Drive says DVD-R/RW; CPU can't use DVD-R/RWClosed

Question

I'm trying to back-up my files onto some DVD+R discs I just bought.  On the actual disc drive (on the outside) it says "Compact disc rewritable" and "DVD ReWritable" and "DVD R/RW" so I assumed it would burn my data to the discs I bought.  However, I insert the disc and my computer says there is either no disc inserted or that it is full.  It also changes the name of the drive from DVD Drive to CD Drive.  I remember 10 years ago needing to format a floppy before I could use it, but the instructions for the disc just say to insert it.  Do I need to download any programs or anything?  I'm using the discs for storage, not to play back videos or music on my DVD player or anything.

My laptop's a Dell Inspiron E1505 running XP.  Thanks!

xpcman · Answer

The problem is that XP does not directly write to DVDs.  Dell's often come with a copy of ROXIO DVD software.  Look for an icon titled "Burn CDs & DVDs". Or ROXIO in the All Programs menu.  If you find the icon start the program and click on "tools" and then "disk information"  It should show DVD+R under Disk Information.  To copy files you want to select "Data" then you can click on the "add data' button or drag and drop files from a Explorer window. When you are finished selecting files you need to click the continue button and select burn to START writing to the DVD.  No data is written until you tell it to burn.  I hope this helps.

XP does have a problem correctly listing the name and drive type in My Computer.  I tested this on my Dell D420 and i got various combinations of  DVD and CD literals.  But, it should not affect its ability to write the DVD.

Good Luck

Drive says DVD-R/RW; CPU can't use DVD-R/RW

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