XP won't write to CD

Hi, I am new to this forum and have tried googling the internet for others who may have had this problem and solved it, but no luck thus far. So I am here and hopefully some wonderful techy type can solve this problem of mine.

Anyway I have a HP Pavilion dv4017AP laptop which has a NEC DVD+-RW ND-6500A CDrom. My problem is that Windows XP Service pack 3 won't recognise a CD-RW or CD-R disk (or any disk for that matter) to write to, but will read the disks. Same problems when using Windows Media Player. I can't burn music to a disk but can rip & play music from a disk. In the past I have been able to use my CD drive to write to and read from disks and then one day it just started giving me this problem.

The weird thing is that I can backup my pics to disk using Picassa without any problems.

I just want to make sense of this & hopefully find a fix without having to purchase a new CDRom drive.

KazBaz

 

Greetings, KazBaz.

First, try this Microsoft Fix, let us know the results.

 

Hi Caliban,

I ran the fix like you suggested and result was that: Drive not capable of burning. Install a CD/DVD writer.

The thing is I know my CDRom drive does write because I can use Picassa to backup my photos to disk and yesterday I downloaded and tried the free version Express Burn from nch and was able to copy a file to disk without any problems. I guess I could just purchase burning software, but I would prefer not to when I know that I should be able to do a simple backup/copy of files to CD in Windows XP like I used to be able to do.

My suspicions is (& I could be totally wrong, but from what I have researched) that the problem may have something to do with MS Genuine Advantage.

I say this because a while ago my computer started giving me a message that my OS was not MS Genuine. I investigated further and spoke to a Microsoft Rep who told me that my system was running an OEM version of MS Windows and that I had to pay to buy the software. (I was rather annoyed at this because for 3 years I had been using my laptop with no problems or adverse notifications about pirated software or such like, in the knowledge that I had bought a laptop from a reputable dealer with legit software. Not unreasonable for any consumer who goes to a store wanting to purchase a laptop, it is not like the consumer goes to a local bloke up the road who builds computers and sells them on the cheap)

It seems to me that MS may be punishing consumers who go to a store to buy a PC with software already installed. The thing is no-one tells the consumer that the software on the PC is not genuine Microsoft and at no time does this software loaded on the PC/Laptop ever tell you that it is trial or OEM version or whatever the hell it is and that you must purchase genuine software. Then one day Microsoft decides its time to stop this practice & installs a little program via automatic updates, on your PC/Laptop to detect who is running genuine MS software or who isn't.


However I did find a particular fix on the Microsoft site which one can download which may help solve the problem, but the first thing MS wants to do is download the MS Genuine Advantage detection tool. I am really suspicious of this and didn't proceed & silly me didn't take not of the web address and now can't find the fix.

As I said, I could be wrong, but with my lack of tech knowledge and a tendency to go online & search the net for others who have had the same problem and information which may explain this strange problem - I may have added '2 + 2 and come up with 5', but i'm sure others are thinking along the same lines as me.

When I bought the laptop the CD/DVD burner worked just fine with XP and did so for a long time and then one day starts to not work but can burn with other software looks to me like there is a problem with XP.

So sorry for my rant & rave. I have that off my chest now & will stay focused.

Thanks Caliban for your help, do you have anything else I should try?

:confused
KazBaz

 

Hi

I have two suggestions for you, both of which I've used in the past to help with CD/DVD burner issues.

First, find out the exact make and model of your drive and search to see if there is a firmware update. I once had an issue with a fairly new drive, and thought the drive had gone bad. Lo and behold, it had a firmware update that helped it to work with updated Windows, etc. Be sure to follow exact instructions on updating the firmware if indeed it has an update.

Secondly, if there are no firmware updates for your drive, or if that doesn't solve your issue, try this. Be sure you have no disks in the drive, and then go into Device Manager (Control Panel) and find your CD drive, right click, and UNINSTALL it. Once it is uninstalled, power down the computer (don't use Restart, use Shut Down), then power the computer back up and let it reinstall the drivers for the CD drive.

Hope this helps!

 

Hi mcsmc,

Firstly thanks for you interest.

I've done a google search for an update to my driver which is version 5.1.2535.0 & can't seem to find one. Besides forums pertaining to similar probs & others I did find a site - NEC ND-6500A official firmware overview & TDB site. Both sites are way beyond me on a techno level. Though I think I get what the TDB site is getting at but I don't want to fiddle around with my insides (so to speak) cos I don't know what i'm doing.

Also done the uninstall/reinstall driver process with no luck either. Also deleting the lower & upperfilters business.

(I'm finding all this a bit of a head do at present). It's amazing how you can plan to be on the laptop for a limited time & end up all day. Makes me wonder what we did with our time before laptops, PC's etc. Anyway let's press on.

Bye for now
KazBaz

 

This probably will not work but if you go to my computer and right click on the drive and click the recording tab, is "Enable recording on this drive" checked? Maybe with this checked you will be able to use Windows own burning program. Also download this Wnaspi.dll file and put it in the C:\WINDOWS\system32 folder. If you already have one, move the existing dll file and replace with the nero one. Reboot and see if you can burn.



According to Nec a driver update is not required for this drive but there are firmware updates available. Also to determine the firmware you currently have, use nero Infotool.

 

Hello tgell,

I have made sure that the Recording tab is checked correctly.


Run the Nero Infotool & have attached the following.

View attachment Nero InfoTool.txt


I could not find a wnaspi.dll file anywhere on my C:\. So I copied the file you suggested into my C:\Windows\system32 folder, then shutdown & booted up again. Tried to write a file to disk and couldn't. Once again XP didn't even recognise that there was a disk in the drive. I also tried other blank discs such as CD-R & another brand of CD-RW & still no luck.

Thanks for your suggestions though.

Bye
KazBaz rolleyes

 

Hi

You can try the firmware update (click on ND-6500A on the page):

http://support.necam.com/optical/downloads/flashfirmware/

Although, I just realized that the log you attached lists your firmware as 2.81, but that website only has 2.24? Either way, it's worth a shot.

Also, try using ImgBurn (a disk writing program) and see if that works for you (it's freeware).

 

That bothers me. The drive is obviously ok, because:

So, we must be stuck with a Windows problem - some event must have happened to cause this issue. Shot in the dark: have you tried a repair install of Windows?

Another shot: maybe try a Linux disk, see if you can burn files? This would verify a Windows problem.

 

I agree with Caliban it looks like it may be a Windows problem. I've had problems with Windows built-in burning software from time to time. Even if the burner's burning capability had gone bad it should still see a blank disc.

I'd try CDburnerXP. It has a bit friendlier interface than imgburn and is a very solid burning software in my experience.

Try starting CDburnerXP with a blank disc in the tray and then click Disc and select Disc Information and see if it reads the blank disc.

 

Hi Caliban,

I haven't tried to repair install Windows as I don't know how to do that. If a situation ever arose that I needed to do something like that - I'd probably take my laptop to a tech shop.

Excuse my ignorance but is a Linux disk a brand of disk or particular kind of disk? :-o

I'm beginning to think perhaps I should just 'live with it' & it seems there are lots of CD/DVD burning/copying programs out there that I could use and are probably way more reliable that what I have at present.

Also wondering if in the future i replace this laptop whether an Apple would be the way to go or not?


KazBaz

 

Hi Sach2,

Yeah it definately does seem like a Windows problem and I'm sure that since others have had similar problems if not the same, then Microsoft knows.

I will give CDburner XP a try.

Thanks
KazBaz

 

Linux is a (usually) free operating system based on the UNIX core. There are many variations: Mint, Mandriva, Knoppix, Puppy, and Ubuntu are just a few of the flavors available.
When someone speaks of a 'Linux disk', they're referring to a Linux distribution that has been burned to a CD/DVD or flash drive which can be used as an alternative to Apple or Windows systems, and can be run as a 'live environment' (ie, can be run from the optical disk or flash, instead of installing on the machine).
A Linux disk can be a valuable troubleshooting tool, as it can check a machine's hardware from a non-Apple or Windows perspective.

As far as reinstalling Windows: it's not as bad as it sounds. A very good tutorial for a non-destructive XP rebuild is located here.

Keep us posted. :major

 

Hi Caliban,

Linux - I would never have guessed. Well talk about learning something new everyday.

I've had at quick look at the non-destructive XP rebuild. I have 7 packs of disks that were supplied with my laptop when I bought it. Among them is one disk - Operating System CD Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2 & another single disk - Application & Driver Recovery DVD. I would probably loose all the MS updates downloaded over the years.

Logically it should work and solve my problem but in all honesty i'm not really very brave.

In the meantime I'll use sach2's suggestion of CDburnerXP & see how I go.

I guess the most important thing for me to do is backup all my files & photos in case something ever happens to my laptop or hard drive.

KazBaz