This is a new problem as of 3 days ago. I purchased some new DVD-R's so I can backup some pictures and videos and when I insert the blank dvd-r into the drive the drive, under My Computer, changes and now reads "CD Drive"... attempts to burn using Nero are unsuccessfull and come up with errors. However I tried the same disc using an older computer and burner and it burned fine and I used the disc that burned correctly and inserted it into the drive on the newer computer and XP recognized the disc and was able to read the contents. I also tried burning a really small file on the old computer that works using Multisession and taking it over to the new computer that isn't working so well right now and I was able to continue the multisession fine. The problem seems to be with recognizing a blank DVD disc all of a sudden. I uninstalled Alcohol and upgraded the firmware to the newest one and I even purchased different media and it won't work. It worked previously for about a year and a half and now it just has this new problem. The DVD drive I have is NEC 3520AW. Any ideas on how I can fix this? Thank you!
On the pc with the NEC 3520: Go through device manager under dvd-cd rom drives- and open up the tree. Double click on where the nec is listed/click drivers tab on top/uninstall/and reboot. Sometimes a dvd-rw drive can get lost,making it look like your dvd-rw drive is a cd-rw drive. Uninstall and rebooting the drivers should help. I'm not sure of the difference between the 3520A and the 3520AW.The 3520A hasn't been updated in almost 2 yrs. What was the current firmware version before the flashing to the latest update and what version did you flash it to? What's the brand name and speed rate of your blank dash media?
Thanks for the reply, I tried uninstalling the driver and rebooting the machine and the same problem exists. What is really strange is I can burn on the DVD when there is something already burned to it, such as a small text file, however when the disc is blank it cannot be read. The blank discs I have been using are FujiFilm DVD-R 4.7GB, 1x to 16x and I am also trying TDK DVD-R 8x compatible Single Sided. Current Firmware is version 3.04 ( I believe, the most recent one on the NEC website) and the previous was 1.xx. The AW just means it is the newest flash while A is the old firmware version. AW means it can now burn -r DL discs (I'm guessing it means DVD-R dual layer discs, not sure, just a guess) Hope this helps you figure out what is going on with my drive! haha Thanks again
When you put a blank in its say its a cd drive I don't understand why but thats what it does. In Nero when you start Nero Express at the top of the page there's a drop down it says ( which recorder would you like to use? ) Choose the name of your recorder dvd, you will have a cd-r/rw listed also. For blanks use Verbatim unless they are made in Japan .
I have the exact same problem where I place a DVD +RWE in my DVD RW drive and yet it says that its a CD drive. Any suggestions? JH
It never before said CD Drive when I inserted a disc until recently and I have also made sure the drop down menu has the DVD recorder selected and not my cd burner. I have used TDK blanks in the past with no problem however both TDK and Fujifilm are not working.
I got less than that from my 3520 as did a friend. Needless to say I did not buy another NEC. That's how my burner shows in My Computer when I insert blank DVDs, the Name of the burner changes to CD Drive same as the Type. I have no problems burning.
You mentioned you bought new blanks. I would put the blame there. They might just be crap or maybe you need to update your firmware. I will only buy Sony, Verbatim and Fuji. I have even had problems with Fugi where the disks went south half way through a 100 pack. Bummer! Memorix is the worst that is why they need to sell them cheap. I usually buy at Best Buy. They will that them back. I buy one lot and burn a disk. If it is good I stock up. Better readers read poorer media. If your burner is more than a year old I would look into the firmware. That would be true if your media has a faster burn rate than the burner? Otherwise look at the media. My oldest burner is 2 years old and I have not had to upgrade the firmware (I think). I know I had to update my firmware of my 8X to read 16X media. The burner was able to recognise the media but was still poor enough I bought a new burner. Is the media one of the three? If not try to return it. I never have problems with my burner I have 2 Lite-ONs. I have the probleems with my readers. My readers usually can't read the cheap disks. I am guessing even if you can get your burner to read the blanks, you will not be able to read them on a normal reader.
I said above that I had tried TDK and Fuji blanks. The drive will read previously burned discs and will still play normal dvd's however will not read or write to a blank dvd. I can burn a dvd that has previously burned information on it (continue a multisession) I also updated the firmware to the newest version
Not one problem with Verbatim dvdr - at 4x speed over 1,000 movies all kinds of problems with TDK Fugi Memosucks SONY ! house brands Windata I will not burn movies on nothing But Verbatim !
I have had problems with Fuji as well. I still buy them if they are on sale. I have not had problems with the other two, ever. I have also burned plenty of disks. I don't want to insult your intelligence, but are you sure you do not have Nero set to burn CDs? I have done that before. There are no error messages to tell you you are trying to burn the wrong media which it could easily do. Instead, it just gives you a message that your media is bad or something equally worthless. I suspect even marginal media will 'show up' as a disk. Can you burn CDs? I suspect your problem is a major one vs a nuance. I actually do not use Nero to burn video disks. I use an old ripping app that has burn capibilities (DVD Decrypter). It lacks the speed of Nero (max 10x) but I don't burn faster than that. Slower is always better with diminishing benefits as you slow down. Decrypter is better at reading and writing than most other apps. It was designed specifically for videos and 'takes its time' to get it right. I started using that product when I was burning some marginal media. Decrypter did fine with the marginal media (Fuji) at the same speed, same burner and same media. After that, I stopped using Nero for video. I know your problem is a read problem but would suggest you try to find a copy of that anyway. It is a 'must have' for someone that wants to excel at this. The utility Ripit4me requires it. If you don't have that utility with FixVTS plugged in you are "bush league". I do not always use ripit4me for older videos that are not too scratched up, otherwise I use it. It is set to use Defab Decrypter to read and write. It uses FixVTS and compresses the video with Shrink. Shrink is set to automatically burn with Decrypter instead of Nero. It takes longer and has more steps than doing it any other way but the process is more robust than anything else I have seen.
