Seems like I'm making 'PC Problem' threads at least once a month.... I'm on XP Home and all I wanted to do was free up some HD space by copying some TV shows onto DVD. All I literally want to do is back up the files by dragging them to the disk; no DVD formatting or anything like that (mostly because I have no idea what I'm doing for that, but whatever). Either way, nothing copies. "My Computer" shows "DVD-RAM Drive" (not ROM....dunno if that matters) until I insert a blank DVD, where it switches from "DVD-RAM" to "CD Drive." I had Alcohol 120% and Daemon Tools installed when trying to figure out iso's (never could figure those out), so I figured one of those might be the culprit, and I uninstalled them both. That didn't fix the problem. I followed a registry editing procedure on Microsoft's help site, and that didn't do anything either. If its just crapped out, I could accept that....if I had actually used the drive that much, which I haven't. Help....in plain English, please....
Oh how I wish. Especially seeing as how I spent my Saturday night messing around with this stupid pc....
maybe this is a stupid question, but is your DVD drive writeable? an RW? Those usually cost more. It's more common to have a DVD-R with CD-RW capability. have you burned a DVD on that drive before?
Given all my pc problem threads, I wouldn't call it a stupid question. But yes, I have successfully burned DVD's before.
Some programs require you to select what you want to make (Nero), a DVD or CD. If it's stuck in CD mode, that may be why its changing. Honestly, drag-and-drop on a burner is a huge pain in the ass and works like crap, IMO. You need some kind of DLA installed with your burning software, which in turn is a huge resource hog. And with most of this software, you HAVE to format the disk. Another caveat is that these discs aren't readable without the same software installed on another computer. So if you get a new computer, you will have to install that same software, and it's possible that's it's not compatible with newer operating systems such as Vista. You're better off starting up your burning program and just creating a data disc. Or better yet, just get another hard drive for storage. Woot has 750gbs today for fairly cheap.
I have no idea what you just said. I've never used Roxio, Nero, or any of those. All I've ever done to burn a DVD in the past was drag and drop the files I wanted to back up. Do I need to install/reinstall something? Agreed and I would and will when I have the cash. I already have a 275gig external that's nearly full. All right....I found an article about using DVDs as a means to back up files. While I have burned DVDs as DVDs before, I can't recall if I've used them simply by dragging the files I wanted to back up to the disk. Apparently I have to go third party for what I would assume to be a relatively simple thing to do.
