CD burning hangs

  • Thread starter Thread starter Peter Meinl
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Peter Meinl

I tried to burn a CD with some mp3 files on a Plextor PX-760A SATA burner
using Viste X86 RTM.
Vista seems to format the CD OK. After dropping the files the green progess
bar in the address bar progresses slower and slower. Even when I let it run
for hours the burning does not complete. I tried using CD-R and CD-RW.

The cancel dialog hangs. When I end it using task manager Vista Explorer
hangs. The only way out is a hard reset.

Any idead what could be wrong? Is Vistas built-in burning working for
anyone?

I installed DeepBuner freeware http://www.deepburner.com/ and it burned the
files within seconds.

BTW: Why does Vista format DVD-R(!) disks? At least this is what is tells me
when I enter an empty DVD-R and select it in Explorer?
 
Have you upgrded the Firmware in your Plextor 760? I have the EIDE
model and it was on ver 1.04 whereas they are up to 1.06.

I didn't know they had a SATA version now. There's a very similar 755SA
but no 760 listed despite what it says below!

http://www.plextor.com/english/support/downloads/firm_760.htm

But 1.06 says:

Version 1.06

Date posted: January 2, 2007
Improvement in interchangeability when using SATA controller or
SATA/USB conversion chip.

and 1.05 says:

Version 1.05

Date posted: November 10, 2006
Improved writing quality on DVD media.
DVD-R DL 8x media is supported up to 8x writing
Improved writing quality on CD media.
DVD DL Stamp Disc is supported up to 16x read while Speed Read is ON.
Improved AUTOSTRATEGY function's performance.
Improved writing performance.
Added support for Windows Vista. (Testing was done with Vista RC2. Full
confirmed compatibility with Windows Vista cannot be guaranteed until
the OS is released.)

so it would be a good idea to check -- VISTA install did not recognize
my 760 until I did go from 1.04 to 1.06
 
The model id of the SATA version is PX-760SA.
As suggested I did upgrade to firmware 1.06.
Vista burning still hangs.
 
I'm having the exact same issue and I have a new Samsung with completely up
to date firmware.

It "formats" the disk and then starts to copy, it gets slower and slower and
gets to the point of telling me it will take 22 days or something like that
and after it has sat there for some time not moving I usually give up and
have to reboot.
 
I my case it is always telling me it takes 1:25 to complete but even after
letting it run for hours does not.

What is really annoying is that I cannot even cancel the burning process.
Cancel hangs too. Using task manager or logging off does not work. So I have
to hard reset and after reboot my matrix raid runs a repair for quite a
while.
 
The model id of the SATA version is PX-760SA.
Click to expand...

Makes sense -- funny that they don't list it on their website.

Sorry the update did not deal with it.

I'll be watching since I've no burning software installed under VISTA
yet.
 
I have found the CD burning feature of Vista to be procedurally bound. It
works better on my systems if you approach it in one or two very specific
ways, step-wise, even though the user interface lets you get at it from many
directions. I have arrived at an uneasy truce with it, and it is working for
me now. All I can suggest is that you try performing a burn by following the
procedure to see if it will work on your system.

1. Open Explorer, and select the folders files you want to burn in the
right-hand pane.

2. Click on the Burn button in Explorer's toolbar.

3. A dialog will pop up asking you to place a writable disc in the drive,
and the drive should open. Put an EMPTY disc in the drive.

4. The disc formatting dialog will pop up asking you to name the disc (A
date-based name will already have been supplied, if you want to accept that.)
and to choose the type of burn. I strongly urge you to choose "Mastered".
Just plan your burns so that you just burn once to the disc -- if that is
possible.

5. The "calculating time" progress bar dialog will pop up to amuse you with
its wildly ludicrous (at least on some systems) estimation of how many eons
will be required for the burn session. (We make bets on the time span in the
lab. I saw one estimate at 84 days plus. Cute, eh?)

6. Vista will now try to trick you by throwing up a balloon message from the
system tray. Do NOT click on it. No matter how many times it pops up. (If
you're burning a few gigs to a writeable DVD the balloon may well pop up 9 or
10 times.) As I said, do NOT click on the balloon. When the system is
actually ready to burn, it will open a new explorer instance showing the root
directory of the target drive populated with the shortcutted symbols for the
folders / files you are burning. If you click on the balloon before this time
you will get an Explorer window showing PART of the file population you chose
to burn. Only place to go from there, in my experience, is to cancel and
start over.

7. Now that you have the Explorer window showing the root of the target
drive just click the Burn button in that new Explorer window.

8. You'll get another dialog with a burn speed dropdown selector. (I've
never bothered to change the speed.) Make sure you UNcheck the "close this
dialog" box if you want to burn the same file/folder population to more than
one disc. If you leave the box checked you won't get the choice.

9. If all goes well, the system will go through the burn, and the disc will
be ejected. If the disc is not ejected automatically (And this DOES happen,
even though you've set the global system default to close the disc and eject
it.) then you won't be getting that disc out without at least a log off /
logon cycle, if not a reboot.

10. Check the danged disc to be sure the files really were burned to it. If
it didn't eject automatically you'll want to use a folder/file comparison
utility to be sure alll of the files were closed and are actually useable
backups.

It is possible, also, to adapt this procedure for RW type discs, but it
isn't for the faint of heart.

I posted a slightly different procedure elsewhere in these newsgroups which
was about as successful as this one. This one has the advantage of a few more
tries under the belt and works routinely on four widely different Vista
machines in our lab. I haven't actually seen a drive fail to eject a disc
when this protocol was followed, but such a failure was reported by one of my
loopier colleagues. (We think he had just had too much Kool-Aid yesterday.)
 
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