Windows Media Player

securespark

securespark

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Now this is nuts!

I have successfully installed a DVD-RW thanks largely to Tony...

Now I'm having problems copying to CD. The software will not recognise the presence in the drive of a blank disc, thus will not allow me the option of copying to it.

Am I:

A. Stupid

B. Tired

C. A victim of Bill Gates?

When the drive is empty, clicking on the DVD drive icon in MC prompts you to insert a disk. When you have done that, clicking on it again brings up the error:

D:\ is not accessible. Incorrect function.

Help gratefully received... :cry:
 
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For some reason came back to have a quick look before going to bed :D

You are probably B and quite likely C :)


Goto Start Click on My Computer. Right click on your DVD drive.
Select Properties / Recording Tab and make sure Enable CD recording enabled.

Did you look to see if any special drivers required for your DVD in the manual?
 
Deffo B....you're right!! Is there a sleeping icon?...

Seem to be no drivers for the DVD, just instruction manual & Nero. :evil:

Will enable what you say.

Just noticed that WMP tells me "No Drive Detected"...

Not my lucky day... There is no recording tab. That drive is not recognised by the software.

Guess I'll have to swap it...either the drive or the burning software.

I've had bad experiences with Nero on my PC.

Not sure whether to install Nero as offered on the Sony disc that came with the drive, or try for a more up to date version of WMP?
 
Just installed WMP11 for XP & it does not recognise the drive.

But in the installation manual it says suitable for Win XP SP2.

Going to contact ebuyer, see what they say.
 
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Do you have an icon in My Computer showing DVD?

Can you actually play/run any CD's and DVD's.?

If not is the DVD showing in Device Manager?

EDIT Just checked your original post (Hardware) my reply:
"You can use an 80-conductor cable with an ATA 33 hard drive, but you cannot use a 40-conductor ATA 33 cable with drives running in ATA 66 and higher modes of operation."

Your DVD is probably Ultra DMA 66 and requires the 80 conductor ATAPI cable (check manual specs to confirm). Was a cable supplied/ordered with DVD if so you should use that.

Should look similar to this (note colour coding blue end to MB)
31AOQ2svwqL._SL500_AA200_.jpg
 
I've had this situation recently with a DVDRW/CD drive. It's not a new one but i guess it could be the same problem. DVD's are recognised, play and writeable. However, CD's are not recognised/do not auto-play etc. I concluded that the laser is dead or dirty (following investigation). Aparently these combi-drives have a seperate laser for DVD and CD, and one or the other can malfunction independantly. New drive required if this is the reason (or so i hear).
 
securespark said:
can run CD's no problem, but WMP will not recognise the drive as one compatible with Win XP.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately cannot be much help on WMP rarely use it. This link might give you some help http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/readme.aspx

I tend to use Nero for burning DVD/CD. If it was me I would load the Nero software supplied with your DVD and try recording to DVD and CD - just in case it is a WMP issue. It will also test that you can actually load data correctly - you can always remove it later :)

So you can run CD's ok - does that mean you can view contents and load programs etc?
Do you have any data DVD's you can explore?
Try loading and installing some programs.

If any of the above works you can ignore the following woffle :LOL:
Even if you can see your DVD in BIOS, Device Manager and My Computer I still have some nagging doubts about the cable you are using. The difference is in the number of conductors 80 new type vs 40 in the old, the pin connection remain the same. Therefore it is possible IMO that using the wrong cable you will see the DVD because of its physical connection but it will not allow correct data transmission due to requiring many more conductors, this could be picked up by the software and reported as an error. Even if the old type of cable does work bear in mind that you will probably not get the maximum transmission speeds your DVD capable of and possibly run the risk of data corruption.

Not intended to panic you and is my best guess based on info given. Have you researched the manual for info and are you sure you are using the right cable?

For the price of a new cable of the correct type est. £2 - £5 (Maplins or Ebuyer not PC world :) ) I would make the investment and see if any difference.

EDIT Just found this link that seems to add some weight to my cable thoughts http://svp.co.uk/firmware/ide.htm
 
Thanks again, Tony.

Yeah, the drive works, it reads both audio & data CD's perfectly. Not DVD's, but that's because the software is not bang up to date - I'm aware of this.

It does seem that it is a WMP issue: I spoke to ebyer tech bloke. He ran through all the Windows XP & BIOS checks & all seems well. He reckons this Sony drive should work with XP SP2, just as Sony do. In his opinion, it could be a missing bit of Software, like a codec (would this be the case if the audio connection is not digital?), so he has directed me to Sony to check if they are aware of this issue: I have e-mailed them & await their reply.

I could indeed use Nero: the ebuyer tech guy mentioned this. But, as usual with me, I'm keen to get into the thick of it & find out exactly why it won't work.

In the meantime I'll do as you suggest: I'll install Nero & use it in the meantime until I resolve the WMP issue.

Your advice gratefully received as always!


EDIT: Mon 19th.

Installed Nero. Now nothing works. I cannot burn CD's or play the tracks.

The error given when attempting a burn is: NOT ENOUGH BURN LICENCES AVAILABLE.

The error given when attempting to play tracks is: FILE UNDER DRM PROTECTION: CANNOT BE PLAYED.

:cry:
 
Sorry not able to reply sooner - I am now having some intermittent issues with connecting to the web :(
securespark said:
EDIT: Mon 19th.

Installed Nero. Now nothing works. I cannot burn CD's or play the tracks.
Can you still see your DVD in device manager etc? Can you put a data CD in and explore files?
Have you run any necessary set up so Nero can recognise your drive?
The error given when attempting a burn is: NOT ENOUGH BURN LICENCES AVAILABLE.
Not a clue what this means
The error given when attempting to play tracks is: FILE UNDER DRM PROTECTION: CANNOT BE PLAYED.
Not seen this one either. DRM, in this context at least probably refers to Digital Rights Management? Basically a method of protecting the publisher from you copying disks
As far as I am aware codecs will be required for certain file types e.g. play DVD movie (Mpeg). I did not think that DRM protection could stop you playing music etc :cry:
Click to expand...

It does seem very strange that Nero should not work with your DVD particularly as it is supplied on the Sony disk so should be compatible :eek:
First thing to establish I think should be correct installation of the device to try and rule out hardware faults

1. What does it say in BIOS for the device on the IDE channel?

2. Can you see your DVD in device manager? Is it enabled ie Reporting working properly and no warning triangles etc next to it?

3. Did you get a new 80 conductor cable for DVD (your DVD is ATA66 so it does require this cable) ?

4. Did you check
You can explore CD's i.e. right click on DVD icon on desktop or my computer and select explore. For music CD you will probably see Track 1, 2 etc. for data CD will list executables jpgs etc.
If you have some data CD's with programs on are you able to install?

Will try and get back on the web a little later today

Edit I know you are aware that to actually play DVD's you will need to have the proper codecs if they are not supplied as part of the Sony package. Most have to be purchased with application such as WindDVD or Intervideo, however you can download free codecs (not tried but think they should be ok!). This site might be of interest it includes links to free downloads http://savvybytes.com/2006/10/02/playing-dvds-with-windows-media-player-11/

This is MS site which explains plug ins for WMP (none free though! :cry: )
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx#DVDDecoder

Apart from possible hardware issue you may have fallen foul of Windows XP . Quote from Nero "Windows XP and Windows Vista do not grant access to low level drivers for users without administrative rights it's not possible for them to burn CDs or DVDs with Nero. The application Nero BurnRights allows users without administrative rights to burn CDs and DVDs with Nero. The administrator is able to setup user accounts with exclusive burn rights for Nero. This option can be found in:
* Nero StartSmart
* Nero Toolkit
* Nero BurnRights"
 
TonyWarrington said:
1. What does it say in BIOS for the device on the IDE channel?

2ndy drive 0 = SONY DVD RW DRU-190A

2. Can you see your DVD in device manager? Is it enabled ie Reporting working properly and no warning triangles etc next to it?

"This device is working."

3. Did you get a new 80 conductor cable for DVD (your DVD is ATA66 so it does require this cable) ?

No. I don't believe the MB will support it - the existing cable is 40.

4. Did you check
You can explore CD's i.e. right click on DVD icon on desktop or my computer and select explore. For music CD you will probably see Track 1, 2 etc. for data CD will list executables jpgs etc.

Yes. Can see track info.

If you have some data CD's with programs on are you able to install?

Yes. Installed Nero.

Will try and get back on the web a little later today

Edit I know you are aware that to actually play DVD's you will need to have the proper codecs if they are not supplied as part of the Sony package. Most have to be purchased with application such as WindDVD or Intervideo, however you can download free codecs (not tried but think they should be ok!). This site might be of interest it includes links to free downloads http://savvybytes.com/2006/10/02/playing-dvds-with-windows-media-player-11/


This is MS site which explains plug ins for WMP (none free though! :cry: )
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/plugins.aspx#DVDDecoder

Thanks.


Apart from possible hardware issue you may have fallen foul of Windows XP . Quote from Nero "Windows XP and Windows Vista do not grant access to low level drivers for users without administrative rights it's not possible for them to burn CDs or DVDs with Nero. The application Nero BurnRights allows users without administrative rights to burn CDs and DVDs with Nero. The administrator is able to setup user accounts with exclusive burn rights for Nero. This option can be found in:
* Nero StartSmart
* Nero Toolkit
* Nero BurnRights"


Have set the system to "Everybody has burn rights." Will let you know...
Click to expand...
 
securespark said:
TonyWarrington said:
3. Did you get a new 80 conductor cable for DVD (your DVD is ATA66 so it does require this cable) ?

No. I don't believe the MB will support it - the existing cable is 40.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The MB will support it.
The new cable has 80 conductors --it does not have 80 pins on each connector, though, just 40. This means that the new cable is pin-compatible with the old drive. No change has been made to the IDE/ATA connectors, aside from the color-coding issue.

From Sony site:
The 80 wire cable with 40 pin connectors preserves signal integrity. Using the 80 wire cables with this type of construction allows the maximum data rates of ATA66, ATA100 and ATA133 to be reached. This cable is used primarily for Ultra DMA configurations but will also work on Sony DVD/CD burner.

From Sony Manual
Ultra At66 interface and cable required.

EDIT: One more thing you could try with the old cable. Instead of using the end connector to DVD, connect using the middle connector. It is possible that your old cable is capable of supporting Cable Select in this case the master would probably be on the middle connector
 
No joy re-jigging the existing ribbon cable...

Have used all your keywords to search for suitable ribbon cable on ebuyer & can only find 40 pin... :cry:
 
securespark said:
Have used all your keywords to search for suitable ribbon cable on ebuyer & can only find 40 pin... :cry:
Click to expand...
Have a look at this link and view the questions asked on this cable http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Peripherals/Cabling/ATA100/133/+IDE+ATA66/100/133+Cable?productId=64

Think you might have missed the fact that the only difference between cables is the number of wires (conductors) in the cable. The actual IDE connectors are the same i.e. 40 pin

This is 80 conductor type (still the same 40 pin IDE connector count the wires :D )
idecable80.jpg

This is the older type 40 conductor (I think yours!)
idecable40.jpg


The cable is just one factor we may need to look at the settings for the IDE controller as well in device manager.
Open device manager - goto IDE/Atapi controllers.
Right click on Secondary IDE (if this is the one with your DVD on) & select Properties Advanced setting - What do you see for Device Type and Transfer Modes?

Off to catch some ZZZzz's will check back in the morning

EDIT You are using XP with Service Pack2 installed aren't you?
 
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