How to troubleshoot issues that occur when you write data to a CD-R or CD-RW optical disc in Windows XP (324129)

INTRODUCTION

If you experience a problem reading from a disc by using the CD-R drive, the CD-RW drive, the DVD drive, or the CD-ROM drive, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: When you try to write data to an optical disc, you may experience the following issues:

• You may receive various disc write error messages.
• You may experience issues with the drive and the built-in recording feature of Windows XP.
• You may experience issues with third-party programs that you use to write data to the disc.

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The CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is not recognized as a recordable device

To make sure that the CD-R drive or the CD-RW drive is recognized as a recordable drive, make sure that the Recording tab appears in the CD drive properties:

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click the CD-R drive or the CD-RW drive, click Properties, and then look for the Recording tab.

If the CD-R drive or the CD-RW drive is not recognized as a recording drive by Windows XP, but the drive is recognized only as a CD-ROM, confirm that the CD-R drive or the CD-RW drive is compatible with Windows XP. (For example, confirm that the drive is compatible with Windows XP if the Recording tab does not appear.) To do this, see the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). For more information about the HCL, see the "Hardware Device and Device Driver Compatibility" section.

If the drive is not compatible, you may still be able to record discs in Windows XP if you use a compatible third-party program or if you update the drivers. Contact the hardware manufacturer for a firmware or a device driver update. For more information, see the "Hardware Device and Device Driver Compatibility" section in this article.

If the CD-R drive or the CD-RW drive is compatible, follow the procedure that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

This article describes how to make the Recording tab appear for supported devices.

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The device is missing or device manager indicates an issue with the driver

If the CD-R drive, CD-RW drive, DVD drive, or the CD-ROM drive does not appear in the My Computer window, or if Device Manager indicates an issue with the device driver, see the HCL to confirm that the CD drive is compatible with Windows XP. For information about how to access the HCL, see the "Hardware Device and Device Driver Compatibility" section.

The driver may have become corrupted and you may have to use Device Manager to remove the driver, and then re-install it. Contact the manufacturer of the device for a firmware or a driver update for the device.

For more information about a missing CD-ROM, DVD, CD-R, or CD-RW device or about removing the driver, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: back to the top

Specific error messages

To troubleshoot disc write error messages, first note the specific error message, and then search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about this message. To search the Microsoft Knowledge Base, visit the following Microsoft Web site: The following list contains common error messages and related troubleshooting references:

• Drive not accessible, incorrect function
  This error message typically occurs when you try to write to a CD-R or a CD-RW, but the Windows XP built-in disc recording feature does not recognize the CD drive as a recordable drive. This error message may also occur if specific third-party programs are installed. For more information about troubleshooting this error, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  316529 CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is not recognized as a recordable device

  315350 "Incorrect Function" error message when you access the CD-ROM drive, DVD-ROM drive, or CD-RW drive

• Error Deleting File or Folder.
  Cannot delete file name. Files on this CD-ROM drive are read-only. You cannot copy or move files over to this CD-ROM drive.
  This error message can occur because individual files cannot be deleted from the CD-RW. You cannot use the CD disc recording feature of Windows XP for random-access storage while you are writing to disc.
  
  To work around this problem, either use a third-party program that supports this feature or erase the CD-RW before you write to the disc. For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  303008 An error message may be displayed when you delete a file or folder on a CD-RW media

  306641 How to erase files from a CD-RW disc in Windows XP

• SCSI error: No SCSI host adapter found
  When you click OK on the error message, you receive a "No CD recorder found" message.
  
  This error message may occur with certain versions of CD-R or CD-RW recording programs that are not compatible with Windows XP. To resolve this issue, make sure that you have the latest driver installed for your device and contact the software manufacturer to obtain a compatible update for the program. For more information about how to resolve this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  316393 "SCSI Error: No SCSI Host Adapter Found" error message when you attempt to record a CD

• Error: Can not complete the CD writing wizard.
  This error message may occur if the IMAPI CD Burner service is turned off. To resolve this issue, make sure that the service is running and that it has not been turned off. By default, the service is set to Manual. Start the IMAPI CD Burner service, and then test it by writing to a CD-R or a CD-RW. If the service works, you may have to set the service to Automatic if it does not start in Manual mode. To set the service to Automatic, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type services.msc /s in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. Double-click IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service.
  3. Under Service Status, click Start.
  4. Try to write data to a CD.

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Inconsistent recording of files to the disc

You may experience intermittent problems when you copy files or folders to a CD-R or a CD-RW when you use a CD recorder. These problems may be caused by any one of the following issues:

• There is not enough disk space on the hard disk to create temporary files.
• There are issues with the type of optical disc media that you are using.
• There are issues with the recording capabilities of the CD drive.

To resolve these problems, use any of the following methods:

• Use different disc media.
• Change the write speed for the device.
• Clean the disc.
• Move the temporary file storage location.

For more information about recording issues, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about moving the storage folder and changing the write speed, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: These articles describe the issues that are described in this section plus the following issues:

• The disc recording operation is consistently unsuccessful.
• You cannot read the disc by using Microsoft Windows 95 or Microsoft Windows 98, but you can read the disc by using Windows XP.
• You cannot read the disc in an MP3 player, but you can read the disc in Windows XP.
• You can read the disc by using an MP3 player, but not all the files on the disc are available. However, all of the files on the disc are available when you read the disc by using Windows XP.
• When you add files or folders to a disc that already contains data, some files are lost. This issue may occur if one or both of the following conditions are true:
  • A file is added to the disc, and the name of the file is the same as the name of a folder that already exists on the disc.
  • A folder is added to the disc, and the name of the folder is the same as the name of a file that was already on the disc.

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Hardware device and device driver compatibility

See the HCL to make sure your CD-R drive or your CD-RW drive is compatible with Windows XP. Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for the brand and the model of the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive. To view the list of supported devices on the most recent HCL, visit the following Microsoft Web site: You can search Microsoft Knowledge Base to find information about known issues with specific drives. You may also want to search the support information provided by the manufacturer of your disc drive. Contact the hardware manufacture to obtain either firmware updates for the device or a driver update. For more information about specific issues, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The following error message may occur when you try to write to a CD-R or CD-RW if the driver is corrupted: If the device driver has been corrupted, see the HCL to determine if the driver that is listed for the drive on the HCL is compatible with Windows XP. If you are using a driver from the manufacturer of the drive and not the driver that is supplied by Microsoft, make sure that you have the driver available. You may want to remove the driver and reinstall it if it has become corrupted.

To remove and reinstall the device driver for the CD-R drive or the CD-RW drive:

1. Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.
3. Click the drive that uses the driver you want to remove.
4. On the Action menu, click Uninstall.
   
   When you are prompted to confirm the removal, click OK.
5. On the Action menu, click Scan for hardware changes.

Although Microsoft does not encourage you to use of devices that are not listed on the HCL, sometimes, you can obtain a Windows XP-compatible driver by contacting the device manufacturer directly. For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: If you change the CD drive or the DVD drive to direct memory access (DMA) mode from programmed input/output (PIO) mode, you may resolve this issue. For more information about how to change your computer's drive controller to DMA mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: back to the top

CD recording programs compatibility

If your drive is not supported by the Windows XP disc recording feature, you may still be able to write to a CD-R or a CD-RW by using a third-party program. If you are using CD-R or CD-RW recording programs, search the Microsoft Knowledge Base or the program vendor's Web site for known issues with the program. Occasionally, issues may occur with specific versions of the program or with specific drives.
For more information known issues with specific third-party programs in Windows XP, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: See the "Specific Error Messages" section for more information about issues that occur with specific third-party recording programs.

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