie INCD) on an XP box?

I have had them render a burner useless.....
Windows XP writes in RAW format to CD/RWs and is incompatable with packet writing software.
Also if you have installed both Roxio and Nero they can conflict.

Not that i am aware of.

I only had Nero, Alchohol, & DVD Decrypter installed.

The only thing that occurred to me was that i think (IIRC) everything was fine before i installed Nero 6.6.
But i re-imaged to a fresh install...ah sh!t but then i installed Nero 6.6 again.
That might just be it. I will see what happens with 6.6 uninstalled.

Originally posted by: Big Lar
Sounds to me like a DMA prob, have you checked the DMA settings in bios, as well as in Device Manager?
For what its worth, I disabled the XP burning software in services, before I ever even installed nero, and have not had any probs with my Plex.

Well i really don't know what to look for in the bios, but it says everything's set to auto...but the weird thing is that there is no advanced tab in my device manager for DMA or PIO...unlike on my other comp, which i'm very confused by.

As for disabling the Windows burning service, i actually had it disabled before, & i though maybe that's why it wasn't working, so i re-enabled it, but no go.

I am just baffled here...😕

 

[n7]

Well, it doesn't work even with Nero completely uninstalled, woohoo :|

It just doesn't make any sense, since there's nothing that i changed at all recently.
If it was just this new DVDRW not working, i'd think it was this burner...but the other one i did the same thing just before i took it out.

Arghhhhhh!


Edit: I'm a dumbass.
I completely forgot about System Restore...& now that i've re-imaged it doesn't work.


Well thanx thus far for the ideas people...if anyone can explain what to look for regarding DMA in the bios, that'd be great...since the Device Manager doesn't show any settings for it anymore.

 

[xbassman]

When you are looking in device manager, you are looking @ your primary and secondary ide channels right?

If the advanced tab isn't there I would guess that your driver for your IDE controller is mucked.
If that is the case reinstall it and give it another go.

In your bios under IDE you should be able to auto detect and see your devices.
Also when booting up you should see a listing of ide devices pop-up on the screen quickly. (hit pause to view them)

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: xbassman
When you are looking in device manager, you are looking @ your primary and secondary ide channels right?

If the advanced tab isn't there I would guess that your driver for your IDE controller is mucked.
If that is the case reinstall it and give it another go.

Yeah, that's where i'm looking...i don't actually have a controller card or anything though; it's just connected to the mobo.

Originally posted by: xbassmanIn your bios under IDE you should be able to auto detect and see your devices.
Also when booting up you should see a listing of ide devices pop-up on the screen quickly. (hit pause to view them)

Yeah all my devices show up.

It looks as if i am gonna have to reinstall.

I was hoping that just re-imaging to a fresh install would work...but it didn't.


Nothing quite as fun as the good old format

:roll:

 

[n7]

Well, i finally got around to formatting...& all is well now 😀

I love my new DVD burner too.

This BenQ rocks! It's capable of burning some of my 8x DVD-Rs @ 12x, & another brand of 8x DVD+R @ 16x 🙂

I'd recommend this DW 1620 to anyone.