Hi all, and thanks in advance for trying to help. I have posted this as a hardware problem, but it could be a software problem I really don't know. I posted it in a different section before I saw the tech support option, which I think is the right one. I have spent the last few days trawling the internet for answers to my problem, tried a number of possible solutions, and I am exactly where I was when I started. I really hope someone can help. I will give you as much information as I can, not sure what is relevant so will jam it all in I have a Packard Bell PC, which is all OEM except for the DVD-writer. I originally bought a DVD writer from a computer fair many years ago, and it worked perfectly, though was rarely used. I ran out of discs (I was using Datawrite yellow DVD-R and not once did I have a problem with writing to them). I wasn't aware at the time that there was a noticeable difference in reliability in discs, and just picked up some more DVD-Rs from Tesco - their own discs. Since this moment I have been unable to write to DVD Obvious cause of the problem was the new type of disc, so I went this time to my local computer shop. They agreed the Tesco ones were liable to be of poor quality, and gave me some others - not sure what they were but they are totally white (printable), and they said these were excellent. I took them home, and I had the same problem. I took the discs back, they tested one from the pack and said it was fine. Then we got talking about my DVD-writer, and the fact it was a few years old. They said it could well be that it's had enough and needs replacing. I bought myself a new Sony DVD RW DRU-190a all-singing all-dancing writer. I fitted it, and I had EXACTLY the same problem. This to me suggests it is neither the writer nor the discs at fault. But I decided to source some of the original Datawrite yellows that I had previously, got them from eBay, and they don't work either! Now convinced it isn't the discs at fault, nor the writer. Sorry this is going on so long, just wanna make sure I include everything. Within the PC, I moved the new SONY drive to the top position, moved my DVD-Rom to underneath, and set them both to Cable Select (Enable Cable Select was bridged on my Hard Drive). I fitted a new ribbon cable which I was given at the shop when I bought the SONY drive. I have been into Device Manager, uninstalled the Secondary IDE channel and Primary IDE channel and rebooted a couple of times. Everything I look at suggests that everything is wired up correctly and has the right drivers. I have also updated the Firmware for the SONY writer. I do not think the problem is caused by hardware, although I guess it is possible the new drive I bought is a dud. Having said that, if it is then it has the same problem as my old one as it fails in exactly the same way. Before I actually mention the problem (hope someone is still with me), I need to add that I reformatted the hard drive, and installed a fresh copy of Windows XP Media Centre a while ago. This will sound stupid I know, but I am not sure if my DVD writing problem started prior to the reinstall, as a result of the install, or after the install. I can't remember how long the problem has been plaguing me, but only this week have I really had a chance to look into it in depth. I am so gutted I have been unable to fix this alone, but hope you can help. Other than writing DVDs, my PC seems in tip-top form, no other problems of any kind with any hardware or software. When I was successfully writing to DVD it was mainly movies and I was using DVD Decrypter with DVD Shrink. It was still these programmes when my problems started, though I have now got ImgBurn - and the problem is the same. The Sony reads CDs and DVDs perfectly, and I have been able to rip both (CD's using WMP and DVDs using RipitForMe) with no problem. I can write data to CDs, and also music files to CD with no problem - using ImgBurn. However, when I try to write either data or a movie to DVD, the problem occurs. Log to follow, but basically the problem is that it all seems to start ok, it says Writing LeadIn, the time elapsed starts to run, the time remaining pops up, then the time remaining goes to 'unknown'. It is when this happens I know it's not gonna work. The time elapsed will just keep on running and running. After a while, the 'write retries : 0' goes to '1', and this will just keep going up to 20 where it will give up. This log is from a go I had earlier. As soon as write retries : 0 went to one I took the log, as I didn't want to wait for the 20 tries to write this thread. I 20:44:47 ImgBurn Version 2.4.2.0 started! I 20:44:47 Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition (5.1, Build 2600 : Service Pack 3) I 20:44:47 Total Physical Memory: 523,760 KB - Available: 184,152 KB I 20:44:47 Initialising SPTI... I 20:44:47 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices... I 20:44:48 Found 1 DVD-ROM, 1 DVD±RW/RAM and 1 BD-ROM/HD DVD-ROM! I 20:45:50 Operation Started! I 20:45:50 Building Image Tree... I 20:45:50 Checking Directory Depth... I 20:45:50 Calculating Totals... I 20:45:50 Preparing Image... I 20:45:50 Checking Path Length... I 20:45:50 Contents: 5 Files, 0 Folders I 20:45:50 Size: 469,504 bytes I 20:45:50 Sectors: 231 I 20:45:50 Image Size: 1,245,184 bytes I 20:45:50 Image Sectors: 608 I 20:45:50 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 00:00:00 I 20:46:03 Operation Started! I 20:46:03 Building Image Tree... I 20:46:05 Checking Directory Depth... I 20:46:05 Calculating Totals... I 20:46:05 Preparing Image... I 20:46:05 Checking Path Length... I 20:46:05 Contents: 5 Files, 0 Folders I 20:46:05 Size: 469,504 bytes I 20:46:05 Sectors: 231 I 20:46:05 Image Size: 1,245,184 bytes I 20:46:05 Image Sectors: 608 I 20:46:06 Operation Successfully Completed! - Duration: 00:00:03 I 20:46:07 Operation Started! I 20:46:07 Source File: -==/\/[BUILD IMAGE]\/\==- I 20:46:07 Source File Sectors: 608 (MODE1/2048) I 20:46:07 Source File Size: 1,245,184 bytes I 20:46:07 Source File Volume Identifier: My Documents I 20:46:07 Source File Application Identifier: IMGBURN V2.4.2.0 - THE ULTIMATE IMAGE BURNER! I 20:46:07 Source File Implementation Identifier: ImgBurn I 20:46:07 Source File File System(s): ISO9660, UDF (1.02) I 20:46:07 Destination Device: [1:0:0] SONY DVD RW DRU-190A 1.65 (D (ATA) I 20:46:07 Destination Media Type: DVD-R (Disc ID: MCC 03RG20) (Speeds: 4x, 6x, 8x, 12x, 16x, 18x) I 20:46:07 Destination Media Sectors: 2,297,888 I 20:46:07 Write Mode: DVD I 20:46:07 Write Type: Incremental I 20:46:07 Write Speed: MAX I 20:46:07 Link Size: Auto I 20:46:07 Test Mode: No I 20:46:07 OPC: No I 20:46:07 BURN-Proof: Enabled I 20:46:08 Filling Buffer... (20 MB) I 20:46:08 Writing LeadIn... I would be incredibly grateful for any assistance or ideas, because I have been working on fixing this for a few days and have gotten nowhere. I do notice the write speed is MAX, but I can't find where to change that! Thanks in advance
try the following (instrusctions taken from MS website): Step 1: Start Registry Editor Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK. Registry Editor starts. Step 2: Delete the UpperFilters registry entry 1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet. 3. Expand Control, and then expand Class. 4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. 5. In the right pane (topic area), click UpperFilters. Note An UpperFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the UpperFilters registry entry, you must click UpperFilters and not UpperFilters.bak. 6. On the Edit menu, click Delete. 7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the UpperFilters registry entry: Are you sure you want to delete this value? The UpperFilters registry entry is removed from the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey. Note Do not exit Registry Editor. You must have this program for the next step. Step 3: Delete the LowerFilters registry entry 1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet. 3. Expand Control, and then expand Class. 4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}. 5. In the right pane (topic area), click LowerFilters. Note An LowerFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the LowerFilters registry entry, you must click LowerFilters and not LowerFilters.bak. 6. On the Edit menu, click Delete. 7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the LowerFilters registry entry: Are you sure you want to delete this value? The LowerFilters registry entry is removed from the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey. 8. Exit Registry Editor. Step 4: Restart the computer If a CD recording program no longer works after you restart the computer, you must reinstall the CD recording program.
I didn't have time to read the whole thing as I have to shoot, but if you know the brand / model of the DVD writer or can find out, try updating the firmware.
