# DVD Drive problems



## pra85 (Mar 2, 2011)

I had a LG super multi writer (GSA-H55N), it had stopped writing DVD's although it could read them without any problem . I bought a new DVD writer it also has the same problem .i remembered that i had fiddled with msconfig and services.msc to tweak my performance before this problem started.i hav win 7 ultimate.please help

{I tried to reinstall my windows but the computer doesn't even go to cd rom booting option .i hav selected the 1st boot device as cd rom}


----------



## thetechfreak (Mar 2, 2011)

try to remember what options you changed.

Give more info about your system.


Search system restore in start menu and restore to a date before problem started

Try to reconnect wires of DvD drive properly.

I think OP has a lens problem.


----------



## vamsi_krishna (Mar 3, 2011)

First.. try this...
go to run and type "gpedit.msc", select under "user configuration", select Administartive templates-> Windows components-> Windows explorer.

Now, on the right side, you can see "remove CD burning" or something like that. Double click it to bring up a window. See if it is enabled. If it is enabled, Disable it.

If this fails,

Use the system restore. It is the best thing to do if you don't exactly know what you have changed.


----------



## topgear (Mar 3, 2011)

or use some alternative apps like imgburn - which is 10 times better than windows deafult app and is also freeware


----------



## Zangetsu (Mar 3, 2011)

pra85 said:


> I had a LG super multi writer (GSA-H55N), it had stopped writing DVD's although it could read them without any problem . I bought a new DVD writer it also has the same problem .i remembered that i had fiddled with msconfig and services.msc to tweak my performance before this problem started.i hav win 7 ultimate.please help
> 
> {I tried to reinstall my windows but the computer doesn't even go to cd rom booting option .i hav selected the 1st boot device as cd rom}



What is the problem.....
1) ur new DVD writer is not writing DVDs
or 
2) 1st boot option as CD ROM not working so dat u cant install Windows 7


----------



## topgear (Mar 4, 2011)

I think OP still has 2 ODD connected with his mobo and he forgot to set the booting priority of DVD drives.

@ OP - In the advanced option in bios you should be able to select from which ODD you want to use as your primary boot drive - set it correctly and you should be able to boot with windows OS install disc.


----------



## vamsi_krishna (Mar 4, 2011)

or try hitting the boot option key (Probably F8 or F10). And see if your drive is listed there. If yes, select it. 

And try some other bootable DVD, there might be a problem with that disc (just in case  )


----------



## pra85 (Mar 5, 2011)

THE GOOD NEWS is that i hav been successfully able to install a new copy of win 7 by inserting the dvd when the computer was running and starting the new on screen installation 

but the problem of writing a DVD still persists( my DVD writer ,reads any disc easily including copying from it )
and this is my new dvd writer (LG GH22NP21 )

@vamsi_krishna
i tried the gpedit.msc thing but it didnt work

@thetechfreak
i changed the ide cable and checked the power connections but still no results

@topgear(1st comment)
the problem is that when i started writing the dvd(just a 20mb file) using imgburn the file completed like 2% in about 5 minutes.see the image for more details
*i51.tinypic.com/2884e47.png

@topgear 
couldn't understand the second comment about ODD 
please expalin in simple langauge


----------



## thetechfreak (Mar 5, 2011)

Try using CDburner XP or Nero

Can you burn CD's?


----------



## vamsi_krishna (Mar 5, 2011)

Try the same DVD drive(incl. the cable) in a different computer (may be one of your friends').


----------



## pauldmps (Mar 5, 2011)

I too have a similar problem. Windows Explorer detects my DVD burner as CD Drive. Hence it fails to detect blank media. There is no "recording" tab in properties. It reads DVDs though (even after showing up as a CD drive) but sometimes it fails to read DVDs until reboot is done.

My Burner can burn using Nero & other softwares so no hardware problems. Weirdly, this problem started after a clean-installation of Windows. (It wasn't there before).

I tried deleting the "lower filters" & "upper filters" values in the registry & tried all other methods of troubleshooting on the Microsoft site.

Can anyone help me in this issue ?


----------



## Vyom (Mar 5, 2011)

@OP: You still havn't mentioned your configuration. If the LG DVD Writer is new, and you are burning on a fresh Windows install, then the problem can only lie with your h/w.

Try to give screenshots or information of settings you are using before you are burning those DVD's. Information can include, type of DVD selected in the burner application...
Also, mention, which kind of disk media and of which brand are you using...


----------



## pra85 (Mar 5, 2011)

@vineet369
my conifg is
processor:intel e5300 @3.13GHz
ram:1gb ddr2 667mhz
hdd:1tb hitachi sata II
motherboard:g31m-es2l
psu:450w
graphic card:9400 gt 1gb gddr2
sorry i cannot post the screenshot for the other programs i used becoz everytime i do try to write even if i stop it even when 0% has been done ,the DVD IS Wasted but rest assured i have tried this earlier and for the info on the type and etcetera it is as follows

brand:moserbaer
type:dvd-r
speed:16X
and i always write the disc at either 16X or 12X settings

@topgear
I am only using a single optical disk drive 

@thetechfreak
i have used both these and they r showing the same problems
no i cannot burn cd's too

@vamsi_krishna
trying this idea will take some time


the point *vineet369* has made is quite possibly possible ,but then what part of my hardware is  malfunctioning becoz i am sure the ide socket is alright as i have attached a hdd to it and data transfers are smooth and the ide cable is changed ..........*plz suggest the possible hardware problems????*

the most funny thing about this issue is that the copying of data from dvd ,cd,dual layer dvd ,etc is happening in a  normal way 

i even checked the setting of my Writer using CDBurner XP see these images below

*i56.tinypic.com/s5ffkg.png
*i55.tinypic.com/17cuwn.png
*i52.tinypic.com/1zwzz8w.png
*i54.tinypic.com/2ed3v2d.png
*i53.tinypic.com/xgfe5u.png
*i53.tinypic.com/28jd2c6.png


----------



## Vyom (Mar 6, 2011)

^^ Well, your system seems good enough, to handle the burning. The screenshot shows you are using classic theme, which also helps in keeping memory usage to a low rating.

From my experience I can say that, a burner which reads data perfectly, but dont write, had definitely something to do with the burner itself. To be absolutely sure, you need to check your drive on someone else's system, or try to use else's burner in your own system.

Meanwhile, you can try one more thing. Nero provides a "Simulation" feature. Don't know if CD Burner XP, provides it or not.
According to the definition, "Simulation does all the acts of burning but w/o using the laser." which means (from Yahoo! answers) that "Simulation tells Nero to go through the entire process of burning a CD or DVD without actually burning a CD or DVD, so it tests the hardware, permissions on files, size of the resulting disc, etc etc.""

So I recommend first simulating the burning process, and then posting the results.


----------



## topgear (Mar 6, 2011)

pra85 said:


> THE GOOD NEWS is that i hav been successfully able to install a new copy of win 7 by inserting the dvd when the computer was running and starting the new on screen installation
> 
> but the problem of writing a DVD still persists( my DVD writer ,reads any disc easily including copying from it )
> and this is my new dvd writer (LG GH22NP21 )
> ...





pra85 said:


> @vineet369
> my conifg is
> processor:intel e5300 @3.13GHz
> ram:1gb ddr2 667mhz
> ...



As you are using a single DVD drive don't be bothered with the second comment 

Here's my suggestions for you :

Set DVD drive 1st boot option in Bios.

Install a fresh copy of windows by formating C drive - if you have installed OS on that drive.

Install *Latest chipset drivers*, sound, VGA and DirectX for your mobo.
BTW, what mobo and cpu do you have and how much mem you have installed ?

Make sure under device manager your DVD  drive and HDD are using Ultra DMA mode.

Try using a different SATA cable and make sure all the wires are connected properly with mobo and DVD drive. Same goes for the power connector from PSU into DVD drive.

Scan your HDD for Bad sectors using HD Tune.

If every thing is OK try writing a DVD using IMGburn and let us know about it.


----------



## thetechfreak (Mar 6, 2011)

I think there might we something wrond with the SaTA/IDE ports


----------



## topgear (Mar 7, 2011)

^^ that could be a reason.

@ *OP*- are you using a SATA or IDE dvd drive - if it's SATA try connecting the DVD drive into a different SATA port.


----------



## choudang (Mar 7, 2011)

it seems that i am also having same kind of problem but not completely. my dvd stops detecting and writing... with nero its got successful but cd/dvd remains blank. but when i write thru linux, it works for only 1 time.

i think its a problem with burner itself.


----------



## Vyom (Mar 7, 2011)

^^ Try simulating the write process. For details on simulating, refer post no. 14. 
(*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/software-q/137456-dvd-drive-problems.html#post1345424)


----------



## choudang (Mar 7, 2011)

^^ not even nero, alcohol, imgburn everything failed in Win 7. i had to change the drive.  but new 5 months old burner again causing the same problem


----------



## pra85 (Apr 7, 2011)

*Re: DVD Drive problems Solved*

even though i dont know how it was solved but now i can write my dvds now with the same burner

this is what happened 
i got a idea that i should install some Linux distro and then try to write the dvd ,so i installed Fedora ,but while installing it formatted my whole of HDD and converted it into a single partition of 931 GB  and after spending some time on fedora i couldn't understand what to do so i re-installed WIN 7 Ultimate and now it is writing the dvds 
Neither did i change any hardware nor anything else and it just writing of its own accord.


----------



## Vyom (Apr 7, 2011)

*Re: DVD Drive problems Solved*



pra85 said:


> even though i dont know how it was solved but now i can write my dvds now with the same burner
> 
> this is what happened
> i got a idea that i should install some Linux distro and then try to write the dvd ,so i installed Fedora ,but while installing it formatted my whole of HDD and converted it into a single partition of 931 GB  and after spending some time on fedora i couldn't understand what to do so i re-installed WIN 7 Ultimate and now it is writing the dvds
> Neither did i change any hardware nor anything else and it just writing of its own accord.



I hope when Linux installer formatted your whole HDD, it was intentional and you didnt lose any of your data.

If your problem is solved now, then ifs safe to say that it was some driver related problem.


----------

