I just lately am experiencing problems with my burner. Is there a diagnostic or scanner program I can run to attempt to find what the problem is? Thanks in advance for your help. I was recently burning Dvd-R after running out, the closest store only had Dvd+r would that have made a difference?

Welcome to LQ.

Is it worth the effort ?
End of lifetime, DVD burner : one to five years estimated.

New DVD ROM drive USD 20 or precisely $ 19.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...OM%29%20Drives
.....

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I can guess what the problem is. I have a hardware background.

The laser is set up on these using three (usually) adjustable pots. They need quite a range, and so the setting is critical. They are usually sealed, and adjustment without expensive equipment is impossible. Over time, age affects the resistances, particularly if pots are near the end of their travel, so the values shift slightly and your laser ever so slowly goes off line. The cure is to set it up with hugely expensive equipment, which nobody has.

Symptoms are: It will start playing a cd, but lose it's way before it gets to the end, scan to the end, and start again; that gets worse (Long silences); then it won't start at all.

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There is no diagnostic for an optical drive that consumers can use. Only the factory has this program.

I suggest buy a replacement DVD drive. ASUS and Plextor are the best while other brands are crap. Sure ASUS and Plextor are costly, but they last longer and built better.

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Does dvd-r make a difference than dvd +r

A DVD-R and DVD+R are different but by now all DVD rewritable drives should be able to write to both DVD-R and DVD+R. Favoring one to the other is not what you should do when buying a drive. It is your DVD player that depends what format works best for it. Also the brand of the disc depends on this format.

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Hi,

Your device will dictate which disc type that should be used. It's best to match the media to the hardware. The media type 'DVD +R' is the newer format. Newer devices can use +R/-R formats.

If your burner is a newer unit then either format could be used. I doubt that choosing incorrect media would damage the device. A unit that is functional and setup properly should identify the media type.

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A DVD+RW drive burns only DVD+R and DVD+RW DVDs.
A DVD-RW drive burns only DVD-R and DVD-RW DVDs.
A DVD±RW drive burns all DVDs.

One thing that's funny for me is that a "combo drive" does not burn DVDs, and a "DVD burner" is actually what does everything, even CDs.

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