Used To Work, Now Fails Writing Dvd At 97%

[crcornwall]

Greetings. I was very happy with Easy VHS to DVD 3 Plus for the first month or so, but now it has become unusable. While trying to write the DVDs from the in-laws' Alaska vacation, it reaches 97%, says it is closing the disk and that this could take several minutes, then just sits there for a looong time. Much longer than it would take when it was working correctly. If I let it sit, it eventually tells me there was a problem writing the disk, and spits out the disk.

 

I have tried re-recording the tapes (it has failed on 2 tapes, after working on a different one earlier). I have tried removing, Revo'ing and reinstalling. I have tried setting the Render to using Software rather than Hardware. Nothing works.

 

I am running on Windows 8.1, as I have been from the start. Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 graphics card, running driver 9.18.13.3221 (12/19/2013), so that hasn't changed since I started using the program in late December. When I reinstalled, I tried setting the compatibility mode to Windows 7, but the problem persists. I have not seen any instructions on here for the "correct" way to install in Windows 8.1. When I check for updates, it says no updates are available.

 

Basically I'm out of ideas. If anyone can help, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

[bimicher]

Greetings. I was very happy with Easy VHS to DVD 3 Plus for the first month or so, but now it has become unusable. While trying to write the DVDs from the in-laws' Alaska vacation, it reaches 97%, says it is closing the disk and that this could take several minutes, then just sits there for a looong time. Much longer than it would take when it was working correctly. If I let it sit, it eventually tells me there was a problem writing the disk, and spits out the disk.

 

I have tried re-recording the tapes (it has failed on 2 tapes, after working on a different one earlier). I have tried removing, Revo'ing and reinstalling. I have tried setting the Render to using Software rather than Hardware. Nothing works.

 

I am running on Windows 8.1, as I have been from the start. Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 graphics card, running driver 9.18.13.3221 (12/19/2013), so that hasn't changed since I started using the program in late December. When I reinstalled, I tried setting the compatibility mode to Windows 7, but the problem persists. I have not seen any instructions on here for the "correct" way to install in Windows 8.1. When I check for updates, it says no updates are available.

 

Basically I'm out of ideas. If anyone can help, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

 

How long in time are you trying to burn?

Do you first capture to your hard drive and then burn the captured video? Thiis is best method of creating a DVD since it separates the capturing process from the burning process.

 

Obviously if you have been creating DVDs successfully for a month or so then something has changed in your system that is crashing VHS2DVD3. How much free space do you have on your hard drive? Have you defragged the drive lately? What make of DVDs are you using?

[crcornwall]

Free space on the C: drive is 195 GB out of 931 GB, so unlikely to be the problem. I have been using the same brand of blank DVDs since the start, so they are also unlikely to be at fault. (Memorex 8x DVD+R DL.) I have not defragged the disk, but I haven't heard of that being a real problem with a computer since maybe 10 years ago. Doesn't Windows take care of that itself?

 

I can't think of anything that has changed on my computer recently, besides reinstalling EVD3, installing Revo, and updates to other programs.

 

The videos I'm trying to burn are just under 2 hours. Yes, I capture them to the HD, and then burn them. I was just able to successfully re-burn one of the shorter (20 minute) videos that burned successfully before the problem started. I still had the project and capture file. Is there a limit to the size that can safely be autofit to a disk?

 

And is there any guidance on how the program should be installed on Windows 8.1? Is any compatibility mode recommended? Thanks.

[bimicher]

Free space on the C: drive is 195 GB out of 931 GB, so unlikely to be the problem. I have been using the same brand of blank DVDs since the start, so they are also unlikely to be at fault. (Memorex 8x DVD+R DL.) I have not defragged the disk, but I haven't heard of that being a real problem with a computer since maybe 10 years ago. Doesn't Windows take care of that itself?

 

I can't think of anything that has changed on my computer recently, besides reinstalling EVD3, installing Revo, and updates to other programs.

 

The videos I'm trying to burn are just under 2 hours. Yes, I capture them to the HD, and then burn them. I was just able to successfully re-burn one of the shorter (20 minute) videos that burned successfully before the problem started. I still had the project and capture file. Is there a limit to the size that can safely be autofit to a disk?

 

And is there any guidance on how the program should be installed on Windows 8.1? Is any compatibility mode recommended? Thanks.

 

Your free space should not cause a problem but a heavily defragged drive can easily cause problems. I have no idea if Windows automatically takes care of defragmentation, it depends whether you have it enabled. I used a 3rd party defragmenter.

The Memorex DVDs are considered near the bottom of the barrel in quality, Verbatims are near the top.

 

A standard 4.7GB DVD can only hold 60 minutes of video at best quality. Any longer and the video has to be compressed and you lose quality; for a 2 hour video the loss would be substantial I would think especially since the source video is not that great to start with. If you are using the Fit-to-disc setting then you have chosen the worst possible quality setting and can lead to all sorts of problems.

 

I have never bothered with DL DVds since they seem to create more problems then the standard DVDs. I prefer to split long videos and burn to 2 DVDs.

[crcornwall]

The tape I tried to do last night ended up only being a little over an hour, and it had the problem. So it's not just the almost-2-hr tapes. My Windows 8.1 install was new (fresh install on new HD) at the end of December (a month and a half ago), so defragging seems unlikely (to me) to be the cause, but I can try it.

 

The media have been working fine before this, all from the same pack. I'm just about out of them, thanks to all the bad disks this program has burned, so I will be moving on to another pack of a different brand. I'll let you know if it helps. I'll also try splitting the 2-hr tapes into 2 x 1-hr disks.

 

Still no guidance on Windows 8.1? I'm thinking maybe I should remove and reinstall again, this time not using the Windows 7 compat mode, since that doesn't seem to have helped. But I'd like to hear from the experts first. I can't be the first person to be running this on 8.1, can I?

 

Cheers!

[bimicher]

What quality setting are you using?

Regarding W8 or W8.1 I cannot comment since I don't have it installed (and never will). Compatibility mode is also a bit iffy; some posters have never been able to get it to run while others have had success.

[Jim_Hardin]

NEVER EVER run anything in Compatibility Mode unless the program/app specifically tells you to!!!

 

Failing at the end of a write is not too uncommon in all software. Normally it is a result of the source file(s)... But if these are from your Capture that would seem less likely.

 

I think a proper repair would be in order and let's go with a more extensive one

 

Unplug your Roxio Capture Device USB and put it aside until you are completely finished.

 

Download and install the

Revo

Uninstaller. Then run it in

Moderate Mode

to remove any traces of Roxio.

 

Then turn off your Anti Virus, Firewalls, Registry Cleaners, etc.

 

Now insert your Roxio Disc. If Setup starts automatically, STOP it and then use Windows Explorer to navigate to the Disc.

 

There, right click on Setup.exe and select Properties.

 

Under the Compatibility tab, make sure

nothing

is checked!

 

Be sure you accept the offer to Check for Updates (this is for Roxio, not Windows)

 

When the Install competes, turn your AV & Firewall back on and reboot.

 

This will insure that the program is running as intended. But it may not resolve your issue but do this first

[crcornwall]

Hi Jim,

 

I only tried the Compatibility Mode based on your advice to previous similar complaints from this forum. None of them were specifically running Windows 8.1, so it was a bit of a reach, but you tend to try more out-there stuff as the regular stuff you try doesn't work.

 

I'll go through the uninstall and reinstall again, so we can get back to what should be the identical state where this problem started. Cheers.

[bimicher]

Hi Jim,

 

I only tried the Compatibility Mode based on your advice to previous similar complaints from this forum. None of them were specifically running Windows 8.1, so it was a bit of a reach, but you tend to try more out-there stuff as the regular stuff you try doesn't work.

 

I'll go through the uninstall and reinstall again, so we can get back to what should be the identical state where this problem started. Cheers.

 

I don't think the uninstall/reinstall will change anything but good luck anyway.

 

What output settings are you using for your >60 minute videos?

[crcornwall]

I just used Autofit, no menu, for my 2-hr videos. I don't know what the compression settings were, since they're done automatically with Autofit, right?

 

I'll try spanning them or manually splitting them, once I verify everything else is still working.

 

I did the Revo uninstall and reinstall with no Compat Mode. Trying to burn another old project now to see if it will work.

[crcornwall]

Interestingly, one of the projects that failed before just burned correctly. It took quite a bit longer than I'm used to from before this problem started, but it did work, burning a 1:45 video to a single disk. This was using different blank media (TDK DVD+R 16x RW). This was using Hardware rendering.

 

Maybe it was the media I was using? But those have worked for so many other disks I've already burned.

 

I'll run some more tests and report back. Thanks, guys! I appreciate the help.

[Brendon]

Maybe it was the media I was using? But those have worked for so many other disks I've already burned.

 

Memorex media are not known for their consistency in quality, alas. TDK would be expected to be much better.

[Jim_Hardin]

A DVD hold 1 hour at HQ and a DL disc holds about 2 hours...

 

Autofit should be avoided at all costs!!! It DOES NOT compress 'just enough to fit' but rather applies a brutal ax to the project! In some cases dropping to VCD quality when you exceed a limit by merely 1 second

 

I don't recall ever telling anyone to use Compatibility mode for anything???