Windows Media Player problems

[jyelland]

I burn a lot of CD's with Audio Books using WMP11. Recently, I was burning a book and got thru 4 cd's with 3-4 tracks on each. When I started my 5th cd it prepared all 3 tracks (all that could fit) but after burning only 1 track it finalized the disk and gave me an error message. 

"Windows Media Player cannot burn the files to the CD. Verify that the disc is clean and not damaged. If necessary, select a slower recording speed or try a different brand of blank discs"

When I click on "Web Help" button I go to a page thats says:
Windows Media Player Error Message Help
You've encountered error message C00D11AB while using Windows Media Player. The following information might help you troubleshoot the issue.

Cannot burn files to CD
Windows Media Player cannot burn the selected files to the CD. To fix the problem, do one or more of the following:

Clean the disc and verify that it is not damaged.

Select a slower recording (write) speed for the CD burner (recorder).

Try a different brand of blank discs.

Quit other programs.

When I click on the Technical Details button I get:
This error might have been triggered by an error in another program or component of Windows. The following information describes the original error.
Original Error Code           Original Error Message
 
8FFD020E                          error message not available

I have tried all they suggest along with System Restore, and rolled back my WMP11 to WMP9. I tried again at 9 but got same error so brought it back to 11 and still have the problem. Can anyone help me? Listening to audio books is the only thing that keeps me sane when driving my semi truck for hours on end all week. Thanks for any help.

[contrex]

Error Message:
Error COOD11AB
Translation:
This error usually occurs when you attempt to burn a CD using Windows Media Player. According to the Microsoft Support Web site, the message suggests that there are not enough resources available on your computer to complete a burn or there is a problem with the CD you’re using.
Solution:
To fix this problem, first check the disk you’re using. Look for any smudges, dirt, or other visible damage to the disk. Also, try a different brand of disc. Some optical drives work better with some brands of CDs than others.

If you decide that the disks are not the problem, Microsoft’s knowledgebase suggests the following process to free computer resources for burning:

Go to the Tools menu in Windows Media Player and click Options. Then click your CD burner from the Devices list located on the Devices tab. Click Properties. Go to the Recording tab and select a lower burn speed in the write-speed list.

[jyelland]

I have done both of those options with no differrence.

[contrex]

You tried a different brand of disk, and you reduced the burning speed?

Have you defragmented your hard drive and checked it for errors and does it have plenty of free space?

[jyelland]

Well it took over 4 hours but I defragmented and did an error check. Also, I have 205 gig of free space on my Hard Drive. After the defrag and e-check it still did not work. I did try a diff. disk but can't remember brand right now but my usual brand I have gone thru 300 disks before this happened. I have also tried it at every speed.

[jyelland]

Doesn't anyone know what I can do to fix this problem?

[contrex]

I have gone thru 300 disks  before this happened.

Maybe you should consider the possibilty of a burner problem? That number is a low, sure, but still plausible figure for laser diode failure. Is the drive still in warranty?

[jyelland]

Well, the burner is over 5 years old, but if it was the burner wouldn't it fail to burn at all?

[contrex]

Well, the burner is over 5 years old, but if it was the burner wouldn't it fail to burn at all?

Isn't that what is happening? It can't get to the end of a disk any more, the laser diode which makes the beam which "burns" the disk is crapping out part way through the disks. If it is 5 years old, and you have done the other steps, ie changing disk brand, slower speed, I would definitely suspect the burner.

Maybe if you have other burning software on board such as Nero, you could give that a whirl, but repeated failed burns tell a certain kind of story...

I don't know what kind of PC you have, if it is a desktop or a laptop, but, believe me, burners are a lot cheaper than they were in 2002!! Like, desktop PC DVD writers are under $50 now. Nearer $40 in some cases.

[jyelland]

Alright, I will try a new burner. I do have a older version of Nero that came with the burner but it did not reconize the Windows Media Audio files. I also downloaded a trial version of Nero7 but it would not reconize them either. I don't know if that is usual or not.

[contrex]

I meant you could use Nero to burn a disks worth of data files, any old files will do, just to see if it will get through to the end of burning a disk. If you have a rewritable disk you won't even risk a wasted disk.

[jyelland]

Well I just tried to burn a movie file thru nero but as soon as I dragged the file to the burn list I got a different error.

COM Surrogate has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience.

When I clicked the more information button I got:
AppName: dllhost.exe    AppVer: 5.1.2600.2180    ModName: ntdll.dll
ModVer: 5.1.2600.2180    Offset: 00018fea

However, it allowed me to continue the burn but stopped after only a little bit. I guess that conferms that the hardware is the problem not the software.

[contrex]

COM Surrogate has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience.

You're running Vista, right?

[jyelland]

xp

[contrex]

Sorry, it seems from a quick Google that COM Surrogate errors seem to be a popular Vista thing right now. I agree it looks like your 5 year old burner has given up the ghost.