Question about DVD R and DVD RW discs

Both DVD R and RW discs can be written to many times, i.e., multi-session. The only difference is that RW discs can be erased. Multi-session burning is enabled in your burning software.

thanks for the information Osprey. Is there one brand of discs you prefer over another? I have tried a lot of different brands and so far I haven't any difference in any of them. Usually I buy what is on sale when I need them, but lately I've been using either Sony, Memorex or the Staple's brand.

I'm a bit sour on Memorex because you really never know what you're getting. My preference is to use Verbatim, Maxell (made in Japan), or Taiyo Yuden.

 

If you ever want to see what others are saying about the discs you are using, you can get the information about the disc by using this program then entering that information here.

Most of the disks on the list that you sent me aren't even sold here. They would have to be ordered online. The only ones I've seen sold here are Maxell, Memorex, Verbatim-which I have used and now understand why you use them. We also have HP disks, which I've never tried, and of course we have Sony, which has a somewhat better rating than most of the other disks listed. And of course the Stores like Office Depot and Staples also have their own brand. I've never heard of Taiyo Yuden. Do you buy those locally, because I have never seen that brand.

 

I was just looking at the disks I have left and I have some Sony and Staple's brand DVD RW and R. I know what kind of DVD drives I have. One is a Philip's 8701 DVD RW drive and the other is a Sony DVD Rom 1615. I think I tried using the minus disks and they wouldn't work. The plus disks seem to work well, so far. I'm going to check out those program links you sent me. Since Verbatim has such a good reputation, maybe I'll start using just those kind from now on. I don't like switching from one brand to another. I also just found a box of Imation disks. These are CD-R disks. I know I used them once and they worked well. It says they are scratch resistant on the box, but don't know how  scratch resistant any disk is.

 

Dell has a firmware update on their site for the Sony drive, but I'm not sure if the drive really needs it.

Osprey,

I tried to run the DVD Identifier, but keep getting this error message. Any idea what is means?

 

[23:05:51] DVD Identifier V5.0.1
[23:05:51] Initializing Drive Interface [Auto-Select ASPI/SPTI]
[23:05:51] SPTI Drive Interface Successfully Initialized
[23:05:51] 1 Supported Drive Found (Out Of 2 Available Drives)
[23:05:51] Manufacturer Database [08-OCT-06@727$93] Loaded From File : (@727$93) Entries Found
[23:05:51] Internet Version Check Postponed Since Last Check Happened Less Than 1 Hour Ago
[23:05:55] Waiting For Drive To Initialize Disc...
[23:05:57] ERROR : Unable To Initialize Disc In Time : Not ready - Medium not present [02/3A/00]

I ran the program three times and I got this message each time.

Ok Osprey, you can go ahead and say it. I'm an idiot. I just realized that you need to put a DVD in the drive.I can't believe how stupid I am. I guess my only excuse is that I've been under a lot of stress lately concerning family problems and I just don't concentrate on what I am doing. :smileyvery-happy:

 

I put a Sony disk in and it said it was made by Sony. Tomorrow I'll try my other disks. That is a nifty little program.

You're welcome.

Osprey,

I hope I don't get in trouble for putting this in the wrong forum, but I have yet another question and I'm sure you will know the answer.

 

I was downloading some updates for Windows. They needed to be downloaded because I had a problem with another program that was MicroSoft's and they provided a Hotfix. As I was going over the history of what software and hardware updates had been installed, I noticed that some software/hardware updates for my printer and scanner had been downloaded more than once. I don't know if it was Window's fault or my fault. Will it mess up the computer if a driver is downloaded more than once, or will it get overwritten? I know of no way of deleting these extra drivers. When I was having problelms uninstalling my printer driver and than reinstalling it, every time I thought the driver was uninstalled I would put boot the pc and put the old driver in again. So obviously I thought I was deleting the driver but really wasn't. When the disk was back in the drive to reinstall it, it kept on saying there was already an updated driver on the pc. How do you totally get rid of drivers when you need to? It would help for future reference. I always that that Windows update knew exactly what drivers my printer/computer, scanner needed. But now I know that they list all the updates, not just the ones that pertain to my computer and it's hard to know which ones to download. I just downloaded two hardware updates. I always thought that hardware updates came from the companies, not WIndows update, but I downloaded them anyway. That's when I found out that I already download them a few days ago.

 

Robin

P.S. My printer seems to be running okay.

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robinhood42 wrote:

Will it mess up the computer if a driver is downloaded more than once, or will it get overwritten?

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Osprey4,

Can you tell me where you buy your DVD RW and DVD R Verbatim discs? I can't find them in any store here. All they sell here is Sony, Memorex, Maxell and the store brands. I can't seem to find Verbatim brands anywhere. It's really limited to what brand the stores sell these days.

 

Thanks,

Robin

 

P.S. Is an Osprey a bird? 

Best Buy, Staples (they carry DL discs), CompUSA, Sam's Club, among others. Good online vendors also carry them, including Amazon.com.

I'm quite sure the drive I have is dual layer. It came with Verbatim dual layer discs when I got it about 2 years ago, but I've never tried using them. I'll have to check out Best Buy. Right now I'm using the Staple's DVDs. They seem okay.

If you really want to know what you're using, i.e., the manufacturer, Google a program called DVD Identifier. Comes in handy.

I have that handy program sitting on my desktop. I can't remember who gave me the link. I thought it was only for finding out who actually made a DVD disc. I didn't realize that it could tell who the real manufacturer of the disk drives are. Thanks for reminding me. It says in Device Manager that one is a Sony and the RW is a Philips, but I'll double check using that program.

Are there 2 versions of that program? A free one and a paid version? Because when I clicked on
"Identify" it was trying to read a disc in the drive, and of course I had no disc in the tray. So I got an error message. It only seems to want to read discs, not the drives.

 

Here is the error message:

 

[14:33:13] DVD Identifier V5.0.1
[14:33:13] Initializing Drive Interface [Auto-Select ASPI/SPTI]
[14:33:13] SPTI Drive Interface Successfully Initialized
[14:33:13] 1 Supported Drive Found (Out Of 2 Available Drives)
[14:33:13] Manufacturer Database [08-OCT-06@727$93] Loaded From File : (@727$93) Entries Found
[14:33:14] This Version Of 'DVD Identifier' Is Up-To-Date
[14:33:14] The Manufacturer Database Is Up-To-Date
[14:33:26] Waiting For Drive To Initialize Disc...
[14:33:28] ERROR : Unable To Initialize Disc In Time : Not ready - Medium not present [02/3A/00]
[14:34:29] Waiting For Drive To Initialize Disc...
[14:34:31] ERROR : Unable To Initialize Disc In Time : Not ready - Medium not present [02/3A/00]
[14:35:15] Waiting For Drive To Initialize Disc...
[14:35:17] ERROR : Unable To Initialize Disc In Time : Not ready - Medium not present [02/3A/00]