DVD +R/-R

[Tom]

Is there any way, short of trying different ones, to know which format (+R/-R) the DVD R/RW drive in my laptop uses? I've tried Googling and the only thing I found was a thread on a forum discussing re-flashing; One or more messages there suggest this drive supports both formats. Is that possible? FWIW I've tried +R with no success.

The manufacturer's web site doesn't help because they only list some of their drives.

BTW what does cross-flashing mean? It's mentioned several times on that forum I found and they appear to be suggesting that a drive can be re-flashed to emulate a different model and even a different manufacturer. Why would they need to do that?

TIA

 

[blueblood]

Is there any way, short of trying different ones, to know which format (+R/-R) the DVD R/RW drive in my laptop uses? I've tried Googling and the only thing I found was a thread on a forum discussing re-flashing; One or more messages there suggest this drive supports both formats. Is that possible? FWIW I've tried +R with no success.

The manufacturer's web site doesn't help because they only list some of their drives.

BTW what does cross-flashing mean? It's mentioned several times on that forum I found and they appear to be suggesting that a drive can be re-flashed to emulate a different model and even a different manufacturer. Why would they need to do that?

TIA

Tom - go to MY Computer and then right click on your drive in question then Properties and then HARDWARE TAB. The description should tell you.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Leo, but I'd already tried that and all it gave me was the manufacturer and model number. I noticed that the Region hasn't been selected yet, but would that prevent me writing a DVD?

 

[Ned]

Have you tried a Google search on the model number?? Try both a web and groups search.

 

[Karl]

Tom,

Many newer units will support R/W for both DVD+R or DVD-R formats. One way to tell is to try to burn a dvd using either +R or -R media; if one or the other is not supported, you'll get an "incorrect media inserted" or "no media inserted", or wording to that effect. The region code has to do with playback only, and remembers the region code of dvd's you have played, and then 'locks' your unit to that one which hits some magic number (5, 6, 7....?) first. It's there to supposedly cut down on bootlegged copies of dvd's from outside your 'home' region.   

 

[blueblood]

Thanks Leo, but I'd already tried that and all it gave me was the manufacturer and model number. I noticed that the Region hasn't been selected yet, but would that prevent me writing a DVD?

That's interesting - all my computers (4) have two columns one labeled Name which gives model info that gives the information your looking for and the other TYPE which just shows device.  When I get a chance I'm going to check some others and see what gives.

 

[Tom]

Have you tried a Google search on the model number?

Yes and that's how I found the forum I mentioned and the three manufacturers' web sites (It's TSST - Toshiba-Samsung and I checked all 3). I need to search deeper I guess.

 

[Tom]

Leo

For clarification, first time around I used the Device Manager to look for that info. I just tried again using MyComputer and I see 2 columns, but the second column merely says "DVD/CD-ROM drives".

 

[Tom]

Stop the presses! I just tried using the built-in Nero application and successfully burned a DVD. It happened to be +R, which I wasn't able to do previously (without Nero). I have some -R DVDs which I can now try.

Thanks to all who responded and apologies if I wasted anyone's time.

 

[Ned]

Sometimes the easiest way to an answer is to try it

 

[Tom]

Sometimes the easiest way to an answer is to try it

I did, but it didn't work. I wasn't aware of the Nero application or what it did (DVD/CD burner) until I started poking around this morning. Had I known sooner, I might have tried it sooner

 

[Ned]

You could have just used the XP support.  Drag some files to the CD drive and see if they get written.

Nero is an excellent program, I still use ver. 5 for creating CDs.

 

[DougJ]

I use Nero, Tom, having "moved up" from the Roxio product.

Part of why I like Nero (and this capability may be present in other products) is that I can do back ups to DVDs or CDs wit the back up either in a compressed format of some kind or the files in their native formats.  This latter I particularly like for my digital images since I can get them easily if I must from the back up medium.

Ciao,

Doug

 

[John From Detroit]

There are basically two way to tell if your computer uses DVD+R, DVD-R or both

One: Any computer new enough to be useable with Windows XP the drive works with both,  I am at least 90% sure of that.  Some of the original drives were format specific but most any drive made since XP was released will be multi-format and does not care.

#2, I see you already knwo how to find the make and model of your drive...

Google on the make, find the manafacturer's web page, search it for the model and check the specs.

Or, if you feel luckly try www.manafacturer-name.com  (does not always work but often does)

(I was once ask how I found a company web page,,, My answer was "typed www.company.com and got lucky"

Note to all: The "links" above are dummy links, very likely will not get you anywhere you need to go

 

[Tom]

Thanks John. This notebook is only a few months old, so it sounds like it should do both.

As for the manufacturer's web site, as I mentioned eaqrlier, I tried all 3 of them but they don't list this drive. (The company is a joint venture between Toshiba and Samsung, which is why I said "all 3".)

 

[Tom]

Drag some files to the CD drive and see if they get written.

IIRC I'd tried that several weeks ago, but it didn't work. I didn't have a dying need to create DVDs so, since this is not my main notebook, I forgot about it until yesterday. I was in Fry's and picked up some -R's (I'd previously tried +R's) and, before opening the package this morning, I thought I'd ask the question.

BTW some messages I've read elsewhere suggest that folks get varying results with different brands of media. Any idea why that might be? The +R's I have are TDK and the -R's I bought yesterday are HP, which is obviously a private label product made by someone else; HP isn't a media company.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for info Doug. I'd never heard of Nero until I read about it other forums this morning and I started poking around my machine. It sure seems like a neat application, which you and Ned have both commented on.

 

[Karl]

Tom,

Why not post your make/model and see if we can find something on it? Sometimes a model will be mfg'd for a specific company; other times it may be released in one country and not any others.

 

[blueblood]

Thanks for info Doug. I'd never heard of Nero until I read about it other forums this morning and I started poking around my machine. It sure seems like a neat application, which you and Ned have both commented on.

XP is Nero. I know from earlier posts you do a lot of audio. Nero has a 2 second delay between tracks which can be a pain. This plug in changes that as a side to its primary mission of fast burning capability.

http://www.wmplugins.com/itemdetail.aspx?itemid=228

Also, in a pack of 50 CD's, I'll usually get a hand full that absolutely won't record. I usually buy Imation; don't know if others would be any better..

 

[Karl]

Also, in a pack of 50 CD's, I'll usually get a hand full that absolutely won't record. I usually buy Imation; don't know if others would be any better..

Generally speaking, there are 3 grades of cd's available from the big name mgf'rs. The silver ones are the best quality, blue is second, and third is green (what I call utility grade). This is when looking at the recording surface; not the label side. Even so, you'll find some within even the best group that won't record properly. I prefer Verbatim, with Memorex coming in second, and 3M (Imation) a distant third. For utility work like backing up small programs, files, or pictures, I always have a 100-stack of CompUSA cheapies to use. You may run into some bad ones more often, but the price is right and once it's written properly, who cares? You can almost always read them. For multi-session read/writes, always use the best quality you can find for your burner. The demands on re-writeable media are far greater than on the write-once ones.