[Lord Vader]

This is frustrating, to say the least!

Every time I burn an ISO image to a CD, when I then insert the CD to install the program, it never autoruns. Then when I try to do it manually, I get a response telling me the disk is blank, even though I KNOW I just burned something to it!

Even when I click on "explore" to check the contents of the disk, it shows as blank and won't install anything. However, when I try to write to the disk just to see if it can take anything, it tells me there's not enough space (that's because the ISO I just burned IS there, but it's not being recognized).

I am totally unable to install any factory-made programs. I can't even copy them because no matter which drive I use, Windows shows the disk as totally nonexistent. This is frustrating to no end, because it happens on my PC's internal CD drive as well as my external drive.

I can use both drives to burn CDs or DVDs. I can also use both drives to run DVDs and CDs that I burn. I just can't get either drive to see a disk in the drive when I want to install a program. Right now, I'm having to take my CDs to work, copy the contents to a flash drive, then take the flash drive back home and install the program files from there.

Any ideas as to what's preventing my PC from seeing a dish in any CD drive?

This happens whether I use my internal CD/DVD drive or my external CD/DVD--in both instances there just seems to be no recognizing of anything on the CD to which I just wrote something. Interesting that I can get both CD drives to play a music CD, show data I just burned, etc. I just can't get a program I want to install to actually run and install.

Any ideas as to what the hell is causing this? Dell support's pat answer is "reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows XP." That means wiping out 40GB of data and programs--many whose original installation disks I no longer possess.

 

[kevinwmsn]

I had this problem in January when I redid my pc. I couldn't install anything off optical drives after a clean windows install. But it wasn't on a dell computer(ASUS motherboard), I built mine. But anyway to what I remembered that did the trick. In the BIOS, look for an onboard IDE Operate Mode - see if you see Enhanced Mode/Compatible Mode . I got mine on Enhanced, but I'm using SATA HD and IDE DVD drives. The real thing is what that matters is what your enhanced modes support is set for(S-ATA/P-ATA/P-ATA+S-ATA). I would suggest putting this setting on S-ATA, that way you can get the most out of your Hard drives without affecting your optical drives.

 

[Lord Vader]

Check your PMs.

 

[Stewart Vernon]

Have you recently uninstalled any CD/DVD burning software?

I had a problem a while back where I uninstalled a version of software to prepare to install a newer version... but doing so rendered my CD/DVD burner non-existant to Windows XP. This is a known issue and I eventually found instructions on how to go into the registry and fix things again. I forget what I searched for to find the solution or I'd tell you.

IF that is not your problem... another idea comes to mind... Are you closing the session at the end of writing? Sometimes a CD that has not been closed after a burn will not read in some drives. Although if you are using at work that makes me think this is not the problem.

Another weird problem that I haven't seen in a while... There was a particular brand (Kodak I think) of CD media many years ago that I could use to burn CDs and my program would say it was a good burn BUT the disc was completely unreadable in any drive thereafter.

I finally decided to just stop using that brand.

 

[Lord Vader]

Well, remember I have NO problem using disks I burned. Those run fine. It's the factory-made disks that are a problem. Those are the pre-made ones you install out of the box.

 

[deltafowler]

Well, remember I have NO problem using disks I burned. Those run fine. It's the factory-made disks that are a problem. Those are the pre-made ones you install out of the box.

That statement seems to be in direct conflict with this one.

Every time I burn an ISO image to a CD, when I then insert the CD to install the program, it never autoruns. Then when I try to do it manually, I get a response telling me the disk is blank, even though I KNOW I just burned something to it!

What OS?
What Burning Software?
You're not burning it as a data CD are you?