CD & DVD Drive & insanity

If you've tried various types with same results, be sure your drive works with them. The manufacturer site should be able to tell you.

Off hand sounds like you may have drive problems.

Is it a new drive?
Has it worked in the past?
Is it original to the computer?

 

You may want to go the the manufacturer of your writer's web site and see if there are updated drivers. That may solve the problem/

 

When DVD writers first came out, there was a battle over formats. Think of it like the VHS vs Beta war. But instead, we have + and -. They both look identical to the human eye, but the way in which they burn data to the DVD is different.

- was led by pioneer.
+ was led by a coalition of companies (philips, sony, thompson, etc...)

The two were fighting to become standards, and in the end, they both won. Most modern DVD recorders are fully compatible with both formats, and most media manufacturers produce both formats. So in most cases, you can use either + or - media and they will work fine.

If, however, your recorder is older model or is loyal to either + or to -, you will have to purchase the media that is compatible with your drive (check the box or manual to see what your drive supports). So in your case, if you have a DVD-RW, you will need DVD-RW media. If you have a DVD+RW drive, you will need DVD+RW media. If you have a DVD+/-RW, you can use DVD+RW or DVD-RW media.

I'm assuming thats the problem. Also, make sure you actually have a DVD burner. CD burners can't burn DVDs. A lot of time people have computers with CDRW/DVD combo drives, and people think they can burn DVDs. These drives can play DVD and CDs, but can only burn CDs (they cannot burn DVDs).