Hi all,

I'm not terribly skilled at this, first off, but after studying the boards/guide as best I can I decided to try DL burning and splitting. Everything seems to go well, but the DVD Players don't recognize the disc/s once burned. Obviously I'm doing something wrong, but darned if know what.

My stats:
Gateway NX570X notebook with Intel Dual Core processor and ATI 128MB w/945PM and 1394 (FRU).
Optiarc DVD RW AD7530A (I believe it's a Sony)
DVDFab Platinum 5.0.2.0 - not the trial version
WMP and Power DVD don't recognize the disc/s
Magnavox DP1000MW8B DVD Player doesn't either.

Oh, media is HP DVD+R DL - all I could find on the shelves at a lower cost to get started with 'cause I figured I'd lose the first one or twol. BTW, both DVD players recognize +R media according to specs. And of course the Optiarc had no trouble recognizing the media and burning it, leading me to think it's not a hardware or media problem. My guess is I'm missing something in the setup? I did have PathPlayer enabled so I'd have the option to eliminate the annoying stuff.

Should I try disabling PathPlayer? I wanted to ask first 'cause the DL discs cost over $3.00 apiece and I didn't want to waste another one if that doesn't seem like a reasonable way to go according the experts here!

Thanks in advance for any and all help. My introduction is here:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/f1/introduction-244864-new/


Cheers,
Mamabird

Hi Mamabird and welcome to cdfreaks,

I'm headed out the door so apologies for being abrupt.

1. You should bitset the media, ie., change the booktype from DVD +R to DVD-ROM.

2. Please post a few burn logs. This will give us a great deal of useful info so we can try to nail this down for you.

The default location is:
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator Name\My Documents\DVDFab\Log

Gotta run...someone will be along to help...

Hi mamabird
The burn log is named dvdfab_burn_vso.log, in the folder my good friend maineman pointed out. You can right click on it and tell windows to open it with Notepad. The entries are grouped with the most recent at the top and getting older as you scroll down. Highlight the text of one of your DL burns and copy and paste it into a post.

Thanks guys! Here is the burn log for my DL burn:


5/13/2008 12:08:00 AM info ******************** Report session closed *********************
5/13/2008 12:01:58 AM info Finalization Time 00:03:11 - Total completion time 00:44:27
5/13/2008 12:01:58 AM info WRITE SUCCESS
5/12/2008 11:58:47 PM info Write finished in 00:41:16 - Finalization start here. Avg. burn rate 2.58
5/12/2008 11:18:10 PM info Lead-in burning time (mS) 0
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info Write started 3923728 sectors to write
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info Layer change set to LBA 2003904 (3.82 Gb.)
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info Writing speed requested x2.4, effective x2.0
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info layer break set by filesystem builder at 2003904
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info Available write speed: 2.4x
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info Media ID: CMC MAG-D01-00
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info Media type: Dual Layer DVD+R
5/12/2008 11:17:31 PM info DMA Mode
5/12/2008 11:17:29 PM info Optimal Layer Break is in cell 33, around 01:09:45
5/12/2008 11:17:28 PM info Scanned files #19, folder #2 - total size 8034631788 b. (7.48 Gb.)
5/12/2008 11:17:28 PM info Inserted media type : DL DVD+R
5/12/2008 11:17:28 PM info Write started
5/12/2008 11:17:27 PM info New media inserted. Burning layer is ready to write
5/12/2008 10:43:00 PM info Compatible media types : DVD-R, DVD-RW Seq., DVD-RW RO, DVDRAM, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R, CD-RW, DL DVD+R, DL DVD-R
5/12/2008 10:43:00 PM info New Drive selected : 1:0:0 - Optiarc DVD RW AD-7530A EX32 [E] (Ide)
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info Current Drive selected : 1:0:0 - Optiarc DVD RW AD-7530A EX32 [E] (Ide)
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info Using Patin-Couffin driver Version 1.37, Internal revision 37 - Async. Access mode
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info User default language : 1033 (0x0409h) - English (United States)
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info System default language : 1033 (0x0409h) - English (United States)
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info DLL Version 2.1.7.338
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info DLL C:\Program Files\DVDFab 5\vso_hwe.dll
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info Version 5, 0, 2, 0
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info ExeName : "C:\Program Files\DVDFab 5\DVDFab.exe"
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info OS : Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
5/12/2008 10:41:31 PM info ******************** Report session started ********************


I've learned one thing by reading the log - I have XP Professional. Gateway has it listed as "Media Edition"! I always wondered why there was never a drop box for XP Media Edition. Sheesh! I feel like I'm starting over with learning how to manage DOS on some of this stuff!

And a big ah-ha! to the Booktype set - never knew you could do that! I will try doing it that way next.

One question though, if the DVD Players say they're compatible with +R/+RW (and -R) - shouldn't they be able to read them that way? I've asked lots of questions of various service folk over time but never was able to get consistantly straight answers about this kind of stuff and for the past 10 years or so I just haven't had the time to do my own in-depth research. Graduate/post-graduate training tends to be a consuming process needless to say - only so much time in a day!

Anyways.....I feel comfortable enough at this point to risk using another DL disk with the change in booktype setting - I'll let you know how it turns out!

Thanks a lot!
Mamabird

Hi Mamabird,

Please check bit type setting after burning to +r. It only works for me when I use the IMG BURN burning engine with Fab. Cannot figure that one out.

Thanks for the reply rogman49, I'm sure I'm showing my ignorance here, but I'm not sure what the IMG BURN burning engine is. I pulled up the DVD's file in My Documents to burn if that's what you mean.

I have another problem now though - since changing the booktype in DVDFab, neither my 'puter nor DVDFab recognizes the DL media at all. I tried switching it back (unchecking the Booktype setting to DVD-ROM) and rebooting, all to no avail. When I first put in the new media, my system hung for a moment, then DVDFab & Explorer closed down. Explorer didn't come back on line until I opened the DVD bay. At that point I was able to do a soft reboot.

I think this is the start log:
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info Current Drive selected : 1:0:0 - Optiarc DVD RW AD-7530A EX32 [E] (Ide)
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info Using Patin-Couffin driver Version 1.37, Internal revision 37 - Async. Access mode
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info User default language : 1033 (0x0409h) - English (United States)
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info System default language : 1033 (0x0409h) - English (United States)
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info DLL Version 2.1.7.338
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info DLL C:\Program Files\DVDFab 5\vso_hwe.dll
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info Version 5, 0, 2, 0
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info ExeName : "C:\Program Files\DVDFab 5\DVDFab.exe"
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info OS : Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
5/13/2008 2:25:21 PM info ******************** Report session started

And here is the crash log:
5/13/2008 2:38:28 PM info Compatible media types : DVD-R, DVD-RW Seq., DVD-RW RO, DVDRAM, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD-R, CD-RW, DL DVD+R, DL DVD-R
5/13/2008 2:38:28 PM info New Drive selected : 1:0:0 - Optiarc DVD RW AD-7530A EX32 [E] (Ide)
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info Current Drive selected : 1:0:0 - Optiarc DVD RW AD-7530A EX32 [E] (Ide)
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info Using Patin-Couffin driver Version 1.37, Internal revision 37 - Async. Access mode
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info User default language : 1033 (0x0409h) - English (United States)
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info System default language : 1033 (0x0409h) - English (United States)
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info DLL Version 2.1.7.338
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info DLL C:\Program Files\DVDFab 5\vso_hwe.dll
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info Version 5, 0, 2, 0
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info ExeName : "C:\Program Files\DVDFab 5\DVDFab.exe"
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info OS : Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
5/13/2008 2:38:02 PM info ******************** Report session started



So I'm completely stumped. Any thoughts....anyone?

Thanks,
Mamabird

I bet about the blank disc, CMC are not making any really good media, if you do the same with a Verbatim DL media you should see a big difference. OR definitively, the DVD Player doesn't like burnt DL media, and it can be not only because of the booktype settings.

Mamabird
You should not need ImgBurn (a burning application) just to set the booktype, but your drive may not support it anyway; I can't find much information about it on the internet, except that many users have had problems with it acccording to the drive forum here at CDF and others. It clearly does not like the CMC MAG blank media, and I agree with lapinou (who is with VSO) that it is not a very good blank. That being said, there have been some problems posted recently in this forum burning DLs with the VSO burning engine, even with Verbatim blanks. See if the computer manufacturer has a firmware or driver update for that model; Sony/Optiarc does not. The problem with the drive not being recognized may be fixed with a reboot. You may have to physically uninstall it and then reinstall it to force windows to reload the driver. I also agree with lapinou that some standalone players, especially older ones, do not play burned DLs very well. See what your owners manual says.

some technical requests have been sent about DL, we never reproduced so far a clear problem about them.
if you have the feeling and if you confirm the problem with Verbatim drive, please feel free to contact us to work and make some tests

Thank you lapinou. I am a VSO Goldmember and have often recommended the excellent support tool on your website (vsorep).

Hi Lapinou.

I thought you might like to know that the first two links in your sig do not work.

Hi, I'm not sure what you mean by CMC - my discs are HP and I expect they're not the greatest either. I'm in KC right now and we have a Micro Center that appears to have some Verbatims in the -R format. I'll set this aside for now, run out there tomorrow and see if that makes the difference. I just have to wonder if it's the +R that's causing the problem and if using -R will fix it. Seems worth a try anyway....

As for the player not recognizing it, it is new as of Christmas 2007 and has no trouble playing the 8gig original disc (Forest Gump in this case). Also the same drive that burned the first one on my computer, didn't "see" it to play it in the DVD Player programs (WMP & PowerDVD), but did at that time did recognize the content in Explorer. Again, the only common denominator I can think of is the +R vs -R factor.

Signals suggested the driver issue which I will work on tonight, but I've recently checked my available updates with Gateway and I don't think they have an updated driver for it either. If all else fails I may just get an external -R/+R burner. If it comes to that, I'll be asking for suggestions on what's working well for others.

Thanks to all who responded for your help and concern. Talking to you all is so much better than screaming in frustration at my 'puter. (Yes, sad to say I've been known to do that....sigh. )

I'll keep you posted on my progress!
Mamabird

You will find that any brand of DL media other than Verbatim will give you problems as this has been mentioned many many times in the various forums. Anyway good luck and myself I would use the Verbs

Hi again mamabird,
I looked around and found virtually the same info as my good friend signals, ie., this burner has a problematic history and re: firmware, has crappy to non-existent support.
I thought this was an Optiarc/NEC and that we might get lucky with Liggy and Dee's expertise and support, but according to Liggy,
Bummer...

Re: one of your questions on blank media, it's helpful to refer to the media code or MID which is much more specific.
Frequently, the brand name is of no use at all.
For eg., HP media has been made by: CMC, Ricoh, Fuji and Mitsubishi.
Your burn log identifies your media as CMC MAG-D01- 00 and as such is not considered "high quality" media...some would say marginal or crappy...
sorry don't shoot the messenger.
Also, you'd think that a player that states it will play +R media will, in fact, play +R media...unfortunately, this is not always the case. Finding a happy marriage amongst blank media, burners and players is not always easy. What works in one, often will not work in another. Additionally, there is no downside to bitsetting. It will help to improve compatibility. Your drive simply, may not be capable of bitsetting.

I'd recommend that you download and install nero cd-dvd speed...there's a link in my sig. It's a free and very useful utility. It will bitset, assuming your burner is capable (click on "Extra" in the toolbar), give you tons of useful info and perform a wide variety of tests.

The only DL media you'll see consistently recommended is Verbatim +R DL and then, only those made in singapore (MIS), not made in India (MII).
You'll have to look on the actual label.

For SL (dvd5) media, I'd pick up some verbatim...you can find them almost anywhere. Taiyo Yuden is excellent media, but you'd have to order online.

Frankly, I'm not sure how much time you want to devote to this...or can devote...I looked at your very first post...good luck....
You could spend all day and get absolutely nowhere.

Here are a couple of things to try at this point:

Uninstall your burner (as signals...my partner in crime already suggested). You sound like you know your way around a pc, so go to device manager > IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers > Secondary IDE channel > and uninstall the driver.
Reboot, XP will reinstall the burner and assign the appropriate driver.

If no luck,
Delete your upper and lower filters:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060

Re: an external burner...nothing wrong with buying an external burner, but you can also purchase an internal burner and pop it in an external case. This may not save you any $, but will give you more options.

Best of luck...

Mamabird
CMC MAG D-01 is the media identification code, or MID (from your burn log), and identifies the maker of the discs as CMC Magnetics Corp. of Taiwan. They are not actually made by HP and are sold under many different brand names. Please try Verbatim +R DLs as others have suggested.

//EDIT// Echo: What maineman said.

Hi maineman,

Thanks to you, Jimbo, signals and everyone for the thoughtful responses. Re: the crappy dvd burner, I suspected it and it doesn't surprise me that Gateway would use the crappiest burner out there in their notebooks. I've not been as happy with this notebook as I thought $1300 should have made me anyway. The card reader never worked and tech support is lousy. Don't know what I'll do in future, but it won't be Gateway.

As for the time spent on this - you're right, my time is limited. I'm on vacation now, but the clock is ticking when I have to go back to the grind. I'm trying to get my house in KC fixed up to rent so the time-crunch is starting to press me. Yet....if I don't get this taken care of now, I never will.

Therefore, I'm thinking just to stop messing with this and get a different (external) burner. What do you and/or others recommend. Micro Center is here in KC and they seem to have a very large selection, internal and external and billed as dual-layer burners. Plus the salesmen are pretty knowledgeable and I think they'd help me figure out how to pop an internal one into an external case and get it to work. An added bonus: Verbatim DVD+R SL 100-pk for $40 and +R DL 20-pk for $28!!

They seem to have an assortment of Plextor, I/O Magic, Pioneer, Samsung, Lightscribe (not sure what that technology is) and of course some Sony which I'll stay away from. I'm leaning toward Plextor or Pioneer, but do you all have any thoughts? If I'm going to do that I might as well get something that will give me what I need and no one knows that better than you all. Also hoping to stay at or under $100 if possible.

Again, thanks so much for all your help - you guys are awesome!

Cheers,
Mamabird

Addendum:

Okay all, I figured out what the Lightscribe technology is all about, and I think I may have to have that! Of course that looks like it'll leave the Plextor/Pioneer units out of the picture.

The search page on Micro Center's website that I'm looking at is here:

http://www.microcenter.com/search/se...ow&bargain_bin=

I expect that will be a fair representation of what they will have in the store as they keep a lot of stock in the store.

Also at Best Buy there's some LG and Pioneer with Lightscribe:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....s&nrp=15&iht=n

Again, I can't thank you all enough for your all help!

Mamabird

Mamabird
Lightscribe is a gimmick that I predict you would hardly use at all. Takes a long time. Don't make your choice based on Lightscribe. The LG and LiteOn external drives work pretty well. I have the GSA E60L LG and the 20A1H LiteOn.

Just my 2 cents worth butI think that Lightscribe is highly overated.

I much prefer to buy the printable discs and run them through my inkjet and have a full colour face printed on them.

I use http://cdcovers.cc to download the artwork when I am to lazy to scan it myself.

Signals, you beat me again !!!

But just by a pinch, cobber!

Hey thanks signals. I was leaning toward the LG E60L anyway. I have some LG components for my home a/v system and have been very satisfied with the quality for the price.

As for Lightscribe, it didn't occur to me it wouldn't have any color. I do have some graphic design/art background so I thought the possibilities looked intriguing.

For GregiBoy: I've never tried the printable discs before. How do you put them through the printer? I'm having a hard time picturing how that would work which is why I've resisted shelling out the extra money for the discs.

Once again, you guys are awesome!
Mamabird

I haven't had problems with DL with HP drives. But I thought i did yesterday. After burning a DL from a HDD folder, created with 5.0.2.0, the computer did not detect the disk. I thought I had my first coaster; i hadn't tried it on my DVD player.

Then I read on the posts somewhere to reboot. Today I did and the disk was fine. It also ran OK on my player.

Windows Vista Ultimate 32bit
HP M8100y
Intel E6850
Phillips DM8S8B25F/17 disks

Have used VSO burn engine and latest version of Dvdfab to burn Verbatim DL's and have had no problem viewing them on stand alone unit. My system is Windows XP Media Edition, burner LG H1OL with latest firmware.

@ Dustyobones, just because I see you are using LG, did you see their latest tool to update automatically the firmware, did you used it ?

http://forums.vso-software.fr/lg-dvd...ers-t5240.html

Okay, that does it! I'm getting the LG today.

'Nother problem though, my CD/DVD burner in my laptop no longer works right. Windows doesn't bring up the "what do you want to open this with" message when I put something in and it's listed as "Recovery 11 (E)" in Explorer. It will play music CD's if I open WMP to play it but it doesn't see DVD's at all. All this happened only since I tried to force the booktype (or bitrate?) setting in DVDFab. I do need the DVD drive to work in my laptop because sometimes I need it for presentations at work and I don't want to carry something extra to plug in just so I can use it. Bad enough I have to bring speakers to do any a/v 'cause my sound card is so crappy.

Do I need to uninstall DVDFab to get my drive back? Already did a clean uninstall before I installed the new platinum version, took about 2 hours and I really don't want to do it again if there's another - simpler - way.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mamabird