Help with misbehaving DVD burner please...

[lestatar]

Hey, you folks have been very helpful in the past.  I have an extremely irritating issue that I need some help/advice with please!


In a nutshell:

My DVD burner simply refuses to recognize blank CDR/RW media.  However, DVD burning seems fine.

I have tried various high quality blank CDR media: Imation, FujiFilm [Taiyo Yudens] and TaiyoYudens.  None are recognized either by any of my burning software or by the native WinXP CD writing app.

I know that CD-RW media usage can be hit and miss.  This is OK.  But I would very much like to have the ability to burn to CDs when I need to.

This is driving me crazy!!!!!


Details:
WinXP Pro SP2, all patches current
HP xw6200 Workstation, Xeon P4 3.2ghz
4GB RAM


Burner: HL-DT-ST DVD+RW GWA4164B [this is a generally crappy LG drive according to my Google research, but it works for me with DVDs so far. 

FW is the latest that was available]

This drive is fully multi format capable according to Everest System Info and a variety of other diagnostic tools.


Burning Apps:
CDBurnerXP, ImgBurn, DeepBurner, Nero 9.0 lite and native WinXP CDR burning applet.  None can detect any of the blank CDRs I try.


What I have done:
- I have tried disabling the native XP CDR burning app in hopes this was causing some weird conflict with my burning software.  No joy.

- Used 2 lens cleaning CDs [I didn't think this would help, but gave it shot anyway].  No joy.


The drive can READ previously burned CDRs on all different media.

The drive can READ commercially burned audio CDRs.


Am I missing something?  Do something wrong?

I do not really want to start ripping things out in my PC.  I am in the process of archiving a ton of content to DVD-R - because the drive may be finicky, I do not want to make things worse at this point until I am done with my archiving.

I suspect the drive [already considered a crappy OEM drive] is on its way out and I may need to replace it.  But I just do not want to do this yet.  I also don't want to start uninstalling/reinstalling the drive via XP - again, because I am archiving stuff and it works for DVD-Rs I don't want to risk mucking things up.


Can someone educate me on this issue?  Am I missing something obvious/doing something wrong?

I understand there may be 2 different burning lasers, one for DVDs and one for CDRs in DVD burning devices.  Is it possible my CDR burn laser is kaput?

Any and all replies/help/advice desperately welcomed....

cheers,
-lestatar

[Broni]

Most likely, CD laser is out and you need new drive.

[EEVIAC]

yah, When DVDs work and CD do not, it's a sign of the CD laser going out

[lestatar]

Broni, EEviac....

Thanks guys....I was afraid of that...

Is there any way to tell for sure?  Is it possible only the CD burn laser is going bad and the DVD laser is still ok?

In other words, can I TRUST my DVD burns? 

I always use verify after burns and only burn on top quality media at 8x speed max.

And if I need a new burner, any recommendations for around $50.00?  It's been awhile since I had to shop for any type of burner.

LiteOn still a top brand?  Sony?  Pioneer or HP?  [lightscribe or something like it would be cool if I have to buy a new unit, but then I need Lightscribe-capable discs right?]

I definitely plan to stay away from LG.  This drive I am having probs with is an OEM LG piece of junk...

Thanks again guys...

-lestatar

[Broni]

The only way to tell for sure, would be to install in drive in another computer, but since brand new drive can be had for 30 bucks shipped, personally, I'd be too lazy to swap drives.

BTW... DVD burner has 4 lasers: CD read, CD burn, DVD read, DVD burn.

[Geek-9pm]

I definitely plan to stay away from LG.  This drive I am having probs with is an OEM LG piece of junk...

You may be right about that.
Here is a quick test.
Get a 'Live' CD, like Knopix or Puppy.
http://www.knoppix.net/  (Burn the ISO on another PC.)
See if the CD or DVD device will boot it.
If so, then see if the Linux media burner works with it.

[lestatar]

The only way to tell for sure, would be to install in drive in another computer, but since brand new drive can be had for 30 bucks shipped, personally, I'd be too lazy to swap drives.

BTW... DVD burner has 4 lasers: CD read, CD burn, DVD read, DVD burn.

Broni:  Yup, you are right.  Would be easiest thing to do...

And thanks for the info on the number of lasers...wasn't sure until now.

cheers man
-lestatar

[lestatar]

I definitely plan to stay away from LG.  This drive I am having probs with is an OEM LG piece of junk...

You may be right about that.
Here is a quick test.
Get a 'Live' CD, like Knopix or Puppy.
http://www.knoppix.net/  (Burn the ISO on another PC.)
See if the CD or DVD device will boot it.
If so, then see if the Linux media burner works with it.

Geek-9pm:

Thanks a million.  Yes, that LG drive has a very bad rep...I guess I am lucky that it still seems to burn DVDs correctly....

And BIG THANKS for the Knoppix suggestion.  Will def give this a shot soon.  Actually, as a second project, I have been researching different Linux distros as well to start learning that OS.  You suggestion with Knoppix may very well kill 2 birds with one stone.

OT, but any other Linux distro suggestions you can make?

I would like to play around with Linux in a dual-boot situation with a WinXP box.  Someone mentioned ubuntu as a good, balanced choice - versatile and with advanced Linux feature set, but also with a full GUI.

I am a very capable power MS user...

cheers and thanks again,
-lestatar

[Geek-9pm]

With some recent Ubuntu releases there has been criticism of too much change and new releases in a short time. But that could be said about pothers as well.
http://www.ubuntu.com/

A very simple Linux I use is puppy.
http://puppylinux.org
If you have an old 128MB USB drive, you can load puppy on it!
It makes a nice thing to have in your tool kit for the problem we have here. Is is a DVD drive just too wired? Test it on the Puppy. If puppy and read and write the drive, it is most likely alright and it is Windows that has driver pproblems. The Puppy drivers are very generic.

But, like Broni said, what is your time worth?
Get a new one for under $30.  Even at Wall Mart.

[lestatar]

To the Moderators of this board...

Apologies!  I meant no disrespect or discourtesy with my acronym usage in the title of this post.

I very much value this board and the help/opinions of its members. 

I hope my honest error will not reflect poorly on me going forward.

regards,
-lestatar

[Salmon Trout]

I definitely plan to stay away from LG.  This drive I am having probs with is an OEM LG piece of junk...

I have an LG GSA-4160B drive that has worked absolutely reliably since November 2004.

[Broni]

My 2 years old LG has been doing fine as well.

[patio]

Acronym edited...