[eco]

Hello.

I am having trouble with my LG CD/DVD burner. My Dell computer originally came with Sonic software. I have previously removed this software, because it was an inferior program. Now I am using Roxio Creator 2009. The CD/DVD unit will play cd's or dvd's but it will not burn.

I have tried to update my driver for this unit, but it indicates that it has the latest version. The error message I am getting from Roxio is: "Please insert a blank CD into the HL-DT-ST DVDRW DL (E:) drive." I have tried several new blank CD-R's, but always the same message.

Does anyone know how to fix this? Is this a software problem, a hardware problem, or an old burner (3yrs.) problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Jim_Hardin]

Removing and installing burning software will often cause Windows to 'lose' burners!

First place to check is your Device Manager to see if any error codes are present for the drive. (Win-Pause – Hardware tab – Device Manager)

If there are go here and follow the instructions. The code number may be different but there are several that get the same fix.

If no error shows, try this one.

[eco]

Removing and installing burning software will often cause Windows to 'lose' burners!

First place to check is your Device Manager to see if any error codes are present for the drive. (Win-Pause – Hardware tab – Device Manager)

If there are go here and follow the instructions. The code number may be different but there are several that get the same fix.

If no error shows, try this one.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your input. I did both these steps. The device manager says both the CD/DVD drives are functioning properly. I downloaded the PX engine and installed, but this did not help either (unfortunately).

[Jim_Hardin]

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your input. I did both these steps. The device manager says both the CD/DVD drives are functioning properly. I downloaded the PX engine and installed, but this did not help either (unfortunately).

Then follow the MS instructions about deleting the keys and rebooting. There are only a couple of things that can go wrong and you are getting down the one that starts out with 'Replace drive…'

[eco]

Then follow the MS instructions about deleting the keys and rebooting. There are only a couple of things that can go wrong and you are getting down the one that starts out with 'Replace drive…'

Going to have a friend of mine look at it this weekend. I will get back to you with what I find out.

[eco]

Going to have a friend of mine look at it this weekend. I will get back to you with what I find out.

Well, it's as we expected. The burner is not working. It must have been moved one to many times (go bumped or something). Took it out, and will replace it. Anything wrong with Samsung burners? I can get a dual layer relatively cheap, without software.

[cdanteek]

Anything wrong with Samsung burners?

As in buying a replacement Samsung Drive? If so what model?

I have a Samsung SH-S203N and I think it's a good drive..

cd

samsung is a decent brand.

I would possibly try to uninstall all drivers for that burner. unplug it from the machine, then restart the computer.

Shutdown again, then plug the burner back in. When it asks for drivers, use the original install disk, or find the most recent drivers from the manufacturers website, and use those.

Also have you tried to burn a disk using copy and paste?

Either way, samsung should be decent. If you burn a lot like I do though, your hardware is only as good as the warranty.

I've never purchased a optical drive / burner that came with a driver installation disc.

They are not needed, in fact microsoft default IDE drivers are the best for optical drive / burners.

cd

[cdanteek]

well retail versions usually do come with installation software including drivers.

Also, I dont think your second sentence in that statement was thought out before typing.

microsoft default IDE drivers are the best? you're joking right? You use those for your graphics cards too? lol too funny

Thought out, yes...

No I'm not joking, maybe a picture would help those with less experience...







For my graphics card I use the best driver too...



In post #7 you were not talking about graphics card drivers, stick to the point and don't cloud the issue..

Please don't mislead inexperienced folks that come here for help!


cd

[Jim_Hardin]

Funk5000: So if the manufacture of an Optical Drive has these Device Drivers as you contend, I can go to any mfg site and download them right?

Yet in 11 years of burning, I have yet to find one???

Can you point to us to one? (firmware updates don't count)

[cdanteek]

Gotta take the Guru's to school on this one... pathetic.

If you let WINDOWS automatically install your optical device drivers, then they will no be up to date most of the time. Thats why CD drives come with a disk with drivers on there since before windows 95.

If you have been dealing with this for 11 years, then what about windows 98? Was that PNP? lol.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/page/drivers_optical

There ya go.. drivers for every optical drive manufacturer. Because at one point or another, the manufacturer always puts the most recent, compatible drivers on their site. Don't expect windows to find it.

Take me to school...

My drives are listed in my signature, my drivers in post # 10...

Go to your 'hardwaresecrets', now point me to one driver, for my listed drives.

cd

[ggrussell]

If you have been dealing with this for 11 years, then what about windows 98? Was that PNP? lol.

What does Win98 have to do with any of this? Creator 2009 won't install on it. Optical drives, which we ARE dicussing, do NOT require any drivers as that has been built into Windows for many years. It is quite obvious that you have no clue what you are talking about.

Like the others here, I have purchased many optical drives in the past ten years and NONE of them came with 'drivers'. Yes, they came with burning software, but not drivers.

This post has been edited by ggrussell: 15 March 2009 - 07:44 PM

[jonatsonic]

What does Win98 have to do with any of this? Creator 2009 won't install on it. Optical drives, which we ARE dicussing, do NOT require any drivers as that has been built into Windows for many years. It is quite obvious that you have no clue what you are talking about.

Like the others here, I have purchased many optical drives in the past ten years and NONE of them came with 'drivers'. Yes, they came with burning software, but not drivers.

Funk5000, CD, Bruce, et al -

You are all right, and I'm not just trying to get a group hug going here (yuck!).

For the clarity of other users who are reading this, I'll do my best to define this in layman's terms:

Firmware is internally installed into the writer's microchip for media recognition and improved compatibility of said media. Of course, you cannot upgrade they type of burner you have by changing the firmware. For example, you cannot make your CD only reader/writer to a DVD or Blu-Ray burner by upgrading the firmware. The only place you want to update your firmware is the the manufacture's website. Flashing your drive with firmware from anywhere but the manufacturer is AT YOUR OWN RISK. Firmware usually not included with the drive on CD-Rom and is usually not updated automatically unless the bundled burning software does this for you (such as the Qflix drives).

Drivers allow the drive to interface between the operating system and the writer. This is most commonly applied to Windows OS and can theoretically be updated through the device manager (good luck with that). Manufacturer's typically do not supply drivers for their drives (unlike video card or printer manufacturers) as Microsoft or the OEM/computer manufacturer usually does this for them for compatibility reasons. Also, drivers can be included with the burning software itself used to write media. However, I would be interested to see a manufacturer that offers true drivers as opposed to firmware on their site. If available, it may be worth putting into an article. In the case of Roxio software, we use the PX Engine, though I'm hesitant to call it a "driver" though it provides the interface and compatibility with burners and supported media with our software.

Lastly, it's pretty common for people to get confused between the two or manufacturer's create a misnomer between them for a couple of reasons: the web developer may not have technical know-how and will just call any type of installation for a device a "driver"; this confusion is added for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) of the web page and all downloads are simply called "drivers" to avoid changing individual product support pages.

If there are any more questions about this, please let me know and I'll do my best to clear it up.

Jon