CD/DVD Drive/Writer Problems: Fixing Problems with CD and DVD Drives - Page 1

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CD/DVD DRIVE PROBLEMS - PAGE 1

Visit the Disk Drives section of this site for information on internal and external hard disk drives and CD/DVD drives/writers.

Click the relevant link below to go to that Q&A article. Use your browser's Back button to backtrack.

Some of the fixes provided here require the editing of the Windows Registry. Remember, you should have a restorable backup of your computer's system before you attempt to edit the Registry in case doing so miscarries and renders the computer unbootable.

1. - Information on CD/DVD drive/writer problems in the Microsoft Knowledge Base

2. - I can't watch DVD movies on my Windows XP laptop/notebook computer

3. - How can I remove the DRM copy protection on the music tracks that I purchased from Nokia so that I can play them on an iPod and burn them to a CD/DVD disc?

4. - The DVD drive/writer of my laptop PC/computer won't write to DVD-R/DVD+R discs

5. - When some burned DVDs are played the picture becomes pixilated and the DVD drive/DVD player stops playing

6. - How do I erase the files saved on re-recorable/rewritable CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD RAM discs in Windows XP and Windows Vista?

7. - How can I replace my Dell Inspiron 6000/6400/9200/9300/E1405/E1505 laptop/notebook PC's DVD drive/writer?

8. - DVD movie problem: my computer and the DVD drive work properly, but the sound is crackly and the picture is jerky

9. - Reinstalling a DVD decoder: My Dell Inspiron PC has stopped recognising (US: recognizing) DVDs

10. - When I plug my memory stick/flash drive in a USB port or insert a CD/DVD in the optical drive the window showing the options to display the contents (flash drive) or the window containing the contents (CD/DVD disc) doesn't come up as it used to

11. - How can I disable/turn off the AutoPlay feature in Windows XP/Vista that displays a list of options when I insert a CD or DVD or install a USB flash drive/memory stick?

12. - When I insert a CD in my CD drive a message comes up saying "Please insert disk in drive E:"

13. - My CD/DVD drive/writer won't work after I removed a virus / CD/DVD burning sofrware

14. - My home CD/DVD player won't play rewritable CD-RW/DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs that my PC's CD/DVD drive/writer can play

15. - How can I drag-and-drop and copy files and folders directly to recordable/rewritable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs in the same way as I can to a hard disk drive in Windows XP and Windows Vista?

16. - My DVD drive/writer won't write to some recordable DVDs - DVD-R and DVd+R discs - at their rated speed

17. - My Computer in Windows XP does not recognise/recognize my CD/DVD drives, the BIOS does, but the Device Manager shows a yellow exclamation mark beside each drive's entry

18. - Inserting a blank recordable CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW disc in the CD/DVD writer makes Windows XP lock up

19. - The speed of a CD-RW burn and the quality of the discs?

20. - Why won't my CD/DVD writer burn some types of CD/DVD? - The drive/writer/disc compatibility of CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+R recordable CD/DVD discs

21. - Problems saving a database to CD-R and CD-RW discs

22. - How to avoid buffer underruns and spoiled CDs/DVDs when burning/writing files to recordable CD/DVDs - CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVd+RW discs

23. - To to upgrade your CD/DVD/Blu-ray driver/writer's firmware

24. - Chkdsk in Windows XP is "Unable to read security descriptors"

25. - Windows XP can only burn read-only files to CD-RW media/discs

26. - My Toshiba DVD writer/burner won't write/burn to no-brand DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW media/discs

27. - When ripping audio CDs in iTunes the last track very often is much longer than the actual track, so how can I edit the MP3 file to remove the blank bit?

Information on CD/DVD drive/writer problems in the Microsoft Knowledge Base

I can't watch DVD movies on my Windows XP laptop/notebook computer

Problem

When I go abroad with my Windows XP laptop computer, I would like to watch some DVD movies that I can take with me, but they won't play on my laptop. I get the following message: "Windows Media Player cannot play this DVD because a compatible DVD decoder is not installed on your computer." I have Roxio Creator 7 installed, but its player gives me the message: "DVD is copy protected Please insert a non-CSS DVD." Please tell me how I can make my laptop play DVD movies.

Answer

Windows Vista and Windows 7 have a built-in DVD decoder, but Windows XP does not and Roxio Creator 7 won't work because its player can only play non-commercial discs that don't use CSS encryption. However, the problem is easy solve and, what is more, the solution is free. Download and install the free VLC from http://www.videolan.org/vlc/. Run it from the Start menu and insert the disc you want, and it should start playing the disc immediately. VLC can be used to play most other media files, such as downloaded videos. VLC is a powerful media playback application and supports DVDs and many other media file types. When I had a look on January 28, 2010, its website reported that it had been downloaded 115 million times at a rate of 8 downloads a second.

How can I remove the DRM copy protection on the music tracks that I purchased from Nokia so that I can play them on an iPod and burn them to a CD/DVD disc?

Problem

I bought some music tracks from Nokia's online store. I want to transfer them to my iPod. Unfortunately, all of the tracks are in the WMA format (myfile.wma) and are DRM-protected. Is there any way to remove the protection so that I can use these files anywhere, includng burning them to a CD/DVD?

Answer

There are applications that will remove the protection from DRM-protected WMA tracks but it is illegal to do so. At the time of writing this, most other music stores had started to sell DRM-free tracks, but Nokia had yet to do so. The company is rumoured to drop DRM in 2010, but you will be stuck with your DRM-protected music tracks unless you want to take the illegal route and remove the protection (to find free applications, enter drm removal freeware in the Google search box at the top of this page, with its Web radio button enabled). I would just buy music downloads from a DRM-free store, such as Amazon.co.uk or iTunes. Amazon is best, in my opinion, because the files are not DRM-protected and its MP3-file (myfile.mp3) downloads play on anything, whereas, as usual, Apple only uses its own AAC format.

The DVD drive/writer of my laptop/notebook PC/computer won't write to DVD-R/DVD+R discs

Problem

Having had no previous problem with its DVD writer, now when I try using Roxio Creator on my laptop PC to write to both DVD-R and DVD+R discs, a brand of disc that I know is compatible, there is no longer an option to set the drive's write speed. An error message comes up saying: "Invalid parameter". The laptop is running Windows XP Professional.

Answer

This is the most common problem that afflicts CD/DVD drives/writers - not being able to read discs or write to discs. It is usually fixed by entering the Device Manager, opening the DVD/CD-ROM drives category of devices, right-clicking on the make/model of the drive under that category, and then choosing Uninstall from the menu that presents itself. Rebooting the computer makes Windows XP or Windows Vista reinstall the device drivers, which were somehow corrupted.

In Windows XP, the quickest method to bring up the Device Manager is to enter devmgmt.msc in the Start => Run box. Alternatively, right-click My Computer => Properties (as in Windows 95/98/Me), to bring up the System Properties applet, shown below, and then click the Hardware tab followed by the Device Manager button.

The Device Manager appears in the Control Panel as an item in Windows Vista. There are several ways to access it. For example, to access Device Manager, follow this click path: Start => Control Panel => System and Maintenance => System => Device Manager. The quickest method is to enter the devmgmt.msc in the Start => Start Search box. (Vista doesn't normally have a Run box, but it can be configured to show one). In Windows 7, just enter the word device in the Start => Search programs and files box to be provided with a link which when clicked opens the Device Manager window.

Alternatively, if it has one, you can try using the laptop's quick eject mechanism for optical CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives. This enables the drive to be removed from its drive bay. To do that turn the laptop upside down and look for a slider or switch that allows you to slide the drive out. Other model's of laptop use a screw to hold the drive in place. Release the drive, slide it a few inches out of its bay and then push it back into place firmly. Sometimes the drive can disconnect from its connection to the computer. Doing that reconnects it and allows you to write to discs.

To do that on a desktop PC requires the user to open the PC's case and then make sure that the power and data cables going to the drive and motherboard are firmly connected.

When some burned DVDs are played the picture becomes pixilated and the DVD drive/DVD player stops playing

Problem

I have burned many DVDs in the DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW formats on a DVD drive and a Panasonic DVD recorder that I connected to my media center PC. The output of some of the discs becomes pixilated and they stop playing after about 45 minutes. Can you tell me how what the cause is and how to prevent this from happening?

Answer

The quality of DVD-R/DVD+R/DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs can vary considerably - even between the discs made by the major disc manufacturers.

Always avoid very cheap or non-branded discs, because they are often of inferior quality or can evenbe the rejected discs of the major manufacturers.

The optical characteristics of recordable discs differ considerably compared to those of pressed commercial DVD discs. The reflective pits that are burned into the layer(s) of the disc by its laser during the burning process, which store the binary digital data, are not as well defined in recordable discs as they are on non-recordable pressed discs (retail movie discs, etc.) and this is the cause of possible read errors. Some PC DVD drives or DVD players are better at reading weakly-defined pits or correcting read errors than others.

For that reason, the playback of burned discs is also more easily disrupted by dirt and dust on the disc or fluff on the laser pickup of the drive/player. Playback problems of the kind you are experiencing are often put right after using a good-quality disc cleaner or switching to another brand of disc.

You should visit the website of the DVD drive/player manufacturer's website, because it often provides information on which brands of disc have been tested as being compatible with that DVD drive/player.

How do I format rewritable CD/DVD discs and erase the files saved on re-recorable/rewritable CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD RAM and Blu-ray BD-RE discs in Windows XP and Windows Vista?

CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, or DVD-RAM discs are rewritable, allowing the deletion of one or all of the files and folders on the disc.

The number of times that CD-RW and DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs can be rewritten depends upon the disc itself. The higher quality discs will have a longer life than lower quality discs. It also depends on the care that is taken with the disc. Some disc manufacturers state that their CD-RW discs can be rewritten up to 1,000 times.

It is estimated that a DVD-RW or DVD+RW discs can also be rewritten approximately 1,000 times and a DVD-RAM disc a huge 100,000 times.

How to format and erase files and folders on a CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM disc in Windows XP

Windows XP Home or Professional Editions cannot format CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW or DVD-RAM discs. Windows XP can burn data and music to a CD-R, DVD-R or DVD+R (record-once-only) disc without problems because those disks are pre-formatted.

Description of CD-R and CD-RW recording in Windows XP - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3Ben-us%3B279157

Microsoft says in a round about way in the above article that you need third-party software to format a CD-RW disc, which also applies to the rewritable formats - DVD-RW and DVD-RW. It does not make that clear enough. Without formatting a CD-RW disc, you won't be able to write any data to it. Therefore, unless you have third-party software like Roxio, Nero or some other software for burning rewritable discs, you cannot use Windows XP to burn data to them at all. The following disc-writing software is free.

CDBurnerXP - "CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components." - http://www.cdburnerxp.se/

You cannot erase selective (individual) files from a rewritable CD/DVD in Windows XP itself. The only way to do that is be to copy the files and/or folders back to the computer's hard disk drive, erase the files that you don't want, erase the contents of the disc and and re-burn.

There are packet writing programs that make rewritable discs appear to behave like large-capacity floppy disks, which allows you to "edit" and "delete" files from those discs. The files seem to have disappeared when the contents are viewed in Windows Explorer, but in fact the space is still being used by those files. To regain that space, you have to erase or reformat the disc.

However, note that Windows Vista allows you to erase all of the files on a rewritable disk - or just selected files. With CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, or DVD-RAM discs, if you use the Live File System file format, you can delete one or more files to make more room on the disc. (Read the following information on on Vista.)

I have used a CD-RW disc as the example, but the following process applies to all of the types of rewritable discs - CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM.

To erase files from a CD rewritable (CD-RW) disc, place the disc in the optical CD/DVD drive and click Start =>My Computer, right-click on the entry for the CD/DVD writer, and click Open. The folders and files on the disc will be displayed. In the CD Writing Tasks pane, click Erase this CD-RW. The Welcome to the CD Writing Wizard window is displayed. Click its Next button. The Erasing the CD window is displayed and the progress bar shows the progress of the deletions. A message is displayed in the Notification Area when the process is finished, after which you can reuse the CD-RW disc. Note that if the CD/DVD disc is not erasable (the disc is read-only CD/DVD ROM) this feature is not available.

How to format and erase files and folders on a CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD-RAM disc in Windows Vista

Windows Vista allows you to erase all of the files on a rewritable disk - or just selected files. With CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, or DVD-RAM discs, if you use the Live File System file format, you can delete one or more files to make more room on the disc.

To erase all of the folders and files on a disc do the following in Vista:

1. - Insert the CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, or DVD-RAM disc into your PC's CD/DVD writer.

2. - Click Start => Computer.

3. - Double-click the icon that represents the CD/DVD writer and click the Erase this disc that appears on the toolbar. The Erase Disc Wizard will guide you through the process.

Follow the following steps to delete some of the files on a disc.

1. - Insert the CD-RW or DVD-RW disc into your computer's CD or DVD burner.

2. - Click Start => Computer.

3. -Double-click the icon that represents the CD/DVD writer to display the contents of the disc.

4. - Select the files or folders that you want to delete. To select more than one file, hold down the Ctrl key, use your mouse to select the files that you want and press the Delete key.

If you are using Windows Vista to burn discs, read the following pages on formatting and burning a CD/DVD.

Format a CD or DVD [in Windows Vista] - http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/...

Burn a CD or DVD [in Windows Vista] - http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/...

Formatting and erasing Blu-ray rewritable BD-RE discs in Windows XP/Vista

At the time of writing there was no information on the web about formatting and erasing rewritable Blu-ray BD-RE discs in Windows XP/Vista. You can conduct a search for information by entering a relevant search term, such as format + erase + blu-ray + discs + vista, in the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled).

Third-party software is available that can format and erase BD-RE discs in Windows XP and Vista. Here is a good example:

BurnAware.Professional.v2.2.0-Retail - http://www.zimbio.com/Blu-ray+Disc/articles/1035/BurnAware+Professional+v2+2+0+Retail

How can I replace my Dell Inspiron 6000/6400/9200/9300/E1405/E1505 laptop/notebook PC's DVD drive/writer?

Problem

I accidentally dropped my Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop PC when the optical Phillips DVD +/- SDVD8820 CD/DVD writer was open, which killed it. The extended warranty does not cover accidental damage, and I don't have accidental-damage insurance cover for it. Can I install any make of laptop optical drive, or do I have to obtain the same make and model? A Google search for the drive only located eBay as a source for second-hand drives, but I would rather have a brand-new drive. Could I buy a replacement from Dell?

Answer

You should buy the same make and model of CD/DVD writer because the laptop was designed to fit it. Another make/model might not fit.

This is the kind of information supplied on sites that supply replacement laptop parts:

"Do I have the right part? These drives are designed to specifically fit only the mentioned make and model laptops. Match the description, picture, and any part numbers associated with the part to our list."

The same drive has been used with a different outer plastic faceplate in different Inspiron models, including the 6000, 6400, 9200, 9300, E1405 and E1505, but you can easily unclip the faceplate on the existing drive and use it on the replacement.

Dell can supply you with a brand new drive over the telephone, but for some reason not from its website. You can find the contact number on its website. It is unlikely to be the cheapest source, so try using Google again to look for cheaper suppliers. There is a Google search box at the top of this page that can be used (with its Web radio button enabled). The drive shouldn't cost more than about £30/$60.

For the easiest replacement, obtain the exact Dell part number for the drive. It might be printed on the drive's label. If not, try visiting http://support.dell.com/. Enter your service tag and then select original configuration. Visit the following page for more information:

Dell Replacement Spare Parts and Upgrades:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/selector.aspx?ref=myaccount&id=cps&appIndex=dellspct&c=us&l=en&s=gen

Replacing the drive yourself shouldn't present you with any difficulties. Just remove the drive as shown in the service manual. If cables are attached to the drive remove and attach the cables to the same connectors on the replacement drive. Dell provides a service manual for all of its PCs. The information is also available from Dell's website. Here is the information in the service manual for the optical drive:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins6400/en/sm/opdrive.htm#wp999869

It looks from that page as if there are no cables; the drive plugs into the computer automatically when you insert it.

If you don't need to use the computer on the move, you could buy an external USB DVD writer. Desktop PC external drives that have a desktop-sized drive in an external case are the cheapest and the fastest. They can be plugged into a USB port on the laptop. If you need to use the drive on the move, you should buy a portable drive, which houses a laptop-sized DVD writer in an external case. Portable USB drives are not as fast as external desktop USB drives. If possible, for the best results, you should use a portable drive's mains power adapter.

You can make use of the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled) to search for information and vendors of external desktop and portable DVD writers. The LG GSA-E50N portable drive and the Samsung Super-WriteMaster SE-S204 desktop external drive are both excellent products and both of them can be purchased for under £50/$100 (March 2008).

DVD movies problem: my computer and the DVD drive work properly, but the sound is crackly and the picture is jerky

Problem

My Toshiba Equium A100 laptop/notebook computer runs Windows XP Media Center. It has an nVidia GeForce Go 7300 graphics processor, a 1.6GHz processor, integrated Realtec audio. I can use WinDVD, which was pre-installed, and Nero 7 Premium, which includes Nero Show Time. When the computer plays DVD movies the sound is crackly and the pictures are slightly jerky. It used to play DVDs without any problems. Otherwise, the computer itself and the DVD drive work properly. I have tried reinstalling Nero, but not WinDVD, because I have to run the Recovery CD that restores the system to the state it was in when it left the factory.

Answer

The jerky pictures and poor sound quality are most probably caused by the IDE controller (the computer has an IDE hard disk drive) not being set to Direct Memory Access (DMA) mode, which allows the DVD drive to transfer data directly to the RAM memory instead of via the processor. The alternative mode is called PIO mode, which makes use of the processor. During a DVD movie, the processor's workload gets too heavy and the stress on it makes the video become jerky and the sound quality deteriorate.

The following article should contain all of the information you need to fix the problem.

DMA reverts to PIO - http://winhlp.com/node/10

Reinstalling a DVD decoder: My Dell Inspiron PC has stopped recognising (US: recognizing) DVDs

Problem

My Dell Inspiron 1150 desktop PC that runs Windows XP has suddenly stopped recognising DVDs, but, for some reason CDs are still recognised. Dell's support suggested that it was a corrupt DVD decoder and that I should perform a system recovery that involves restoring the computer to the state it was in when it left the factory. I am not keen on doing that because I would lose all of my customised settings and it would take me a long time to download and reinstall all of the security updates, the applications that I installed myself, and all of my data files that I have backups of. So, I'd like to know if I can just restore the DVD decoder without having to lose everything else.

Answer

First try playing different DVDs, preferably pressed DVDs instead of home-recorded DVDs, in order to make sure that you didn't just try to play a bad DVD.

Dell used to provide Recovery CDs with all of its computers, which it still does with its business computers. You can still buy the Recovery CDs as an option during the purchase of a home computer, but for the last few years, in order to cut costs, if the purchaser doesn't buy the CDs, Dell uses a recovery partition on the hard disk drive where all of the recovery files are stored. The recovery procedure is started from the command prompt, which you can open by entering cmd in the Start => Run box in Windows XP, and in the Start => Start Search box in Windows Vista.

It would be time-consuming and difficult to describe how to remove and reinstall the DVD decoder, so Dell's support suggested the easiest method of recovery from the company's point of view, and the worse method from your point of view. In any case, the problem might not even be software-related. It could easily be caused by faulty hardware. Sometimes, even though a drive can recognise and read CDs, a hardware fault could prevent it from recognising and reading a DVD.

That said, the cause of the problem is more likely to be software-related, so, I suggest using the Windows DVD Troubleshooter. To run it in Windows XP, click Start => Help and Support. Under Pick a Help Topic, scroll down to Fixing a problem and click on it. In the window that comes up find Games, Sound and Video problems, and in the right-hand window, click DVD Troubleshooter. To find it in Windows Vista, enter DVD Troubleshooter in the Search box of its Help and Support.

This MS Knowledge Base article provides other suggestions: How to troubleshoot common problems that may occur when a Windows XP-based computer cannot read a CD or a DVD - "This article describes how to troubleshoot common problems that may occur when a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer cannot read a CD or a DVD in a disc drive. This article contains several methods that you can use to try to resolve these problems." - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321641

If you don't have the CD that contains the DVD decoder software, it might be difficult or impossible to locate. Usually, the DVD decoder software that comes with a DVD drive or PC has a condition of its licence that it can only be distributed with the DVD drive for which it is licensed, which means that it is not usually made available as a download. Fortunately, your PC uses Sonic Solutions software, which can be downloaded from Dell's Support site here: http://support.dell.com/.

You could also try using a free 30-day trial of Cyberlink's PowerDVD software from http://www.cyberlink.com/. It is generally regarded as being superior to Sonic Solutions software and the Windows Media Player. If you decide not to buy Cyberlink's PowerDVD and uninstall it after the trial period, it leaves behind the MPEG2 codec, which allows you to play DVDs using the Windows Media Player.

If the problem is hardware-related, you'll have to replace your PC's DVD drive. DVD drives/writers are currently very inexpensive, especially when compared to the prices of Blu-ray drives/writers.

When I plug my memory stick/flash drive in a USB port or insert a CD/DVD in the optical drive the window showing options to display the contents (flash drive) or the window containing the contents (CD/DVD disc) doesn't come up as it used to

Usually when you plug a USB flash drive/memory stick or insert a CD/DVD disc into your laptop or desktop PC, for a flash drive a window comes up that displays several options that can be chosen from to display the contents of the drive and a window comes up showing the contents of the CD/DVD disc. For the flash drive, you usually choose the Open folder to view files option in order to view the contents.

If those windows no longer presents themselves, the Autoplay feature is no longer working. To fix the problem try using the Autoplay Repair Wizard:

"The Microsoft AutoPlay Repair Wizard scans your computer devices to find defective AutoPlay settings, and attempts to fix those it finds." -

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C680A7B6-E8FA-45C4-A171-1B389CFACDAD&displaylang=en

You insert the USB flash drive or CD/DVD disc and run the program, which allows you to select the problem device, and then when prompted, remove then re-insert the drive or disc. The instructions are very straightforward and the whole process does not take long.

At the time of writing (March 2009), there was no AutoPlay Repair Wizard for Windows Vista, but there is this page:

Troubleshoot [Vista] AutoPlay problems -

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/3ab73757-6b67-4e3c-80b1-a75651c7a9451033.mspx

How can I disable/turn off the AutoPlay feature in Windows XP/Vista that displays a list of options when I insert a CD or DVD or install a USB flash drive/memory stick?

Question

My computer is running Windows XP Home Edition . Every time I insert a CD or DVD or install a USB flash drive it presents a list of options, including Open folder to view files and Edit pictures. I want to do my own thing via Windows Explorer, so is there any way to turn off this list, or modify it so that it has options that I can use.

Answer

This feature is called AutoPlay. You can use Microsoft's TweakUI utility to turn it off.

Visit this page to obtain TweakUI for Windows XP, which is part of the PowerToys:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Click the + beside the My Computer category in TweakUI, and then click the + beside AutoPlay. Select the Types category. It presents the enabled options, which are Enable AutoPlay for CD and DVD drives and Enable AutoPlay for removable drives [USB flash drives, etc.) Remove the check marks in their boxes to disable AutoPlay for those types of drives.

To modify what each option does on the AutoPlay list itself, or remove and entry, select the Handlers category.

If you want a specific AutoPlay option to be selected automatically, the setting for each device has to be set individually by clicking on the entry for the device (e.g., a CD/DVD drive) with the right mouse button in My Computer, and then clicking Properties. The settings are under the AutoPlay tab.

You can choose the listed options to set for a number of categories of files, such as Music files, DVD movie, Music CD, etc.

Note that you may have to activate the Removable Storage service in order to make the changes stick.

To do that follow this clicking path: Start => All Programs => Administrative Tools => Component Services => Services (Local). In the right window, scroll down to Removable Storage. Double-click on it. Under Startup type, you can choose the Manual or the Automatic option. Choose the latter option.

How to disable Autoplay in Windows Vista

At the time of writing (March 2009), TweakUI and the other Powertoys were not available for Windows Vista. The probably never will be. However, you can make use of a free/paid-for product called TweakVI for Windows Vista:

http://www.totalidea.com/product.php?Product=TweakVI.

Alternatively, you can disable Autoplay manually as instructed on this page:

Disable AutoPlay in Windows Vista -

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-autoplay-in-windows-vista/

At the time of writing (March 2009), there was no AutoPlay Repair Wizard for Windows Vista, but there is this page:

Troubleshoot [Vista] AutoPlay problems -

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/3ab73757-6b67-4e3c-80b1-a75651c7a9451033.mspx

When I insert a CD/DVD disc in my CD/DVD drive a message comes up saying "Please insert disk in drive E:"

Problem

I have a fault with my CD/DVD drive. When I put a CD or a DVD disc into the drive, I get the message "Please insert disk in drive E:". I have tried another optical drive that I know works and I get the same message. I think this is a software problem. Is there a fix for the fault? I don't want to re-format the PC's hard disk drive and reinstall Windows XP. The CD/DVD drive is connected to it's own IDE data cable that is connected to the secondary IDE connector on the PC's motherboard and is set as a master drive.

Answer

The AutoPlay Repair Wizard

Try using the Autoplay Repair Wizard. - "The Microsoft AutoPlay Repair Wizard scans your computer devices to find defective AutoPlay settings, and attempts to fix those it finds." It can be used on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 systems. -

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C680A7B6-E8FA-45C4-A171-1B389CFACDAD&displaylang=en

AutoPlay in Windows Vista

At the time of writing (March 2009), there was no AutoPlay Repair Wizard for Windows Vista, but there is this page:

Troubleshoot [Vista] AutoPlay problems -

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/3ab73757-6b67-4e3c-80b1-a75651c7a9451033.mspx

If you can't get the optical drive to work by making use of this information, you can try uninstalling the drive in the Device Manager. To open the Device Manager in Windows XP enter devmgmt.msc in the Start => Run box (the Start => Start Search box in Windows Vista). The drive is listed under DVD/CD-Rom drives. Click the + beside that title, right-click on the make/model of drive (in my laptop computer the entry is Philips DVD-RAM SDVD8821) and click Uninstall. Then restart the system and Windows XP/Vista will reinstall the drivers for the device. The latest drivers and firmware for the drive can be obtained from its manufacturer's website, or the website of the computer's manufacturer. You can download and install them as you would a standard program. In my case, I would visit http://global.msi.com.tw/ for the drivers for my MSI M662 laptop, because they are probably not available from the Philips site. Just make sure that you download and install the device drivers for the exact model of drive, especially the firmware. If the firmware for a different model is installed, the drive can be rendered unusable. You can also run the drive's troubleshooter by double-clicking on the make/model of the drive.

If that doesn't work, try the drive in another computer. If it doesn't work, the drive has failed irrecoverably and will have to be replaced, because to repair it would cost far more than to replace it. It is an unfortunate fact of life with optical drives that they can become unusable out of the blue for no apparent reason.

My CD/DVD drive/writer won't work after I removed a virus / CD/DVD burning software

Problem 1

My Acer laptop computer, running Windows XP, has suddenly stopped recognising the DVD drive after I removed a virus. When I open Device Manager, there is a yellow exclamation mark beside the CD/DVD drive which says: "Successfully loaded device driver but cannot find hardware (Code 41)". I uninstalled the CD/DVD drive by right-clicking on its entry under DVD/CD-ROM drives and rebooted. Windows reinstalled it, but the same problem still exists.

Answer

That error and a number of other error codes can be reported for a DVD or CD writer if something has damaged one of the filter drivers, which are called Upper Filter and Lower Filter drivers in the Windows Registry. They can be installed by CD/DVD-writing software such as Roxio Easy CD [Roxio Creator 2009 was the latest version at the time of writing], or by DVD players such as PowerDVD, or by programs such as Musicmatch Jukebox.

Microsoft describes the problem in MS Knowledge Base article 314060 - You can no longer access the CD drive or the DVD drive, or you receive an error message after you remove a CD recording program or a DVD recording program in Windows XP: "error code 31" at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=314060.

The article applies to Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. The error can occur with any type of CD-writing or DVD software. Error messages that may occur when you try to access your CD or DVD drive include:

1. - Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the Registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)

2. - This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device. (Code 31)

3. - A driver (service) for this device has been disabled. An alternate driver may be providing this functionality. (Code 32)

4. - Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)

5. - Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device. (Code 41)

However, there are other causes for these and similar messages. The solution provided below applies mainly to CD or DVD drives. For other explanations, read this MS Knowledge Base article - Explanation of error codes generated by Device Manager in Windows XP Professional - http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310123. The information also applies to Windows XP Home Edition.

Uninstalling and then reinstalling CD-writing and DVD software may cure the problem, but in other cases, such as yours, the Windows Registry has to be edited in order to fix it. Making erroneous changes to the Registry can render a computer unbootable, so before you edit it, use Windows XP's System Restore to create a restore point that will allow you to restore it in Safe Mode, or export the keys from the Registry editor by using its File => Export feature. For more information, enter the word Registry in the Search box of Start => Help and Support.

Enter regedit in the Start => Run box to run the Registry Editor and click on the + signs to expand and highlight the following keys:

H_KEY _LOCALMACHINE => SYSTEM => CurrentControlSet => Control => Class => {4D36E965E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE 1 0318}

There should be many keys called {4D36E965E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE 1 0318}

If you want to export a copy of the values, select File => Export and enter a suitable filename, which will be saved as a .reg file that can be restored just by clicking on it. When you select a particular key, in the right window, for some of them, you should see keys called UpperFilters and LowerFilters. Select each such entry in turn, right-click with the mouse on it, and click Delete. After closing the Registry Editor, you should be able to use the CD/DVD drive again. However, you may have to reinstall software that accesses the drive, such as CD/DVD writer and DVD player software.

Problem 2 - CD/DVD drive won't work after removing Roxio/Nero CD/DVD writing software

I found the following anonymous information on a computer forum. It might work for you if you have a similar problem.

Remember, you should have a restorable backup of your computer's system before you attempt to edit the Windows Registry in case it miscarries and renders the computer unbootable.

"I removed Roxio (correctly through the control panel) and lost the DVD/CD drive in my Toshiba Satellite laptop. After a week of frustration, I found a site that had the info I needed. I got my drive back in just a few minutes. Here's the fix: Go to the Windows START menu. Click on RUN and enter: regedit FOLLOW THIS TREE: Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class In the CLASS folder, look for: Key Name: {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} Value Data: [Delete All Value Data from UpperFilters and LowerFilters] You will see the upper and lower filters folders once you get to the end of the tree… *\*\*\control\class Delete all the data in these two folders (and if you see a backup folder for either the upper or lower filters, delete all the data in them as well). Note: Do not delete the Key or the Multi-String Values. Delete only the data values. Exit Registry and Reboot."

My home CD/DVD player won't play rewritable CD-RW/DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs that my PC's CD/DVD drive/writer can play

Problem

I have a desktop PC that runs Windows XP Home Edition with the SP3 update installed and fully updated on 1GB of RAM memory. I have been burning music files to rewritable CD-RW and DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs. The files are written to the CDs/DVDs and play from the CD/DVD drive/writer, but won't lay from my home CD/DVD player - Sony DVP-NS77H/B 1080p Upscaling DVD Player - and the multi-CD player in my car. I have tried using the Acoustica CD Burner, Nero 5 and 7, Windows Media Player, and the Real Player CD Burning. The CD-RW/DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs are all new but are cheap at around £4.99 for a pack of five. Should I buy more expensive discs?

Answer

You should use brand-name (Verbatim, Maxell, Sony, Memorex, TDK, Hitachi, etc.) CD-R, DVD-R and DVD+R discs instead of CD-RW, DVD-R and DVD+R discs. The -RW and +RW standards are associated with several compatibility issues that don't trouble the -R and +R standards. CD-R and DVD-R/DVD+R discs that you burn files to are designed to replicate the way in which pressed CD's and DVDs function as closely as possible. As you should know, the music CDs and DVD movies that you buy in the shops are not burned, they are pressed like vinyl LPs are. However, -RW and +RW discs use different technology that makes them have a lower reflectivity and signal modulation than pressed CDs/DVDs and -R/+R discs. Consequently, many home and car CD/DVD players can't read them.

In any case, why use reusable -RW/+RW discs for music when the write-to-once -R/+R discs are much cheaper. Surely, if you want to play the music on your PC, home, and car players, you don't want to erase it. Check your DVD writer and your DVD player manufacturer's website for a list of compatible makes of disc.

If you use an -R/+R disc the DVD player reads it as a -ROM (pressed) disc. Compatible -R/+R discs can be purchased for about 50p each. Phase-change media -/+ RW discs cost more and cause more problems than they are worth. My Sony DVP-NS70H DVD player plays DVD -R, +R, +R bitsetting changed to -Rom, and +R DL bitsetting changed to -ROM. You can also try bitsetting the +R,-RW, and +RW discs so that the DVD player thinks that it is playing a pressed DVD (DVD-ROM disc). Apparently there is no need to bitset -R discs because they play like -ROM discs automatically, but if such a disc refuse to play, try bitsetting it. You can use CD/DVD burning software to bitset. You can also use Nero to change the BitSet (also known as BookType). I have used Nero 7 Ultra successfully. There is currently no best bitsetting utility. Your CD/DVD-writing software either supports bitsetting or it doesn't.

BookType BitSetting FAQ How to Guide to set DVD+R/+R DL/RW to DVD-ROM - BitSetting DVD,BookType DVD,DVDDecrypter,NEC,Plextor,etc. - http://www.k-probe.com/bitsetting-booktype-faq.php

How can I drag-and-drop to copy files and folders directly to recordable/rewritable CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs in the same way as I can to a hard disk drive in Windows XP and Windows Vista?

Question

In Windows XP and Windows Vista, how can I drag-and-drop and copy files directly to recordable CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs in the same way as I can to a hard disk drive? That is, without having to start my disc-burning software.

Answer

Note that there is no support at all in the inbuilt burning software in Windows XP for burning recordable DVD discs (DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD-RAM). Third-party software, such as Cyberlink PowerDVD, has to be used.

The following video shows you how to go about burning files to a recordable CD in Windows XP. The page says that the method can be used for burning to recordable DVD discs, but Windows XP does not support burning DVD discs, only recordable CDs. A CD Writing Wizard is used, not a DVD-writing wizard.

Burn a CD or DVD in Windows XP - http://video.about.com/windows/Burn-a-CD-or-DVD-in-Windows-XP.htm

However, Windows Vista can burn both recordable CD and DVD discs:

How to burn CDs and DVDs in Windows Vista - http://www.vista4beginners.com/Burn-CDs-DVDs

UDF packet-writing software enables a user to drag-and-drop files to blank recordable CDs or DVDs using Windows Explorer, My Computer in Windows XP (Computer in Windows Vista), and the standard Save functions from within applications. Windows Explorer in Windows XP provides some support for recordable UDF discs that allows you to read UDF discs produced by some third-party software, such as Direct CD. You can only read the data on the disc, because it is not possible to write to, add files, delete individual files from an existing disc, or update any single file using a UDF disc in Windows XP. You can only erase the entire disc.

After the packet-writing software has formatted the rewritable disc, you can add files and folders by making use of Windows Explorer to drag-and-drop files or folders to your optical drive, or by using the Send to command by right-clicking files and folders in My Computer (Computer in Windows Vista) or Windows Explorer and selecting the CD/DVD optical writer. Doing that makes it appear as if the files are being written to the disc directly, as in a UDF system. However, nothing of the kind is happening. By default, copies of the files are stored on the hard disk in your Documents and Settings folder. In My Computer, you can then right-click on the drive/writer's icon and choose Write these files to CD, or open the drive by double-clicking on its icon and choose Write these Files to CD, which appears in the bar on the left of the window.

If you are working within an application, (Word, Excel, Access, etc.), you cannot save to the drive letter directly from the application. You have to go to either My Computer, or Windows Explorer to save the file to the recordable CD media.

There are two leading software packages that work in that way with most CD writers. Drag to Disc, which used to be called DirectCD, is part of Roxio's Easy Media Creator. InCD is part of the Nero suite. Both of those packages can use rewritable media, such as CD-R and CD-RW discs. Roxio's Drag to Disc can even drag-and-drop write to write-once media, such as CD-R, DVD-R, and DVD+R discs. You can also use DLA, which is available as a stand-alone program from Sonic.

Cyberlink PowerDVD software comes bundled with many desktop and laptop PCs. It features drag-and-drop recording to DVDs. You just drag a file or a selction of files to its icon on the Desktop.

Visit http://www.cyberlink.com/ to download a trial version of that software.

Hardware-based packet writing has been made possible by the Mount Rainier (MRW) standard, which means that the CD/DVD writers themselves support packet-writing. Mount Rainier (MRW) is a format for recordable optical discs that provides packet writing and defect management. Mount Rainier can be used only with optical drives that support it, but it works with standard CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+/-R and DVD+/-RW media.

Windows XP with Service Pack 1 (SP1) installed provides some support for the Mount Rainier format. At present, a computer running Windows XP SP1 or higher, (SP3) will read Mount Rainier discs directly in a CD writer that has the necessary firmware, or in most drives using the reader program EasyWriteReader from http://www.nero.com/. Formatting and writing a Mount Rainier disc requires a CD writer with firmware installed that supports the format. Third party software, such as InCD (version 3.28 or later) and Drag to Disk support it on CD-RW discs.

Mount Rainier (packet writing) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rainier_(packet_writing)

Windows XP and prior versions of Windows (95/98/98 SE/Me) do not support MRW natively. Those versions of Windows require third-party software to read and write MRW-formatted discs - usually the same packet-writing utilities that allow native UDF filesystems to be written to optical discs. The versions of Windows Vista for home users, released on January 30, 2007, support the Mount Rainier standard natively.

At the time of writing (March 2009), there was no information available on the web about drag-and-drop writing to Blu-ray discs in Windows Vista, so it would appear as if Vista does not support it. However, if you want to drag-and-drop files to a rewritable Blu-ray (BD-RE) discs, you can use third-party software that supports it, such as Cyberlink Power2Go 6.

If you need some matters clarified with regard to burning recordable CDs in Windows XP, perhaps the information this page will do that for you:

Burning CDs in Windows XP - http://www.aumha.org/win5/a/xpcd.php

My DVD drive/writer won't write to some recordable DVDs - DVD-R and DVD+R discs - at their rated speed

Problem

I buy DVD-R and DVD+R discs in spindles of 25 for my LG GSA-4082B DVD-RAM writer. The drive has been able to write successfully to most of the brand-name discs that I've bought at their top-rated speeds. However, with DVD-R discs made by Datawrite, the drive doesn't recognise them to be as fast as their highest rating; they write at about half that speed. An 8x disc writes at 4x, a 4x disc writes at 2x, etc. However, 8x DVD+R discs made by Datawrite write at 8x.

Answer

It isn't uncommon for DVD writers to fail to write to some brands of disc at the full rated speed. The drive's firmware has to be able to recognise the make of disc. Moreover, 8x DVD-R discs were relatively new when your drive became available. That means that some brands of disc probably are not included in the drive's compatible media list that is in its firmware, so, updating it might fix the problem.

There is a firmware update for that drive available from the LG site: http://www.lge.com/. The firmware's update version is .A208. Installing it is supposed to improve writing performance. Note well that you must read the instructions carefully before you install the update. Firmware is region-specific, so only use the download for your country.

Even with the latest firmware installed, some brands of disc just aren't compatible with some brands of drive. Either buy only the most expensive, top-quality brands that tend to be the most compatible, or find out by trial-and-error if a brand is compatible. Note that in its extensive testing of CD/DVD drives, Tom's Hardware Guide has discovered that discs made by Verbatim are the most compatible with most brands of drive.

Note that Datawrite (and some other brands) don't make their own discs. The company uses its name on discs made by several manufacturers. That is why some of its discs work at full speed with the drive and others don't. If writing speed is important to you and you don't want to be disappointed, it's best to buy discs made by companies that manufacture their own discs, such as Verbatim.

DVDINF Pro - is a free utility that provides all the details you might want to know about an installed DVD drive, including the driver and version of firmware being used - http://www.dvdinfopro.com/.

The Firmware Page - Update Your CD/DVD Drive Firmware. Most users know that they can update their BIOS but not many know that they can also update the firmware of (most) CD and DVD drives. This site has full details plus some handy tips for overcoming the region locking on your DVD drive. - http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php

My Computer in Windows XP does not recognise/recognize my CD/DVD drives, the BIOS does, but the Device Manager shows a yellow exclamation mark beside each drive's entry

Problem

I have a Dell Dimension 2400 desktop PC that is running Windows XP Home Edition with SP3 installed. About a week ago, it stopped recognising my DVD-ROM drive and DVD writer. They both show up in the BIOS and in the system (the Device Manager), but not in My Computer. When I go to the listing of the drives in the Device Manager, there is a yellow exclamation mark beside each drive's entry.

Answer

Installing the fix on this page should fix the problem:

Restore CD/DVD Drives to Explorer - http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_cd_dvd_fix.htm

Inserting a blank CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW disc in the CD/DVD writer makes Windows XP lock up

Problem

I have a system running Windows XP and an Intel Pentium 4 processor that has the following drives installed on the two IDE (PATA) motherboard channels, using the latest 80-conductor IDE ribbon cables:

Primary IDE Channel - a 60GB hard disk drive as master

Primary IDE Channel - a DVD writer as slave

Secondary IDE Channel - a 300GB hard disk drive as master

Secondary IDE Channel - a CD-RW writer as slave

I have used this configuration because I've read that for the fastest copying the source and destination drives should be on different IDE channels. The CD-RW drive came with Nero copying software.

There is no problem playing data or music CDs or DVDs in the relevant drives, but when I insert an unformatted CD-RW disc or a blank CD-R disc in the CD-RW drive and DVD-RW and DVD-R discs in the DVD writer, the whole system locks up until I remove the offending disc.

Possible solutions

There are several possible causes, so you should follow these troubleshooting steps in the order of their listing:

1. - Uninstall any software that accesses CDs/DVDs when they're inserted in a drive. The Windows Media Player, Media Match, and Real Jukebox are the most common programs that do this, but there are others. Use the software's uninstallation option or Windows' Add or Remove Programs utility in the Windows' Control Panel if the program doesn't have its own removal tool.

2. - Make sure that only one software program that burns CDs is installed, and that only one version of it is installed. Different versions could be installed to different locations. Other CD-burning software could be interfering with Nero. It is also possible that a CD-burning program that you have previously uninstalled is doing so, because the uninstallation routine did not remove all of the Windows Registry entries properly. If this is the case, the only way to remove them is to search the Registry for references to that software by entering the term regedit in the Start => Run box and then use Edit => Find => Find Next. If doing that (and none of the following steps) solves the problem, a fresh installation of Windows would be necessary to remove the offending entries. The Windows Support Center - http://www.aumha.org/ - provides information on reinstalling the different versions of Windows.

3. - Restart the system in Safe Mode by repeatedly pressing the F8 key during the start-up process just before Windows shows that it is starting to load. The boot menu that offers Safe Mode as a choice should be made available. In that mode, use the right mouse button to click on My Computer, left-click Properties => Hardware tab and then click on the Device Manager button. Click the + sign beside the DVD/CD-ROM drives heading and then select any CD and DVD drives, right-click with the mouse pointer on the entry and click Uninstall in the menu that presents itself. There may be multiple entries for a particular CD/DVD drive. Removing all of the entries can often solve peculiar problems with one or more of the drives. When you reboot into Normal mode, Windows will reinstall the drive(s) automatically. You can then check in Safe Mode to make sure that only one instance of each drive is installed. You have to look in Safe Mode because the multiple instances do not appear in Normal mode.

If you require more detailed information, try using a search phrase such as: clean + "device manager" + "safe mode" in the Google search box at the top of this page.

4. - In the Device Manager, have a look under the Hard disk controllers or IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers heading to see how the IDE ATA controllers are described. There should be a Primary IDE Channel and a Secondary IDE Channel, but if the description of the top (main) controller is described as as a Standard IDE Controller, then Windows has loaded its standard IDE controllers and you should install the correct controllers (busmaster drivers) created for the relevant chipset on the motherboard by its manufacturer. The correct controllers for the motherboard's chipset are usually described using the maker's name, such as ALi, VIA, and Intel. You do that by downloading the latest IDE driver file from the system's motherboard's website, or from a brand-name computer's site, if you have one. The free CPU-Z utility and Belarc Advisor can both identify a PC's motherboard. For the latter utility, look under FREE DOWNLOAD on http://www.belarc.com/. If you have the correct driver file installed but you haven't downloaded and installed the latest driver file, you should do so. Those users whose PCs have an SATA hard disk drive can update the drivers for it in the same way.

You should install all of the latest drivers for the motherboard, such as the USB Controller, and the latest BIOS file. If you have a brand-name PC, you should be able to obtain all of the latest drivers for it from its manufacturer's website, including the drivers for the video/graphics card. The method if installation differs between manufacturers, but most of them allow you to use a live-update program that downloads and installs the updated drivers. Running the standard Windows IDE controllers or old motherboard controllers can be the cause of problems such as the one under consideration.

5. - Disabling DMA (Direct Memory Access - search the Disk Drives page on this site for information on it), can often cure the problem - and other peculiar problems. This is usually done via the Settings tab for a particular drive listed in the Device Manager where there is a checkbox called DMA that can be checked or unchecked. Sometimes the DMA setting has to be disabled in the BIOS, and sometimes there is no DMA setting and you have to run a utility provided by the motherboard manufacturer or PC manufacturer, or it is done by reinstalling the IDE drivers and then disabling DMA option during the installation routine. For example, the Intel 815E chipset uses a utility called the Intel Ultra ATA Companion.

6. - Some CD-RW drives will not function unless they are installed as a master drive, so, if this is not the case make it so, preferably as the only drive on the IDE cable. If doing that cures the problem, you can try other combinations of IDE drives, such as having a hard disk drive attached to the same cable. This situation does not occur with SATA drives, because each drive has its own cable.

7. - Check the CD/DVD drive/writer's manufacturer's site for a firmware update. This is not a software driver, it is similar to the programming used in the BIOS. It reprograms the programming that is hard-coded into the drive and which is responsible for controlling its operations.

8. As a last resort, if the BIOS file installed isn't the latest one, download the latest file from the PC maker's or the system's motherboard maker's site, and reflash the BIOS. Specific instructions on how to do that should be available from the same source as the file. Note that many motherboard manufacturer's provide a live-update facility from their websites.

9. - Try a different brand of blank CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs, because some CD/DVD writers don't work with some brands. Tom's Hardware Guide has stated that it finds Verbatim discs to be the most compatible with most drives.

10. - If you have a cheap optical CD-RW or DVD-RW writer, replace it with one that has been given good reviews. Click here! to go to the page on this site devoted to CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives. It provides reviews of those drives.

You can make use of the Google search box at the top of every page on this website (with its Web radio button enabled) to look for other reviews of a particular optical drive. See the Build Your Own PC section of this site for information on how to install IDE and SATA hard-disk and optical CD/DVD drives. Note that all Blu-ray optical drives use the SATA interface. Blu-ray optical drives are installed in the same way as CD/DVD drives.

The speed of a CD-RW burn and the quality of the discs?

Questions

I have purchased a new 40x12x48 CD-RW drive and now I need two questions answered. First, when you buy CD-R and CD-RW media, how does the speed affect the quality of the final burn, especially when burning at higher speeds? - Second, should you use the best quality blank CDs?

Answers

Last question first. - The 10x (or any x specification) is not a designation of quality, but just the recommended burning speed. For instance, a 40x CD can be burned at 40x or lower, but a 10x CD may or may not burn at 12x.

I personally have never experienced any difference in quality when burning a CD at high compared to lower burning speeds. However, sometimes you may need to burn at a lower speed in order to avoid a buffer underrun error. You should go ahead and buy CDs that have high recommended maximum burning speeds (as long as they aren't too overpriced), and just burn them at the maximum recommended speed. CD-Rs and CD-RW discs are so cheap nowadays that everyone can afford to experiment. With CD-RW discs you can erase any faulty burns and redo them, but you will have to throw away any aborted CD-R discs.

Why won't my CD/DVD writer burn some types of CD/DVD? - The drive/writer/disc compatibility of CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+R recordable CD/DVD discs

Question

I have created a CD full of images. The CD works fine on my Windows XP PC at home and on a Windows 2000 machine at work. But a an old second home computer running Windows 98 SE will not even recognise the CD. That computer does not have any problem recognising any other CDs, so I want to know if there is a way to make the CD run on it.

Answer

You have not supplied me with the type or make of recordable CD - CD-R (record once) or CD-RW (multiple recordings).

You are experiencing the often-perplexing realm of recordable CD and DVD disc-to-system incompatibility. Several factors can come into play with regard to system incompatibility with specific standards or makes of CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+R discs.

With regard to your case, CD-RW discs are far less compatible in older machines than CD-Rs, so you may be able to resolve the problem by copying the data to a CD-R disc. If it already is a CD-R, you may be able to solve the problem by copying the data to a different brand of CD-R disc.

When I first started creating CDs, the JVC CD player in my car would play from every brand of CD-R except HP CD-Rs, and my Sony 6-disc CD changer would play from almost every brand of CD-R except Sony CD-Rs. Strange but all too true. So, you should try a different brand of CD-R discs.

If a computer is elderly in computing years, and cannot read any brand of CD-Rs, then it is the CD-ROM drive that is out-of-date and incompatible, and you will have to replace it if you want to read CD-Rs on that computer.

Unfortunately, it is now assumed that most PC users have DVD drives/writers and players, not CD drives and players. The following pages provides disc-compatibility information on a huge number of DVD drives/writers and players:

DVD Writer and Blu-ray Writer list - http://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters

DVD Player and Blu-ray Player list - http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers

A good Q&A on the type and quality of CD discs to use for burning

From the Lockergnome Windows Fanatics newsletter dated 26 November 2003

Ken Colburn of Data Doctors answers Bill, who asks:

Q: I noticed that there are two different types of blank CDs on the market: data and music. Is there any real difference and, if so, would the quality of the sound suffer by burning a music CD on a blank data CD?

A: The debate about blank CD quality and how to determine the best discs has been raging since the concept of burning your own CDs was introduced.

Blank CDs that are labeled as "music" discs are specifically intended for use with consumer, stand-alone audio CD recorders. If you make your discs on a standard computer CD burner, then there is no need to be concerned with what the disc has been labeled. My understanding is that the RIAA worked with manufacturers of stand alone, audio only CD recorders to create this special type of disc so that it could get a small piece of every 'music' CD sold.

Anyone that has burned any quantity of CDs has likely noticed that certain discs seem to last longer or take more abuse than others. There is no way to tell which discs are going to work better for you because there are so many variables, including your CD burner, the discs' manufacturing process, the dye formulation and, of course, how you care for your discs.

Every CD/R and CD/RW has specific information encoded in the 'pre-groove' section of the disc that includes the manufacturer, the dye formulation, Absolute Time In Pre-Groove (ATIP), certified writing speed, and actual time available on the disc. Much of this information can be helpful, not from a specific technical standpoint, but from the standpoint of what seems to be working well for you. Just because a big name brand is stamped on the label of a blank disc, it does not mean that it was actually manufactured by that company. A free download called 'CDR Media Code Identifier' allows you to place any blank media in your burner and quickly view some of the pre-groove information.

When you find discs that you feel are working better for your use, then you can look at specific things like the actual manufacturer or type of dye used to help make future selections.

The folks at CD Media World have lots of technical data about CD media and have posted some extensive test results on various manufacturers of blank media. According to their various tests, Imation, TDK, Sony, Kodak, Ricoh Premium and Phillips Gold and Silver discs all scored well.

They also list actual factories that scored poorly in their tests that include Ritek and Fornet (this is what will appear in the 'Disk Manufacturer' section of the CDR Media Code Identifier program).

CD Media World echoes the same sentiment that I have preached for years when it comes to technology: never buy the lowest priced items!

In the case of blank CDs, steer clear of those cheap no-name bulk CD offers unless you don't care about how long the disk will last. And don't pay extra for 'audio' CDs for your computer's CD burner!

Problems saving a database to CD-R and CD-RW discs

Problem

I have created a database with MS Access that is 2MB in size. I used Adaptec's Easy CD Creator - Standard Edition to burn the database to both CD-R and CD-RW discs. But whenever I attempt to open the database from either type of disc, the message "The database K.M.S. is read only" appears. I want to know how you can transfer the database to another computer so that data can be added to it and design changes can be effected.

Solution

Easy CD Creator creates a disc that can be used in the same way as a CD-ROM disc is. CD-ROM discs are read-only, so you can't write to CDs created with Easy CD Creator. Even if you copy the files from the CD to the hard drive, they will be set to read-only. You have to right-click on each file, click Properties, and then uncheck the Read-only box.

However, the Universal Disk Format (UDF) allows you to write to CDs in the same way as you can write to floppy disks, but you need to use software that can use this format. Adaptec's Direct CD is a program that provides this facility. Note that the computer to which you want to transport the database has to have CD-writing software installed on it that can handle UDF.

It is not advisable to access a database directly from a recorded CD, because database software writes to many different records in various parts of the file, and, because of the nature of CDs, accessing the information will be very slow as the blocks of data are copied to the hard drive, Windows finds the relevant data within them, and then brings it to the screen. The best method is to copy all of the files to the hard drive, work on it there, and then copy the modified version back to the CD. This method is especially effective when using CD-R discs that can only be written to once.

How to avoid buffer underruns and spoiled CDs/DVDs when burning/writing files to recordable CD/DVDs - CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVd+RW discs

When a CD/DVD/Blu-ray writer burns files to a recordable CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc, it needs to stream the data without any kind of interruption. If an interruption of some sort occurs, the disc is ruined. A CD-R/DVD-R/DVD+R/BD-R disc has to be thrown away, but a CD/DVD-RW/DVD+RW/BD-RE disc can be wiped, formatted and re-recorded. (BD-R is the write-once Blu-ray Disc format, and the BD-RE is the rewritable Blu-ray Disc format.)

To prevent this from happening, the CD/DVD/Blu-ray writer manufacturers have built memory buffers into their drives.

This buffer is used to provide a steady stream of data during the 'burning' process. However, there may be what are called buffer underruns if certain activities take place, such as browsing a webpage, or the scheduled running of a utility. The buffer runs out of data because it has not been continuously fed, the burning process fails, and the disc is ruined (CD-R/DVD-R/DVD+R/BD-R discs), or has to be wiped CD-RW/DVD-RW/DVD+R/BD-RE discs) and re-recorded.

Some modern CD/DVD/Blu-ray writers claim to provide protection against the occurrence of buffer underruns. A programmed response halts the burning process when it detects that the buffer is in danger of being emptied. Burn-Proof, SafeBurn and Smart-Burn are some of the names given to this feature. It doesn't always work, but it is generally very effective.

The following are ways of avoiding buffer underruns.

Replace an old, slow CD/DVD optical drive with newer, faster model. (Blu-ray writers are the latest type of optical drive.)

If necessary, upgrade your whole computer. Early Intel Pentium models are not up to the process, but a processor running at 200MHz and higher (with sufficient RAM to run the operating system and burning software without using the virtual memory swap file), should be sufficiently fast. Vist the RAM memory section of this website for information on the memory requirements of Windows XP/Vista. If you have an old Windows 98/98SE computer, it should run well on only 64MB or more of memory. Windows 95/98/Me were not very demanding with regard to their memory requirments, but you should have at least 512MB of memory for Windows XP, and 2GB (248MB) of memory for a PC running Windows Vista Home Premium. Windows Vista Home Basic can run on 512MB.

Buy a burn-proof drive.

Never shake or move the computer while the writing/burning is taking place.

Close any start-up programs (enter msconfig in the Start => Run) box, and disable scheduled activities. In Windows Vista enter msconfig in the Start => Start Search box.

If you have an IDE ATAPI CD/DVD writer, install it on a different IDE ATA channel on the motherboard from the main (boot) hard drive - preferably on its own channel without any other drive connected to the same cable. See the Build3 page on this site for information on how to do that. Each SATA CD/DVD/Blu-ray optical and hard disk drive is connected to the motherboard by its own SATA cable to its own connector.

Run the Windows Disk Defragmenter utility on the hard drive that contains the operating system, and do anything else that speeds up hard drive access, such as making sure that DMA (Direct Memory Access) is enabled for the drive in the Device Manager.

Record directly from the hard disk drive instead of from another CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc, or other recorded media. For instance, when copying CD/DVD's, copy the data to the hard disk drive, and then burn it to CD/DVD discs. You can use your burning software to create an ISO image on the hard drive of a CD/DVD or program that you want to record, and then burn that ISO image. You should also not attempt to burn files across a network.

How to burn an ISO image - http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/CD_burning_howto.html

Set the burning software to write/burn at a slower speed that the CD/DVD/Blu-ray writer's maximum recording speed.

How to upgrade your CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive/writer's firmware

Most CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives/writers have upgradable operating software usually called firmware stored in flash ROM (read-only memory) inside the drive itself. Upgrading this firmware to the latest version can often solve problems such as the inability to read certain kinds of discs, or errors when burning CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs.

Take great care when flashing/installing firmware - flashing/installing the wrong file (designed for another product) can kill a CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive.

You need to find out the exact model name and manufacturer of the drive. Right-click with the mousepointer on My Computer (XP) or Computer (Vista) and click Properties. Open the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button. Click the + beside DVD/CD-ROM drives to show the drives that are installed. The model name should be displayed as the title. My MSI M662 laptop shows Philips DVD-RAM SDVD8821, so it is made by Philips. If the manufacturer is not apparent, Googling the model number should provide that information.

When you know the manufacturer and model number, you need to find the firmware update. The best source is the drive manufacturer's website. Philips only sells drives to PC manufacturers not to the market, so I have to get updates from the PC manufacturer's website, which is MSI in my case.

Download the firmware update file. Most of the time, the download is a small file with an .exe extension that you click on to install. When you open it, it should present a simple user interface. If the update is contained in a zip file (a file with a .zip extension), it is very important that you unzip every file to a folder (preferably created to contain them) before running the update or it may fail. If it fails you can render the drive useless. All of the files have to be together in a folder. You must not install firmware from inside a zip program such as WinZip, because all of the files won't be accessible. The manufacturer's website should provide specific instructions on how to update the firmware. Instructions can also be provided as text files that come with the zipped download. Some manufacturers, such as Samsung, included a PDF file on how to install the firmware update. (A PDF file (a file with a .pdf extension) requires a reader such as the free Foxit.)

Note that it is extremely important that your computer remains on and doesn't freeze up during the update process. If you are updating a laptop, you should have the battery attached and charged in case of a power failureand you should close all other unnecessary programs before starting the update, such as anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall and any other protection that can interrupt the process. Norton (Symantec) and McAfee security software interrupts the process, because it assumes that a security issue is involved in every action. Such an update should not be installed during a thunderstorm because if your computer shuts down due to a power interruption while the update is installing, the drive can be rendered useless.

How to update the firmware on any hardware in your computer -

http://www.ehow.com/how_2225435_update-firmware-any-hardware-computer.html

Note that some brand-name drive companies purchase their drives from several manufacturers. For examle, if you have a Creative and Iomega drive, these two companies actually purchase their drives from various manufacturers and are not good at producing firmware updates.

DVDINF Pro - is a free utility that provides all the details you might want to know about an installed DVD drive, including the driver and version of firmware being used - http://www.dvdinfopro.com/.

The Firmware Page - Update Your CD/DVD Drive Firmware. Most users know that they can update their BIOS but not many know that they can also update the firmware of (most) CD/DVD and Blu-ray drives. This site has full details plus some handy tips for overcoming the region locking on your DVD drive. - http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php

Chkdsk in Windows XP is "Unable to read security descriptors"

Problem

When Windows XP boots, it runs the Chkdsk hard-drive utility automatically, which did not used to happen when my PC started up. Chkdsk stops working, and an error message saying: "Unable to read security descriptors" come up. Windows XP can boot past this error message, but another error message comes up that contains Windows\system32\Nvcpl.dll. I have scanned the system with fully-updated Norton Antivirus, Trend's free online virus scanner, and fully-updated Spybot S&D, but they found nothing.

Answer

The Chkdsk hard-drive diagnostic and repair utility that is part of Windows XP can be used with any of the latest large hard disk drives. Click here! to go directly to information on it in the Recovering Windows XP page on this site. Use your browser's Back button to return here.

A Google search found that Nvcpl.dll is part of your nVidia video card's drivers. To find out what happens yourself, you can try entering the file name in the Google search box at the top of this page, with its Web radio button enabled.

Downloading the latest driver file from http://www.nvidia.com/ removing the old drivers by using Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, installing the standard Windows VGA driver by using the Update Driver option for the named video card under Display adapters in the Device Manager (by right-clicking with the mouse pointer on the entry for the video card), and then installing the latest nVidia driver file for the video card, might remedy the situation, but, unfortunately the problem is probably the result of a corruption of the setup on the hard disk drive.

There is probably something seriously amiss with the New Technology File System (NTFS) being used by the hard disk drive. If Chkdsk - the equivalent of the ScanDisk utility in Windows 9.x systems - can't fix it, then I don't know of a tool that can fix it - safely.

Usually the only solution is to reformat the hard disk drive and reinstall Windows. Unfortunately, there may be physical damage to the drive, such as bad sectors. Note that if your desktop or laptop PC came with a Recovery CD/DVD instead of a Windows XP/Vista CD/DVD, you will have to format the drive with Windows installed on it (usually the C: drive) and then use the Recovery CD/DVD according to the instructions provided by the PC's manufacturer.

A security descriptor is an entry in the NTFS that describes the owner of a file or folder, and the permissions (set in Windows) that are associated with it. Damage to these descriptors would make all of the files, or part of them, inaccessible on the hard disk drive.

If this is the case and you want to save the inaccessible data, the best option would be to read the files with software that can ignore the security features in Windows XP.

This can be done by using a version of Linux that can be booted from its CD/DVD. Ubuntu Linux from http://www.ubuntu.com/ can be downloaded as an ISO file which can be burned to CD that becomes fully bootable. You can use this distribution of Linux from the CD/DVD without ever installing it on the hard drive. It should install the device drivers for the motherboard, video card, sound card, USB devices, and the hard drive from the CD/DVD. If you use a wireless router to access the web it will also allow you to access the web if you enter any security encryption key that is protecting the network.

Boot disks of the above-mentioned kind can use the NTFS file system, and therefore allow you to access the folders and files in Windows XP. The following how-to article shows you how to use Ubuntu Linux go about it.

How To: Reading Files From Windows Partition(NTFS) in Ubuntu Linux -

http://www.obharath.net/blog/2005/10/05/reading-files-from-windows-partitionntfs-on-ubuntu-linux/

If there aren't too many, a handy way to save files would be to save them to a USB flash drive (memory stick) that can have 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB from Kingston, SanDisk, Lexar, Transcend and MyMemory. Or, if there are too many files to make use of that method, if you have a separate CD-writer, use Linux to burn them to recordable CD/DVDs. You could also install another hard disk drive and copy the files to it.

Norton Ghost has an option that works with some damaged drives. It is a DOS-based program that can run from a floppy disk - if your PC has a floppy disk drive, which many new PC nolonger have. You would use it to copy the files from an NTFS partition to another hard disk drive. But beware, because it may copy the corrupted part of the NTFS (file system) that is preventing access to the data in the first place.

If the problem with the hard disk drive was caused by physical damage, having recovered any data, you would have to trash it. But if the problem was caused by a corrupt NTFS, you would be able to keep the drive in use after the drive has been reformatted, and Windows XP has been reinstalled from its CD, not from a system backup, because it may also have copied the corrupt part of the NTFS.

Windows XP can only burn read-only files to CD-RW media/discs

Problem

I have an LG CD/DVD writer in a system running Windows XP Home, fully updated with the SP3 service pack installed. When I use the facility that is built into Windows XP to burn (save) data to CD-RW discs, the recorded files are read-only and therefore cannot be edited. I want to know if there's a way of saving data files so that they can be edited and then saved back to disc.

Answer

Windows XP does not support writing/burning to recordable DVD discs (DVD-R/DVD+R and DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs). Unfortunately, the CD-writing software that is part of Windows XP Home edition only supports the creation of read-only files. You have to edit the data file or image on the hard drive with a word-processing/photo-editing application and then save the changed copy to the disc. Very probably Microsoft did not want to muscle in on too many areas of software development in order to give third-party developers a chance.

You can write data to CD-RW and DVD-RW/DVD+RW discs without having to format them. You just burn the files to them using your disc-burning software as you would to a CD-R or DVD-R/DVD+R disc. If you edit a file that has previously been saved to a CD-RW disc and then reburn it to the disc, the software will ask you if you want the original file replaced. If you do, it renders the previous copy inaccessible and save the new copy. The previous copy is still on the disc taking up space, but only the new version can be acccessed. However, with re-recordable (RW) CD and DVD discs, you can erase the all of the files and thereby create a blank disc that can be reused up to 1,000 times.

If you want to use a CD-RW (or DVD-RW/DVD+RW/DVD-RAM disc) in the same way as you would use a floppy disk, you have to format it by using a program like ImgBurn from http://www.imgburn.com/, which is free. Just as a floppy disk has to be formatted (like a hard drive) before it can be used to save edited files, re-recordable optical discs have to be formatted. The disc has to have a file system in order to be used like a floppy disk. The file system is added during the formatting. All of the latest paid-for disc-burning programs, such as Nero (even Nero Express) will allow you to format CD-RW and DVD-RW/DVD+RW/DVD-RAM discs.

How do you format a CD-RW? - http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_format_a_CD-RW

The third-party disc-burning software that you install that allows you to use CD-RW (and DVD-RW/DVD+RW/DVD-RAM) discs as if they were floppy disks will probably do the following itself, but just in case it does not, you should disable the built-in Windows CD-burning software. Doing this avoids any conflicts that may arise between the two programs. The service is called the imapi CD-writing service, and it's disabled in the Control Panel under Administrative Tools => Computer Management => Services.

Note that you should use the same burning program (e.g. ImgBurn) to burn data to a particular recordable CD/DVD disc. If you change programs, you can run into problems, such as not being able to do anything but read the files. You should also not change the name originally given to the disc, because the files burned to the original name will not be accessible when the disc is renamed.

Note also that packet-writing to CD or DVD discs, which is the process involved, is dependent on the life of the disc (the number of times data can be expected to be written to it).

Usually the quoted estimates of average writing to a CD-RW and DVD-RW/DVD+RW disc are 1,000 times. However, note that the table of contents (TOC) on the disc may get written to more than once per session. Twice per day gives you 500 days of use, which is less than two years. After that the ability to write to the disc starts to fail and problems arise.

That is why DVD rewriteable discs, whether -RW or +RW, are not favoured for long-term reliable storage. DVD-RAM is a much more reliable disc format for long term use in the same way as a floppy disk, because a disc can be rewritten over 100,000 times . Moreover, the discs have built-in error control and a defect management system. In order to use it, a DVD writer must support the DVD-RAM format. The discs are more expensive than DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs.

My Toshiba DVD writer/burner won't write/burn to no-brand DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW media/discs

Problem

My Compaq Presario R3250EA laptop/notebook PC runs Windows XP Home Edition fully updated to the SP3 service pack and subsequent updates. The computer has a Toshiba SD-R6252 1a11 DVD writer. I have discovered that when I try using no-brand DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs that I purchased from a supermarket (the packaging has the supermarket's name on it), the DVD writer refuses to burn to them using Nero Express. It ejects them with a message to use a writeable disc. However, it will burn to Verbatim, Imation, Memorex, and Maxell discs. Can you please tell me if there is a way to fix this problem?

Answer

I have come across the reverse problem in which a DVD writer refuses to burn to brand-name discs but will burn to no-brand discs. It is unusual but it can happen. DVD writers can be fussy about the brands they accept, but it's usually the cheaper discs that have no printed name on them that they don't like.

The problem could be caused by a faulty drive, but the cause is more likely to be outdated firmware installed in the drive.

During their manufacture DVD writers are programmed with a firmware database that contains the names of supported brands of disc. Firmware is software code that is permanently stored on a EEPROM flash-memory chip. CD/DVD drive/writer manufacturers often update the firmware in order to fix compatibility issues of this kind.

The Toshiba SD-R6252 DVD writer was only supplied to HP/Compaq, so Toshiba doesn't supply firmware for it. However, the support section of the HP site lists firmware updates for three different DVD/CD combo drives that were fitted to your notebook's model.

There is a firmware update for your model with a version number 1A14 called Softpaq 28709, which can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp28501-29000/sp28709.exe. (Remember that you should always scan a downloaded file with a virus scanner, which is usually done by right-clicking with the mouse pointer on the file and choosing the scan option - if you have a virus scanner installed, which,of course, you should have.) The firmware update is fairly old, but it recognises more brands of disc that the drive's original firmware. All you have to do is install by clicking on the downloaded file.

If your have some other make/model of DVD writer, you should look at its manufacturer's or the PC's manufacturer's website for a firmware update.

When ripping audio CDs in iTunes the last track very often is much longer than the actual track, so how can I edit the MP3 file to remove the blank bit?

Problem

I rip CDs in iTunes. I have noticed that the last track is very often much longer than the actual track itself. I suppose that this is some kind of anti-piracy measure. How can I edit the MP3 file to remove the blank bit at the end?

Answer

The extra-long last track could be the result of copy protection, but it is usually just a hidden bonus track that is part of the last track but separated from it by a long period of silence.

To cut the play length in iTunes, use the mouse or touch pad to right-click on the file and then select Get Info. Under the Options tab, place a check mark in the box beside Stop Time and change the time to when you want the track to stop.

For more control over the length and size of the file, you can try using an MP3 file editor, such as the free version of WavePad from http://www.nch.com.au/.

"Q. Is WavePad really free? Yes. We make WavePad free in the hope you will like it and buy WavePad Masters Edition in the future."

It displays the file graphically, allowing you to see where the blank section starts.

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