[Les Harris]

I am trying to burn a series of ten video clips to DVD using drag and drop.

The first three burn perfectly but the fourth baulks and I get a message that the DISC is write protected. I did not write protect it and the drive will read anything else that I put in it.

I have wasted all of one day searching the Internet but all that I find is solutions that yabber on about FILES being write protected, not DISCS being write protected. Does anyone know why the disc suddenly decides to write protect itself?

Les Harris

[Syrallas]

I am trying to burn a series of ten video clips to DVD using drag and drop.

The first three burn perfectly but the fourth baulks and I get a message that the DISC is write protected. I did not write protect it and the drive will read anything else that I put in it.

I have wasted all of one day searching the Internet but all that I find is solutions that yabber on about FILES being write protected, not DISCS being write protected. Does anyone know why the disc suddenly decides to write protect itself?

Les Harris

Just curious, is this a DVD R or DVD RW?

This post has been edited by Syrallas: 12 July 2008 - 05:45 PM

[Brendon]

Hi Les,

Your described method isn't exactly precise. Do you mean you were dragging and dropping them into a project before burning them as a session, or do you mean you were burning them individually - one by one - to a formatted disc using Drag-to-Disc?

If it's the former, what application are you trying to burn the project with, and are you starting a new session to burn the fourth and subsequent clips?
If it's the latter, it seems that something has 'closed' your disc after the writing of #3, so that the disc can no longer be written to.

[grandpabruce]

I am trying to burn a series of ten video clips to DVD using drag and drop.

The first three burn perfectly but the fourth baulks and I get a message that the DISC is write protected. I did not write protect it and the drive will read anything else that I put in it.

I have wasted all of one day searching the Internet but all that I find is solutions that yabber on about FILES being write protected, not DISCS being write protected. Does anyone know why the disc suddenly decides to write protect itself?

Les Harris

If you are trying to burn a DVD that will play on a DVD player, Drag to Disc is not going to work. The format, in which is burns, is not a compliant DVD format.

If you are trying to back up your video files, as a data disc, and you value those video files, you are using the wrong program. Drag to Disc is good for immediate transfer of data, from one computer to another. Using it for anything else is like playing Russian Roulette. Use Creator Classic instead.

[Les Harris]

I have ten .avi files which I downloaded from a bit torrent site. They are the ten parts of a documentary (Russia's War; Blood Upon the Snow) and they are currently parked on the desktop of one computer (laptop). They play straight off the files in Windows Media Player.

When I try to drag and drop to a -R disc (after having formatted the disc), I can copy the first three but it falls over on the fourth, telling me that the disc is write protected and that write protection needs to be removed. I was moving them on a one by one basis.

From what I have read here, it shouldn't have got to that stage anyway.

The curious thing is that I have been able to get all ten files on to a disc on another computer by transferring the files with a USB stick and saving each to the disc drive.

I have spent so much time on this, tried so many things and read so much that I am entering the terminally confused state. I will find myself in a funny farm soon at this rate.

I also tried the native Win XP wizard but run into another problem, widely discussed on the Internet, wherein the programme doesn't recognize that a disc is in the drive.

What is Creator Classic and why is it the better programme?

Les

[Brendon]

Hi Les,

Since Bruce doesn't seem to be around at the moment and you are, I'll give a quick answer.

-there are two writing methods that Easy Media Creator can use. One is 'packet writing' which is done by the Drag-to-Disc application when it writes to a formatted disc. The other is 'authoring' which is done by Creator Classic and several of the other applications when they write to an unformatted disc.

-Creator Classic is one of the applications you'll find from the home menu of Easy Media Creator 7.x, under the heading "Applications". This application opens up a multi-paned window, where you set up a 'project' telling Creator Classic [CC] what you want burned [your 10 files], and how. When you click its Burn button, CC goes ahead and burns the files etc that you've set up, to an unformatted disc.

Authoring a disc with CC is considered better because CC produces a standard disc which can be read in any PC without the compatibility issues that formatted discs have. The disc doesn't need a special reader like the formatted discs do, and you don't lose all the space that is taken up by formatting. [CC and the XP wizard won't write to a formatted disc.]

Hope this clarifies things a little.

Brendon

[Les Harris]

Brendon,

I am learning a lot here, and many thanks. Thre is so much on the Roxio opening screen that a relative novice has no idea where to start. I am very grateful for forums like this where long-time users can shepherd less experienced users. Help files are frequently rather unhelpful because they presuppose a level of knowledge such that anyone already in possession of that knowledge wouldn't need the help file in the first place.

I have long wondered about the difference between formatted and unformatted, and now I know. The key piece of information is whether or not it is readable on any PC. Thanks for sorting that out. I am tempted to put this new knowledge into immediate practice but it is mid-afternoon here in Australia and I am trying to get a few things done outside.

Thanks to you and to Bruce for your help.

Les

[Les Harris]

I have done it!! And I just can't believe how straightforward it was once you set me on the right path!! I rate forums from worse than useless to solid gold. This one is Soild Gold. Thanks to all of you.

Les Harris

[grandpabruce]

I have done it!! And I just can't believe how straightforward it was once you set me on the right path!! I rate forums from worse than useless to solid gold. This one is Soild Gold. Thanks to all of you.

Les Harris

I am glad that it worked for you, and thanks to Brendon for stepping in, while I slept.