Can you open a terminal window and type:

sudo tail -100f /var/log/messages

then mark where you are just by typing: ========== (a couple equal signs)

then insert the blank DVD

post what is written to the messages logfile

thanks

I have a similar problem: I downloaded the Dell Gutsy ISO but can't burn it to DVD. My CD/DVD drive has worked fine for CDs (all I have used it for), but it doesn't read blank DVDs. Also, in the System/Preferences/Removable Drives and Media menu, the Command for Data CDs line under "Blank CD and DVD discs" reads: "nautilus --no desktop burn:"

I ran the terminal command that was suggested for the previous post: there's a lot of verbiage before the === (equal signs) and the blank DVD insertion, but nothing after.

I am a complete newbie, with an inspiron 530 running Feisty (until I can figure out how to burn that ISO). 

Thanks. 

as root type:

sudo cdrecord -scanbus

and post output ... the "stuff" in the /var/log/messages is what I wanted you to post.

Put DVD in driver

In separate terminal window run sudo tail -100f /var/log/messages

Then cut and past what gets printed when the DVD is inserted into the drive

If that's a little difficult to follow, just post the last 20 lines of dmesg after you insert the DVD

I copy/pasted the commands into separate terminal windows.

sudo cdrecord -scanbus got this:

scsibus0:
        0,0,0     0) 'ATA     ' 'ST3250310AS     ' '3.AD' Disk
        0,1,0     1) *
        0,2,0     2) *
        0,3,0     3) *
        0,4,0     4) *
        0,5,0     5) *
        0,6,0     6) *
        0,7,0     7) *
scsibus1:
        1,0,0   100) 'HL-DT-ST' 'CDRW/DVD GCCH10N' 'C103' Removable CD-ROM
        1,1,0   101) *
        1,2,0   102) *
        1,3,0   103) *
        1,4,0   104) *
        1,5,0   105) *
        1,6,0   106) *
        1,7,0   107) *
scsibus4:
        4,0,0   400) 'TEAC    ' 'USB   HS-CF Card' '4.00' Removable Disk
        4,1,0   401) *
        4,2,0   402) *
        4,3,0   403) *
        4,4,0   404) *
        4,5,0   405) *
        4,6,0   406) *
        4,7,0   407) *

Then I put the DVD in the drive and ran sudo tail -100f /var/log/messages , which got this: 

May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.259603] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:02:00.0 -> GSI 21 (level, low) -> IRQ 17
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.311342] ohci1394: fw-host0: OHCI-1394 1.0 (PCI): IRQ=[17]  MMIO=[fdeff000-fdeff7ff]  Max Packet=[2048]  IR/IT contexts=[8/8]
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.320335] usb 2-1: new low speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 3
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.331428] SCSI device sda: 488281250 512-byte hdwr sectors (250000 MB)
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.331482] sda: Write Protect is off
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.331501] SCSI device sda: write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.331553] SCSI device sda: 488281250 512-byte hdwr sectors (250000 MB)
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.331562] sda: Write Protect is off
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.331579] SCSI device sda: write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.331583]  sda: sda1 sda2 < sda5 >
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.366329] sd 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi disk sda
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.369771] sr0: scsi3-mmc drive: 48x/48x writer cd/rw xa/form2 cdda tray
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.369776] Uniform CD-ROM driver Revision: 3.20
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.371225] sd 0:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.371338] sr 1:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg1 type 5
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.489447] usb 2-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.505424] input: USB Optical Mouse as /class/input/input1
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.505449] input: USB HID v1.11 Mouse [USB Optical Mouse] on usb-0000:00:1a.1-1
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.550121] Attempting manual resume
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.582740] kjournald starting.  Commit interval 5 seconds
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.582751] EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data mode.
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.746299] usb 2-2: new low speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    5.955004] usb 2-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    6.008014] input: Dell Dell USB Keyboard as /class/input/input2
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    6.008025] input: USB HID v1.10 Keyboard [Dell Dell USB Keyboard] on usb-0000:00:1a.1-2
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    6.022980] usbcore: registered new interface driver libusual
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    6.269739] Initializing USB Mass Storage driver...
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    6.269802] scsi4 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    6.269853] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [    6.269856] USB Mass Storage support registered.
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.275967] scsi 4:0:0:0: Direct-Access     TEAC     USB   HS-CF Card 4.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.279944] scsi 4:0:0:1: Direct-Access     TEAC     USB   HS-xD/SM   4.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.284563] scsi 4:0:0:2: Direct-Access     TEAC     USB   HS-MS Card 4.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.288487] scsi 4:0:0:3: Direct-Access     TEAC     USB   HS-SD Card 4.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.293662] sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi removable disk sdb
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.293708] sd 4:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg2 type 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.300576] sd 4:0:0:1: Attached scsi removable disk sdc
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.300622] sd 4:0:0:1: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.305632] sd 4:0:0:2: Attached scsi removable disk sdd
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.305677] sd 4:0:0:2: Attached scsi generic sg4 type 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.356502] sd 4:0:0:3: Attached scsi removable disk sde
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   11.356551] sd 4:0:0:3: Attached scsi generic sg5 type 0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.253396] Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Driver - version 7.5.5.1-NAPI
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.253400] Copyright (c) 1999-2007 Intel Corporation.
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.282306] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:19.0 -> GSI 20 (level, low) -> IRQ 21
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.297663] Linux agpgart interface v0.102 (c) Dave Jones
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.318771] pci_hotplug: PCI Hot Plug PCI Core version: 0.5
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.332205] e1000: 0000:00:19.0: e1000_probe: (PCI Express:2.5Gb/s:Width x1) 00:1a:a0:90:6c:a8
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.383404] e1000: eth0: e1000_probe: Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Connection
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.383429] agpgart: Detected an Intel G33 Chipset.
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.398383] agpgart: AGP aperture is 256M @ 0x0
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.398421] shpchp: Standard Hot Plug PCI Controller Driver version: 0.4
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.451500] input: PC Speaker as /class/input/input3
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.559427] e1000: eth0: e1000_request_irq: Unable to allocate MSI interrupt Error: -22
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   12.860505] ACPI: PCI Interrupt 0000:00:1b.0 -> GSI 22 (level, low) -> IRQ 22
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   13.072307] hda_codec: Unknown model for ALC883, trying auto-probe from BIOS...
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   13.335549] fuse init (API version 7.8)
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   13.389253] lp: driver loaded but no devices found
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   13.458997] Adding 3028212k swap on /dev/disk/by-uuid/e6a70d32-d4a5-4a16-a705-ccaf45e1c853.  Priority:-1 extents:1 across:3028212k
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   13.664633] EXT3 FS on sda1, internal journal
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   13.739219] NET: Registered protocol family 17
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   14.062987] e1000: eth0: e1000_watchdog_task: NIC Link is Up 100 Mbps Full Duplex, Flow Control: RX
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   14.062991] e1000: eth0: e1000_watchdog_task: 10/100 speed: disabling TSO
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   27.360185] NET: Registered protocol family 10
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   27.360273] lo: Disabled Privacy Extensions
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   29.572925] No dock devices found.
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   29.735160] Using specific hotkey driver
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   29.780686] input: Power Button (FF) as /class/input/input4
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   29.780865] ACPI: Power Button (FF) [PWRF]
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   29.781762] input: Power Button (CM) as /class/input/input5
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   29.781936] ACPI: Power Button (CM) [PWRB]
May 19 13:45:08 peacesi003 kernel: [   29.864915] pcc_acpi: loading...
May 19 13:45:11 peacesi003 dhcdbd: Started up.
May 19 13:45:12 peacesi003 dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.reason
May 19 13:45:12 peacesi003 dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.reason
May 19 13:45:14 peacesi003 kernel: [   35.614622] ppdev: user-space parallel port driver
May 19 13:45:14 peacesi003 hpiod: 1.7.3 accepting connections at 2208...
May 19 13:45:14 peacesi003 kernel: [   36.116988] apm: BIOS version 1.2 Flags 0x07 (Driver version 1.16ac)
May 19 13:45:14 peacesi003 kernel: [   36.116993] apm: disabled - APM is not SMP safe.
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.042901] Bluetooth: Core ver 2.11
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.042955] NET: Registered protocol family 31
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.042957] Bluetooth: HCI device and connection manager initialized
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.042961] Bluetooth: HCI socket layer initialized
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.059350] Bluetooth: L2CAP ver 2.8
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.059354] Bluetooth: L2CAP socket layer initialized
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.314679] Bluetooth: RFCOMM socket layer initialized
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.314691] Bluetooth: RFCOMM TTY layer initialized
May 19 13:45:15 peacesi003 kernel: [   37.314694] Bluetooth: RFCOMM ver 1.8
May 19 13:45:30 peacesi003 gconfd (phil-5748): starting (version 2.18.0.1), pid 5748 user 'phil'
May 19 13:45:30 peacesi003 gconfd (phil-5748): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.mandatory" to a read-only configuration source at position 0
May 19 13:45:30 peacesi003 gconfd (phil-5748): Resolved address "xml:readwrite:/home/phil/.gconf" to a writable configuration source at position 1
May 19 13:45:30 peacesi003 gconfd (phil-5748): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/etc/gconf/gconf.xml.defaults" to a read-only configuration source at position 2
May 19 13:45:30 peacesi003 gconfd (phil-5748): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/var/lib/gconf/debian.defaults" to a read-only configuration source at position 3
May 19 13:45:30 peacesi003 gconfd (phil-5748): Resolved address "xml:readonly:/var/lib/gconf/defaults" to a read-only configuration source at position 4
May 19 13:45:34 peacesi003 gconfd (phil-5748): Resolved address "xml:readwrite:/home/phil/.gconf" to a writable configuration source at position 0
May 19 13:45:37 peacesi003 dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.host_name
May 19 13:45:37 peacesi003 dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.domain_name
May 19 13:45:37 peacesi003 dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.nis_domain
May 19 13:45:37 peacesi003 dhcdbd: message_handler: message handler not found under /com/redhat/dhcp/eth0 for sub-path eth0.dbus.get.nis_servers
May 19 13:50:48 peacesi003 syslogd 1.4.1#20ubuntu4: restart.

Way more than 20 lines - sorry about that.

Thanks.

LOL

Well, this is either a d'oh moment for you, or for me, but it looks like you don't have a DVD-R/RW, only a CD burner.  You won't be able to read blank DVDs on just a DVD reader, only a DVD-R/RW combo. ;-)

Thanks, PhillyFloyd, for resolving the mystery for us.  Turns out it's a d'oh moment for me, too.  I assume this output:

scsibus0:
        0,0,0     0) 'ATA     ' 'ST980811AS      ' '3.CD' Disk
        0,1,0     1) *
        0,2,0     2) *
        0,3,0     3) *
        0,4,0     4) *
        0,5,0     5) *
        0,6,0     6) *
        0,7,0     7) *
scsibus1:
        1,0,0   100) 'SONY    ' 'CDRWDVD CRX880A ' 'KD09' Removable CD-ROM
        1,1,0   101) *
        1,2,0   102) *
        1,3,0   103) *
        1,4,0   104) *
        1,5,0   105) *
        1,6,0   106) *
        1,7,0   107) *

tells me that I have a CD R/W and DVD R only optical drive.  I could have sworn I was purchasing a DVD burner when I walked through the online order process last May, but now that I look at the parts spec sheet I see that it's a CD-RW/DVD drive.  Oh well!  My humblest apologies for wasting everyone's time.  Now I'm off to the Ubuntu forums to apologize....  

Why not use the Update Manager to upgrade to Heron?  I've been staring at it for three weeks or so, but I think I'll wait another month before clicking on it -- let them work out the kinks that folks are swuaking about over at the Ubuntu forums. 

Thanks for clearing that up. Not my first d'oh moment by any means.

I'm still wondering how I'm going to upgrade from Feisty, since the Dell ISO went from CD size to DVD size. When I did a generic Feisty install after I had to replace my hard drive, that version did not recognize my ethernet card. The guy at Dell Support said to re-install Feisty with my Dell ISO CD, which I did, and it works fine. That's why I wanted a Dell ISO for Gutsy (and Hardy). But if I can't burn those DVDs, and if generic installs won't work, I'm not sure which way to turn.

Am I missing something obvious here?

Thanks. 

P.S.: What's a jiffy in a tickless kernel?

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea. I'm with you on waiting a while for Heron, though, so I'll probably try it with Gutsy first - I'm still too new at this to get too frisky with new versions. I'm still a bit worried that Update Manager will wipe out the Dell stuff that the ethernet card needs, but maybe that fear is unfounded. I guess I'll find out...

Thank you. 

Fedora did this on their last build (Fedora8), this time around they released CD iso files for Fedora9.

You can always find a buddy who has a DVD-R ;-) otherwise, I am not sure if Ubuntu does this or not, but you can use the LiveCD to install the build with Fedora - maybe Ubuntu does the same?

Enjoy