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.

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 some of the 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, but being the latest technology, as you might expect, are significantly more expensive that CD/DVD writers.)

Any computer that has a single-core processor dating back to about 2005 should be more than powerful enough to burn discs without any problems. Moreover, now that processors that have two or more cores are the norm with new desktop and laptop computers, the computer can use one of the cores to do the burning while using another core to run the computer, which makes failures even more unlikely.

The writer should have the latest firmware installed from that exact make/model of drive. For more information on this subject, visit How to upgrade your CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive/writer's firmware on this website. Note that installing the wrong firmware, can destroy the drive. The firmware must be for a particular make/model of drive.

The computer should have a recommended amount of RAM memory installed in its motherboard. Insufficient memory can be the cause of burning failures. Visit the RAM memory section of this website for information on the memory requirements of Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 . 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 requirements, 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. A 32-bit version of Windows 7 runs comfortably on 1GB of memory, but a 64-bit version should have double that - 2GB of memory.

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

In Windows XP, enter msconfig in the Start => Run box and disable any programs set as start-up programs that you don't require to start up with Windows. In Windows Vista enter msconfig in the Start => Start Search box (it's the Start => Search programs and files box in Windows 7.

If you have an IDE ATAPI CD/DVD writer, if one is available, 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. (Note that motherboards that come with the connection points for SATA drives, which have replaced IDE drives, usually only provide a single IDE connector.) Visit this Build Your Own PC page on this website 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 writer 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 a disc, copy the data to the hard disk drive, and then burn it to CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs. If you want to burn an ISO file, you should download it to the PC' hard drive and then burn it to a recordable disc using ISO-burning software.

How to burn an ISO image -

"An ISO is a file that contains the complete image of a disc, from sector 0 to the end. Such files are often used when transferring CD/DVD images over the Internet, and are commonly used as a way of offering Linux distributions for download. The latest versions of CentOS, for example, are available from centos.org as ISO images. Once you have an ISO image on your hard drive, you can burn it onto a CD or DVD using one of many ISO-burning software packages."

http://www.centos.org/docs/5/html/CD_burning_howto.html

You should not attempt to burn files across a network.

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

There are several other causes of failed disc-burning, most of which are covered in the following Nero computer-forum thread:

Burn Process failed -

http://forum.my.nero.com/index.php?showtopic=6373

Computer diagnostics: How to solve or fix common desktop and laptop PC problems

To diagnose and troubleshoot specific and general problems with Microsoft's software (Windows 95, 98, Me, XP, Vista, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express) using the MS Knowledge Base, visit the Diagnostics page on this site.

Click a relevant link below to visit the information it describes on this website:

1. - Recovering and repairing Windows XP when a computer crashes or fails to boot

2. - Recovering and repairing Windows Vista when a computer crashes or fails to boot

3. - Windows Vista problems: How to fix problems with Windows Vista

4. - Recover, restore and repair Windows 7 (Win7) when a computer crashes or fails to boot

5. - Windows 7 problems: How to diagnose and fix problems with Windows 7

6. - Windows XP: How to troubleshoot and fix shutdown, restart (reboot), and startup problems

7. - Typical DLL (Dynamic Link Library) device driver problems

8. - Software problems: How to fix problems with Windows, programs, and utilities

Also visit the Software pages on this site for more information on specific software-related information and problems.

9. - Motherboard and power supply problems: How to fix common problems with faulty motherboards (mainboards) and power supplies (PSUs)

10. - RAM memory problems: How to fix problems with the Random Access Memory

11. - Hard disk drive problems: How to fix computer hard disk drive (HDD) problems

12. - CD/DVD drive problems: How to fix problems with CD and DVD drives and discs

13. - Processor problems: How fix common processor (CPU) problems

14. - Video/graphics card problems: How fix common computer video and graphics problems

15. - USB and FireWire problems: - How to fix common USB and FireWire problems

16. - Network problems: How to fix common wired and wireless networking and internet problems

17. - Laptop/notebook problems: How to address or fix the most common laptop/notebook problems

How to fix problems with device drivers in Windows XP and Windows Vista and Windows 7

Although the information on the following page is specific to Windows XP, much of the advice is relevant to the earlier versions of Windows. Click here! to read Troubleshoot Device Driver Problems. Click h ere! to go to Tips for fixing common driver problems in Windows Vista. Those tips should also be applicable to Windows 7.

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Visit the Build a PC page for information on how to build a desktop PC and solve self-build problems, and visit the other pages, such as the Video/Graphics, Sound, Motherboards, and Monitors pages for more problem-solving information, all of which can be accessed via the menu items and jump menu on the orange navigation bar, or via the site search engine at the top of each of the main pages.

The Tips & Tricks pages of this site contain additional useful tips, tricks, and problem-solving advice.

The safest way to upgrade RAM memory: Use the UK and US Crucial Memory Advisors

Paul Mullen, who was the highly-respected computer guru of the Helpfile at ComputerShopper.co.uk - "I have recently been buying my memory only from Crucial Technology. I would rather pay the extra cost than waste time trying to track down the obscure program faults that bad memory can cause."

The best way to choose RAM memory for a brand-name desktop or laptop computer, or memory for a particular make/model of PC motherboard is to make use of the Crucial Memory Advisors (provided under the brief guideline on the minimum memory requirements for Windws XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7). If the Crucial memory you receive does not work, you are guaranteed a refund and standard shipping is free.

The memory requirements of the versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7

Most of the versions of Windows Vista require more RAM memory to run optimally on a computer that doesn't use memory-hungry applications than Windows XP. A video-editing application is an example of memory-intensive software. Only Windows Vista Home Basic has a recommended minimum amount of memory of 512MB, which is the same amount recommended for Windows XP. Windows Vista Home Premium, the most popular version, and Windows Vista Ultimate require a recommended minimum of 1GB (1024MB) of memory, which is twice the amount of minimum memory recommended to run Windows XP. Note that if you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, up to 4.0GB, it requires twice the amount of memory as a 32-bit version, which can only use a maximum of about 3.5GB. For more information on computer memory, read the RAM pages of this site, which includes information on the lower memory requirements of Windows 7.

UK - Crucial Memory Advisor - UK

USA - Crucial Memory Advisor - USA

How to Use the Crucial Memory Advisor

For example, if your computer has an Asus motherboard, open the menu, scroll down to ASUS, and click GO. If, say, you have a Dell computer, scroll down to DELL, and do likewise. You will be taken to the relevant information on Crucial's website.

If you don't know the make and model of the motherboard installed in your computer, here is a good free utility - Belarc Advisor - that creates an analysis of the hardware and software on a personal computer. Look under FREE DOWNLOAD - http://www.belarc.com/. Another utility that also provides detailed information on the memory itself is CPU-Z.

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