DVD Burner Errors

[PanchoC]

I keep getting errors while burning. My DVDRW won't even burn to DVDs, and this is what happens when I try to burn a CD :

Nero version: 6.0.0.0 (Nero Express)
Recorder: <_NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG> Version: 2.16 - HA 1 TA 1 - 6.0.0.0

9:36:55 AM #20 CDR -1106 File Writer.cpp, Line 335
Power calibration error

9:36:55 AM #21 Text 0 File ThreadedTransfer.cpp, Line 227
all writers idle, stopping conversion

9:36:55 AM #22 Text 0 File ThreadedTransfer.cpp, Line 221
conversion idle, stopping reader

9:36:55 AM #23 CDR -201 File WriterStatus.cpp, Line 191
Invalid write state

9:36:55 AM #24 TRANSFER -18 File WriterStatus.cpp, Line 191
Could not perform EndTrack

9:36:55 AM #25 Text 0 File Mmc.cpp, Line 13141
<_NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG> start Close Session

9:36:55 AM #27 CDR -1176 File WriterStatus.cpp, Line 230
Session fixation error

9:36:55 AM #28 TRANSFER -19 File WriterStatus.cpp, Line 230
Could not perform Fixation

9:36:55 AM #29 Text 0 File WriterStatus.cpp, Line 239
falling back to disc fixation

9:36:55 AM #30 Text 0 File dlgbrnst.cpp, Line 1678
Set remaining time: 0:00,000 (0ms) -> OK

9:36:55 AM #31 Phase 38 File dlgbrnst.cpp, Line 1818
Burn process failed at 32x (4,800 KB/s)

[ghost_of_war]

How old is the burner? Have you tried a different burning program like InterVideo, DVDFab, etc?

[glc]

2 things to try. Update your Nero (free download) and update the drive's firmware. Otherwise, the drive itself may be defective.

[PanchoC]

I updated firmware and I was able to burn a CD successfully.

I haven't tried a DVD yet... before I do, I have a question... for burning a DVD, do I need to have free space on my hard drive to hold "temporary" files while burning the DVD?

What I mean is, right now I have about 1.5 GB of free space, and a DVD is usually over 4 GB.

Do I need to clear up more free space in order to burn a DVD, or does it not matter?

[ghost_of_war]

If you're burning something from a hard drive to a DVD, the answer is no. If you're doing a movie backup or something, then yes. If that's the case, you would need at least 4GB.

[PanchoC]

Ok, I found out that my issue is probably due to a bad configuration for my DMA (found the information on another forum).

My Device Manager wasn't letting me set it up and I remembered that I have a program called "IDETools" that is used to change this.

Here is a screenshot:

http://img47.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img47&image=v9r123.png

Should I change it to "Ultra DMA Mode" ?

[glc]

Multiword DMA *should* be fine. The real key is you have to set the IDE controller to "DMA if available". If it reports "PIO Only" this is a problem.

[PanchoC]

Ok, I believe I may have it working now.

What I had to do was uninstall my IDE controller in Device Manager and let Windows XP detect it again.

This time it set up my Primary and Secondary IDE Controllers which before it did not have listed. When they showed up this time, I checked and they had the DMA setting checked, and when I did a test burn of a DVD it worked properly.

Thanks!