Hi I don't know if anyone on here can help with this. I have a Dell computer with a NEC DVD+RW ND-3100AD 107E DVD burner. About six months or so ago, I burnt a lot of DVDs on it (using Nero) with no problems. The DVDs I used were Philips 1-8x DVD+R. Since then I burnt some CDs with no problems, but no other DVDs. Then earlier this week I tried to burn some more DVDs. I'm using the exact same brand of DVDs, but now it won't work. I keep getting a message saying that it's an "illegal disk". So what's going on? Have I deleted a driver or something by mistake? Any suggestions would be greatfully received. Thanks
the problem here is MOST likely due to your choice of -im sorry to say-, "crappy media" Philips are some of the WORST discs you can buy in terms of dvd-media~ some likely candidates for YOUR particular batch of discs include: Philips DVD+R 4.7GB INFOME..R20 8x (wow, these are bad) Philips DVD+R 4.7GB CMC MAG.E01 8x (the dreaded CMC MAGs crap) Philips DVD+R 4.7GB MBIPG101R04 8x (another crappy manufacturer) Philips DVD+R 4.7GB Philips.081 8x (philips OWN manufacturerd CRAP) Philips DVD+R 4.7GB PHILIPS.C08 8x (here it is AGAIN) Philips DVD+R 4.7GB RITEK...R03 8x (these are the ONLY good ones out of this ENTIRE list~ ) so, please use a media identifyer program to let me know WHICH of these you have, here is where you can check: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmediaform.php?dvdinfo=1#dvdinfo i really hope, for YOUR sake, you got the RitekR03s.... GOOD QUALITY media DOES make a difference...also, make sure your firmware is up to date to handle the newer media out in the market today...actually, it is: Fri Oct 22, 2004 5:13 pm NEC ND-3100AD NEC DVD+RW ND-3100AD - No Firmware Updates Available (Known Firmware: 107E) RPC-2 so, try getting some BETTER quality media and your dvd burning issues MIGHT be resolved...a nero log might prove helpful as well to backup what i am saying..i REALLY THINK this is a media issue... some suggestions for GOOD media are in my signature...it's sometimes as easy as switching brands of media to have successful burns docTY/doc Holiday~
Thank you very much for an extremely informative reply. Until now I'd assumed that because I brought a pack of disks from the same company, that the manufacturer would be the same. Having used DVD Identifier, I've found out that the latest batch of DVDs I've been having trouble with are Philips DVD+R 4.7GB INFOME..R20 8x. The previous batch, which I had no trouble with, were Philips DVD+R 4.7GB CMC MAG.E01 8x. There was no indication on the box that they were different (I brought them at different times). That raises a few questions, which are probably quite basic, but if you could answer them I'd be very grateful. 1) Is there any way to tell which manufacturer makes the disks for a company like Philips? (I brought them because I recognised the company name and assumed they'd be good quality). 2) The batch of disks I used previously -- the CMC MAG.E01 8x -- and had no problem recording on, you refer to them as "the dreaded CMC MAGs crap". Should I be worried about the recordings that I have on those disks? 3) What brand/manufacturer of DVD+R should I buy? Your signature seems to suggest that the Verbatim are the ones I should go for, but do they also get their disks made by different manufacturers, and if so how do I tell the difference? 4) You say my firmware is up to date. How will I know when it is out of date? Thanks again for your help.
hello, to answer your questions in the order you asked, here it goes: 1. with a company like Philips, NOPE~ there is NO WAY to find out until you buy them, take them home, open up a spindle, and test using dvd identifier~ unfortunately, with a company like Philips that use such a WIDE variety of manufacturers, you will never know..it's like playing the lottery~ u might win, u might NOT~ 2. i PERSONALLY would be worried, only because from EXPERIENCE, the very few CMC MAGs manufactured discs i have used in the past, degraded within 3 months after a supposedly "successful burn"...after about 3 months time, they would pixellate/skip/freeze and on top of that when run through a disc quality check, MANY MANY errors all over the disc...MOST of those are landfill material now as the MAJORITY of them would NO LONGER even PLAY~! so, naturally, this is as PERSONAL OPINION of mine from MY experience with CMC MAGs...many others here have the same results with that manufacturer~ 3. Verbatim is a VERY good product, when dealing with Verbatim, you will MOST LIKELY find the spindles that are "made in taiwan"...this is what i consider the "good stuff"...whether it be 8x dvd+r (MCC003 coding) or the 16x dvd+r (MCC004 coding), i have YET to see a different manufacturer for Verbatim "made in taiwans" found on the wrapper, you will be good with those...also, if shopping locally for 8x dvd+r, look for the sales on Fuji brand and Sony branded media in the 8x dvd+r (MADE IN JAPAN) on the wrapper...these are the famous Taiyo Yudens that i speak SO highly of with the YUDEN000T02 coding as per my signature...BUT, you might have to sort through some spindles to find the "made in japan" on the wrapper, that is the ONLY way to tell ahead of time what you are going to get, if you get the "made in taiwan" for the fuji/sony brand, it WILL NOT be the Taiyo Yudens i mentioned earlier...TYs (Taiyo Yudens) are ONLY manufacturered in JAPAN, they are NOT made in taiwan or anywhere else...the TYs that you see from taiwan/china/anywhere else, are FAKE Taiyo Yudens, horrible quality and definitely something you want to stay away from. i hope that is not too confusing... bottom line : Verbatim = made in taiwan MCC manufactured= good stuff Taiyo Yuden manufactured = MADE IN JAPAN = 8x dvd+r Fuji & Sony brand= good stuff again~ 4. firmware just teachs/tells your dvd burner how to read/write discs properly, guess you will just have to periodically check for firmware updates, nobody really knows when they update it for sure, i just check every once in awhile for my various burners and sometimes there is an update, sometimes there is not...i try to stay current with firmware, as it DOES improve the write strategies for your drive, but, only your drive manufacturer will know WHEN they feel like updating firmware, everyone just waits until it is announced and go from there. hope that clarifies a bit for you...good luck and happy burning with your NEW discs you get in the near future...i would ditch the Philips brand COMPLETELY if i were you...too many diff. manufacturers, ALL pretty bad quality, only the Ritek is the ONLY decent one out of all of those~ docTY~
i'm here to help~ "clarify" should be my middle name~ j/k LOL good luck buddy, and you are very welcome, i appreciate your kind words~ doc "clarify" TY~