I have a LG GSA-4082B Super multi drive. It happily burns to Princo blank DVD-R discs, but when I put a blank Princo DVD-RW disk, it always fails to complete the writing process. Giving "write error" or unsupported media when using the the B's DVD RAM software. I have updated to latest ROM version. Could the problem be that the drive supports DVD+-R, but that is only supports DVD-RW?
Tis a far, far greater chance it crappy media - Let's take Memorex as an excellent example as media goes, figures as high as 50% coasters have been reported (One member bought a stack of 50 and got 23 good burns.), not what I would call an impressive record. There are 4 different companies that manufacture Memorex BTW and product quality varies widely as you might imagine. Easy to see now why the quality of a big-named company can’t be trusted - “ Who’s making your Memorex tonight ?” Note: Memorex in the singles, 5 or 10 pack, as a rule, cause less problem than those Memorex sold in bulk BUT they still aren't recommended for DVD backups. 1. * Cheap media freezes, skips, pixelats and may refuse to be recognized :-( Besides "Freezing", "skips" and pixelations, many times you’ll get a “Cyclic Redundancy error” or an "I/O error". This message can mean that your discs are scratched or dirty, it can also mean that your burner won’t accept your “cheap” media :-( Another problem which “pops up” is a “*Power Calibration Error”. This can stop you right in your tracks and most often is caused by, Yep, you guessed it, inexpensive media. *A “Power Calibration Error” can also be attributed to the Optical Components of a DVD Writer, though this isn’t usually the case. Trying to shut down your software and ejecting your DVD then restarting your program and re-inserting the same media recently cleaned has been known to help. Inexpensive media or even average media is great for text, Data, Spreadsheets, .Jpg and .Gif pictures and is good even for MP3 music BUT for DVD backups - BLAaaaaaT! It SUCKTH in an extremely Big-th way ! 2. A good grade media is needed for DVD reproduction ! “Branded” Ritek G04's or Branded Verbatim are what we’re looking for OR any media boasting “Advanced Metal AZO.”, this indicates a superior dye application, while they are sometimes a bit “pricey” they are acceptable. Prices online from Meritline.com have gotten Ritek G04 starting at about a 1/2 dollar($ .50 USD) a disc - Question - If you make coasters out of 3 cheap or even average discs and good copies from 3 Branded Verbatim discs or 3 “Branded” Ritek G04 discs - which ones then will you say are too expensive ? The 3 “Cheapo’s with no movie backup OR, the 3 recommended discs with a perfect backup on each disc ? Bear in mind, Memorex, Fuji, Sony, TDK, Orange Pack and others are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets, Data and your text backups and archives, they just don’t work well for DVD backups. Even DataSafe G04’s made by Ritek have been reported as inferior quality and are evoking that “Oh no, I shouldn’t have gotten those.” Remember, for DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win, the majority of people lose, varying amounts but, they still lose :-( Let's try the right media for the job - just buy a 5 pack of what we recommend that will settle it once and for all - Don’t cheat though, buy the EXACT media we recommended - Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt. BTW, In an effort to clear the air, when I speak of "Cheap" or "Inexpensive" media, I'm not referring to the price you pay at the counter - I'm referring to the type of composite some manufactures use, their method of dye application and the lack of OR the poor quality control used during manufacturing. when I say "Branded" that means that when you pick up a disc in your hand, it says "Ritek" or "Verbatim" on the disc itself. The monetary cost of the media we recommend many times is cheaper than that you are buying now. cheers, Pete PS FAIR WARNING. . . Using that "Cheap" media, your backups may not last all that long - One thing I haven't addressed is the life of a backup made on an "el cheapo" disc. We all know that data, music and video backups on CD's and DVD's will last forever, well, if not forever for at least 100 yrs or so - That's what we've read and that's why we backup our treasures to disc, so that they'll be safe. "BLAaaaT" (the bone chilling sound of an emergency air horn), Wrong, Dead Wrong ! Don't throw the originals away, you may very well need them. Your video camera tapes and family picture CD's and DVD's, may not be there the next time you want to look at them. "Point of fact," inferior discs have a tendency to "Break down]" in time. In a very short time, we're talking disc breakdown in less than a single year, in as little as 6 to 8 months. Important, please read - http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=513486 _X_X_X_X_X_[small] The “old man” Pete (ö¿ô) Compaq 8000, Pent 4 CPU 2.84GHz, 1024MB RAM, 520GB HD. 4 Drives, JLMS DVD ROM, Pioneer 107, 8X R/W , Nec 4X R/W ND-1300A, AXV CD/DVD-ROM. GeForce4 Ti 4200-128MB, OS– X[/small]
bought a TDK DVD+RW disc and it worked, so I think its just false advertising from LG. It certainly dosen't support DVD-RW, thanks for your help guys.
If you check http://www.videohelp.com they state your drive supports both + & - RW media. As ScubaPete stated its probably just a matter of using a good quality media to get it to work. Jerry
You can get away with almost anything (within reason) when using RW media - I have 2 Memorex and a 10 pack of Sony RW which I've been using for a couple of years with no complaints - Of course nothing on them must last for any period of time to speak of - For backups, I use mostly Ritek +R media, sometimes "Branded Verbatims Pete
The -RW media that i used with my drive failed to work, but I successfully used the same media on my friend's drive, so I am sceptical of using -RW media in future, but will probably by another brand -RW disc to just satisfy my curiosity.
Hey I have found that Princo DVD+-RW DVD's are crap and wont work properly. As for RW, i dont like them Full Stop, any brand, i would rather just use a DVD-+R to backup to. As for the DVD-R's, i use them all the time with my LG burner and they work perfectly. Regards CoZZa
Not everyone has the bucks to throw away on single-write discs - When perfecting my skills on a new program, technique or, on a ”Buggery" DVD that just wants to test my metal, I think RW media is essential. For frequent updates on some PC data backups, I would be trashing several discs a week using single-write media, not to mention having to deal with disposing of my, sometimes sensitive, information on those discs. There's also the matter of moving information from my PC to another persons PC's who don't happen to be on a network (as most home PC's are not) and then putting information from their PCs to mine when I avoid all of that by using RW discs - But, that's just me (and perhaps a majority of the PC owners out there RW discs are indispensable - Pete
