Selective DVD burning

makson547 · April 9th, 2006, 10:24 PM

I have a Maddog Dominator 6-in-1 dual DVD +/-R +/-RW burner that I bought in August 2004. Computer is Compaq Presario with AMD Athlon 2400+ processor and 368 megs of ram. Windows is XP. I have used the drive extensively for data backup using DVD +R media. Recently I switched over to DVD -R media which worked well. Last week my burner decided it didn't like the -R disks. Kept coming up with an error. But then I couldn't get it to burn +R either although I could burn CD -R. I uninstalled and reinstalled Nero and can now burn the DVD +R media but not the -R. I have also uninstalled the burner but it does the same thing. I have bought a new burner but am afraid to install it until I am sure it is not something software or settings related that will also plague the new burner. Any suggestions?

bailey · April 9th, 2006, 10:35 PM

sounds like your burner has wore its self out and I would recommend your looking for a better brand next time.

RayH · April 9th, 2006, 10:37 PM

You have the new burner. Try it. Maybe the Madddog doesn't like the brand of media. A friend of mine has an HP that doesn't like a stack of Sony +R he bought.

Gettinbye · April 9th, 2006, 10:57 PM

Have you tried running a DVD-ROM cleaner through your burner? You'll need to be picky about the cleaning disk you use as some can actually cause damage, but it might be worth a shot (they make some specifically for computers instead of your home DVD player)...
If that's not it, IMHO I'd guess your burner may be nearing the end of its life cycle...As RayH suggested, try the new one....that should tell you if it's a software configuration problem or a hardware problem...if it works, it's more than likely a worn drive...if it doesn't, it'll be time to look for corrupt drivers or problematic software configurations....

kenboyles72 · April 9th, 2006, 11:08 PM

dvd burners are a little stubborn sometimes. i bought a Liteon dvd burner and sometimes it dont like the disks i bought. i go buy some more of the same brand and type and it works fine. after a while i try using the ones that wouldn't work and they worked. this is mostly an issue with dvd-r and dvd+r, i have had no trouble with cd-r or cd+r's.

makson547 · April 10th, 2006, 07:27 AM

I've been working the burner pretty hard. I was using Memorex -R disks and it worked fine. Then I bought some TDK and it quit working. Bought a few Maxell and those didn't work either. Both worked fine before. I bought an HP burner this time but won't get time toinstall until the weekend. I did try a dvd cleaner to no avail. Thanks for the input!!! I'll keep an eye open here and will let you know what happens after I install this weekend.

makson547 · April 10th, 2006, 09:02 AM

Another quick question. I bought an HP LightScribe burner. Not sure what the reliability is for this one. Before I tear it open, anyone have any feedback on this particular drive or a recommendation on what I should get? It's an internal drive. Probably won't do much burning in the dual layer mode until the price of disks comes down.