DVD writer seems to go in an infinate loop

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

It's the 2nd time this happens, i was burning a DVD and 14.5 hours later it was still burning and the light on the drive is still flashing, but I then noticed the brunign had stopped around 80% and Nero never gave an error and the only way to get the light to stop flashing on the DVD writer and to unlock the door is to power off and back on.

The DVD writer has the latest firmware, what could be causing this? It is a Sony DRU720 IDE burner.

Thanks

[TechZ]

Was this using cheap media? Cause I've seen it happen with bad media, it gets stuck into an infinite loop. Also Sony DVD writers are a known cause for problems

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Are Sony DVD writers really bad? If so I can probably go excahnge it for another.

UPDATE: Well I just accidentaly closed the DVD-RW's door while a CD was half way in and I guess it broke the laser cause it always says there's no disc now.

Good thing I got the store's extra warranty that covers this sort of thing and I'll exchange it for another. Which brands are good? Should I get the newer model sony (DRU-800, I have the DRU-720) or another brand?

[TechZ]

I'd not go for Sony again. For NEC, I've seen mixed results, but they are very popular.

Plextor, Lite-On, LG, Pioneer, Samsung, BenQ. Never had problems with these. And they are well priced, except for Plextor, which is expensive, but then you do get quality with that.

Rough estimate of prices: http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Su...?SubCategory=5

[confus-ed]

How many threads has clickhere got going on the same issue ? & why since they are all about his dvd why aren't they in the right forum ?, then I could merge 'em up !!

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Actually this isn't the same issue at all which is why I thought it would be better in another thread. One thread was about "successfully" (according to Nero) burnt DVDs that are unwatchable, the other is about my DVD writer going into an infinate loop while burning.

I didn't see how these were related other than they are both about DVDs but two entirely different problems.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

I think the only brand they had were I bought it are BenQ (which I've only rad bad things aboiut until now), HP Lightscribe (which I wouldn't use the lighjtscribe and seems to be made by liteon) and Sony. Which should I take?

[TechZ]

With the limited choices you have, I'd go for the HP model.

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

That's what I was leaning towards also, here's the full list in case there's any that you think might be better but I've never head of any of the other brands:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/sub...5C&catid=10475

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Also is Liteon really better than Sony? It sounds more like a no-name brand to me. My old CD writer was a Sony and it's the only one that lasted me more than a few months (3 years actually) and I did burn many thousands of discs in it.

Wouldn't the new Sony be better than liteon?

[TechZ]

Lite-On are very, very good. So good infact they now make drives for Plextor

Every single sony dvd-writer, not that I've seen that many, but every one I've seen has given some problem or the other. IMO Lite-on drives are very reliable.

Some dvd-writer comparisons:

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Revi...14511&PageId=0
http://www.hothardware.com/viewartic...leid=617&cid=4

DVD Media Tests:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/sto...-4burners.html

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Well I excahnged it for the new model sony since firstly they'll keep excahnge it at no cost for 3 years since I ahve the advanced protection plan, and since the price of the sony went down the price difference between the sony and HP was $40, but I figured if they'll keep excahnging it when I have problems why spend the extra cash? If ever I start having problems again with sony then I'll go with another brand, but so far Sony have been the only reliable burners I've used.

BTW, where can I find the differences between my old DRU-720A and the new DRU-800A I got now?

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

Well, this new one seems to be in an infinate loop after 5% of it's first burn, but I must admit, I didn't want to reboot so I just put the PC in stand by to install it and it recognized it successfully once it woke up, I know that's not the proper way to install hardware but I doubt it can cause any real problems.

[geoscomp]

are you still existing with 150 mb or so free space?

[ClickHere2Surf.com]

I removed the tape drive from the same IDE cable and it;s working great now, a new test burn on a Memorex DVD-R played flawlessly on my Sony DVD player, but I did burn it at the slowest speed (4x) this time also, I don't know if it was either the drive itself, the media or the burn speed that made it work, I suspect it's both the media and burn speed that both helped, I still don't know what this burner has more than my old one.

Actually I have around 300MB free now, but as soon as I get my Taiyo Yuden (or whatever) DVD-Rs I'll dump my nearly 150GBs of video to my 400 disc DVD player and will finally have well over 150 GBs of free space. I know my PC is ridiculously full and that's exactly why I got this 400 disc player, what used over 90% of my 160GB hard drive will use 2.5% of this DVD player's capacity assuming DL discs or around 5% with single layer discs, in any case it has a lot more space than any hard drive would get me for the same price of $329.