Hi. I just recently started having a problem with my laptop's dvd burner. It seems it can't correctly read or write anything on a cd-rw or dvd-rw. In Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 Basic, a disc will usually read as "Medium Error" and "Cannot read TOC" after attempting to burn something, but formatting the disc seems to be successful. CD-rw's will usually burn completely, but give me an error at the end telling me I should run Scandisk. (Running Scandisk will then crash explorer or lockup the system.) DVD-rw's won't get past maybe 3% before generating a "medium error." (Same with dvd-r's.) I know it isn't a medium error, at least not with the cd-rw's, because I successfully formatted and burned files onto them on another computer with the same Roxio software, but when trying to read them on this laptop, Roxio labels it a medium error, and Windows declares it a corrupt or incompatible format. The cd runs fine on other computers, though. Also, store-bought (non-burnt) cds read fine on the laptop, as do cd-r's. I don't use the burner very much, so it's hard for me to try to pinpoint even the general cause of the errors. I just recently discovered Starforce drivers installed on this system, but I removed them with Starforce's own removal tool (suspicious). Does this seem more like a copy-protection problem? A hardware problem? Or does the lens maybe need to be cleaned? Any insight anyone can give me would be so much appreciated. The dvd-rw's are made by TDK, and the cd-rw's by Imation.
You may need to update the firmware of your laptops burner. Visit: http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_search.php and do a search for your drive. If there is a firmware update available install it and see if that corrects your problem. Cheers.
You should update your firmware, but if you actually formatted your disk, you are making a grave mistake. The only programs that require formatting disks/discs are packet writing programs such as Roxio's Drag to Disc, Sonic's DLA, and Nero's InCD. DON'T USE THESE USELESS PROGRAMS! You are begging to lose your data, if you use them. In your case, use Creator Classic instead. You simply pull a disk off the spindle and burn to it. It is a rock solid method of burning your data.
Thanks for the responses, guys. There doesn't seem to be any updated firmware and I tried to burn a cd using Windows Media Player (instead of Roxio), but I guess it didn't burn correctly because that cd won't play. Any other possible causes?
