DVD Writer wont write - kinda..

[Muad_dib77]

Geek needs Geeky assistance.

I'm going nuts...something changed, and I didn't do it..

My DVD-Writer keeps freezing up XP when I try to write a Disc..I starts doing the lead in..but the4n it just freezes..
At 1st I thought it was gammy software, so I uninstalled Nero 8..and reinstalled it...Same Result..
Then uninstalled it and tried various other applicaions.

AShampoo Burning Studio
Burnatone
Audition
The one that's in xp..
DVDFab 5
VSO Convert X to DVD

there's more... but I dont want to bore you...too much..

All with the same crappy result... 3 days and 7 dead dvd-r s and 3 cd-rs later I think."mmh, how about safemode?"

and presto it works..

So I know that's it's something that loads only in "Normal Mode" - I've established that none of the applications that run on startup make any difference.

Does Anybody here have any ideas with regards to what services I should be looking at to solve this? It's driving me bonkers.

[gfalls]

Run MSCONFIG uncheck anything that you don't need to run at startup. There will probably be loads of stuff. its a bit hit and miss, but it should do the job.

[Muad_dib77]

Sorry mate..done that.. No joy.. Odd as fup I know..

Even tried:

Disabling indexing of the DVD drive..(shouldn't have been enabled in the 1st place..why would you index a removable drive??)

Setting the IMAPI Writing Service to Auto instead of Manual

Checked all the events logs...Not even a mention in there..

Nearly considering a reinstall at this stage...(I don't believe in restore-points)

* UPDATE *

Also tried disabling all non-essential Services, both MS and otherwise.. No difference..

I did however figure out that the same thing happens when I do the "Simulation" in Nero, so atleast I can stop wasting discs now..

If only there was some sort of Diagnostics tool... mmh..

[CJ]

Which IDE port is it connected to? Is it set to slave, master or cable select?

My advise is set it as master on the secondary IDE channel i.e. the one that not used by the primary boot disk. Use the blue (or centre) 40 pin connector on the cable.

CJ

[Muad_dib77]

Brill... I'll give that a whack.. Pretty sure it's on the primary IDE just now... I've tried both master and slave..

And it's the only IDE device in there... in fact it's only there cause I ran out of sata controllers

[Dilogoat86]

On a side note, check on the venders home page for a firmware update for the drive. Sometimes there can be issues with newer software on older burners.

I'd also try a full delete of the drive from Device manager and a restart. Also, if it's the only IDE device in there then leave it on Master on the Primary IDE channel, Sata will be set as your primary boot in the BIOS. Completely uninstall all DVD/burning related software and then reinstall the device. Try CDBurnerXP too, it's competely free and I've never had issues regarding burning with it.

Dilo

[Wildhound]

If it's working in Safe Mode but not in normal mode, it sounds like a driver issue. It's probably a conflict with another device which doesn't load in Safe Mode. As a stab in the dark, it might be sharing an IRQ with a USB or networking device. Did you make any hardware or driver changes recently?

What I would suggest is to unplug any USB devices from the computer, then try it out in normal Windows mode. If it still doesn't work, disable non-essential devices in the device manager one by one until you find a culprit, starting with any networking devices.

[CJ]

IIRC, IRQs 14 and 15 are reserved on most systems for use by the primary and secondary IDE channels, in other words, other devices won't use them unless explicitly set to do so. You can confirm in Device Manager by viewing resources by connection and checking the IRQ assignments.

If you've swapped IDE channels, cable positions (and if possible, the cable) and set the drive to master to no avail, try toggling betwen DMA and PIO mode for the respective IDE controller (Devive Manager \ IDE Controllers).

CJ

[gfalls]

Or...Just buy a new one..They are as cheap as the proverbial chips..!

[Muad_dib77]

Or...Just buy a new one..They are as cheap as the proverbial chips..!

I wont tell you how many I have... suffice to say..Just one is installed atm..and it does work..just not when windows loads into normal mode..


*Thanks all for you advice..I'll get at it over the weekend, unless the weather improves..If that happens I'll be attacking my rear suspension.