DVD-RW drive keeps ruining my dvd-rs

[Peegee]

I"m using a HP 933 Mhz/1024MB SD ram computer. The DVD-RW drive is a SONY DVD RW DRU-510A. It has been very reliable when I had a P4 2.8 (no longer functional), but now that I moved it to the P3, the failure rate of DVDs has plummetted to say, 90%

I run simulations all the time, and often it fails. So I switch dvds, and it usually passes the simulation, but the burn process fails. I am using Nero to burn data dvds. What could be the problem?

[Citizen Bleys]

Could be a media issue.

Try Memorex DVD+Rs. Around here, they're priced the same as no-name brands, and they hae great reliability.

DVD-Rs seem touchy at the best of times. The + media is better.

[Peegee]

I'll consider that the next time I buy dvd-r's, though it will be costly travelling all the way to Future Shop just to buy cds. I'll consider ordering online as well then xD

Right now I just successfully burned two dvd's one after another. I copied the data to a drive with ~9 gigs of spare space. The odd thing about getting things to work is when you don't know why it does xD

[Citizen Bleys]

Torture Shop's got free delivery on online orders. To get it from Markham to my house in Riverview usually takes 2-3 days, so I find it more convenient than walking all the way into Dieppe and back. It's not like there's anything so important it can't wait a couple of days to be burned.

You're in Ontario, correct? You would probably get next-day delivery.

[Peegee]

I see your crude but witty renaming of a store franchaise makes it sound like future shop is sux.

I must agree. Anyway, I have some 17 dvd-rs left. Burn burn burn!

[Citizen Bleys]

It's just the way we talk in the maritimes. Like calling the bathroom "the urination station"

[Baloki]

Right now I just successfully burned two dvd's one after another. I copied the data to a drive with ~9 gigs of spare space. The odd thing about getting things to work is when you don't know why it does xD

Ta-da and you've sussed it. Nero creates a tempoary cache on the Hard Drive its copying off of the CD it makes to increase the reliability of the CD, if it doesn't have enough space to make that cache the releability rate decreases. Wasn't so much of a problem with CD's as they could only be a max of 800 megs, but a DVD can be upto 4 gigs can't it? Making one hell of a cache.

[Peegee]

Is it better/safer/whateverer to disable caching?

[Baloki]

Well at the min it looks like Nero's automattically disabling caching as you don't have enough space, try it, then try burning a DVD and see if theres any improvement.

[Peegee]

ActuallY I just changed the cache drive to one that has 20 gigs of free space, so we'll see if I don't come back whining about such and such :D