More DVD burning help please...
 

Okay, I've already posted my anger at my coaster burner, aka the Sony DRU 510a.
(I've created a text file w/all my relevant system specs that I will paste with all my tech questions.) Here it is:

OS
Windows XP Professional (build 2600) all current patches/updates.

CPU
1433 megahertz AMD Athlon XP (1600+)
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache

MOBO
Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. GA-7VAX 1.x
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz

BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. F3 08/22/2002

RAM
512 Megabytes Installed Memory

DRIVES
110.04 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
27.47 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

LITE-ON LTR-40125S [CD Burner]
SONY DVD RW DRU-510A [DVD Multi-format Burner]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

WDC WD300BB-32CCB0 [Hard drive] (30.02 GB) -- drive 1
WDC WD800JB-00CRA1 [Hard drive] (80.03 GB) -- drive 0


OUTPUT
HP psc 2100 series on USB001

DISPLAY
RADEON 7500 SERIES [Display adapter]
Plug and Play Monitor (17.5"vis, June 2002)

AUDIO
Avance AC'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller

NETWORK
Realtek RTL8139/810X Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC

_________________________________________________
First, it burned a video DVD halfway, irk.

Then I couldn't even burn a data DVD that the comp would recognize. IRK. This thing is making me mad.
Okay, so I realize I need to get current updates. I update the drive's firmware to the most current version. From 1.0c to 1.0f I went. Great.
Then I find they're upgrading the Sonic MyDVD software for free to sony USA customers. So, I go to ver 5.2.0 from 4.5.2, great.
I also went over to Adaptec's site and added the most current ASPI layer, just in case that was important.

The damn thing still sucks.

I can burn data DVDs now, so that's solved. The problem is the Sonic software,especially when it comes to video, I think.

I can't even finish laying out the video I want to add to the DVD before the POS crashes. Just the Sonic software crashes, the computer's fine. I wanted to see if it'll burn a video DVD successfully, but I can't get even that far.

My question to you guys is this:

Is there anything I should do, upgrade wise, that I haven't done already?

Are there any *free* DVD burning apps I can get? I just paid for the drive, so my cash for toys this month is gone. I'm miffed I've got useless software with the drive, and I don't want to buy more (non-returnable - of course) software just to find out it doesn't work either.

I'm using FUJI film DVD+RWs and TDK DVD+Rs, they're all 4x media.

I've got the Gordian knot rip pack and all that, to rip and burn commercial DVDs, but I don't yet have any idea how to use it. I wouldn't be suprised if there's a video burner in there that I just have no idea about. If so, someone please tell me.

Thanks.

DVD decryptor is part of Gordian Knot, that's what i use (with the same burner btw).

I personally use DVD Shrink 3.1 to rip, reencode and burn my DVD's. It is a great all in one program and it is freeware also.

How to copy a DVD-9 using brand-new version 3.1 of DVD Shrink

The DVD shrink website says "Keep in mind that you should have a version of Nero that supports DVD burning, I suggest Nero 6, to use DVD Burning."

So, while I thank you, I don't think I can use it.
I'll try and figure something out...

Free upgrades to a higher version number (like 4.0 to 5.0, as opposed to 4.1 to 4.2) is often an indicator of a problem within the software that the vendor is very eager to not be a problem anymore. I would recommend checking out other DVD software. If you still have issues, it's possible that the drive is defective. I wouldn't let this reflect negatively on Sony, though, as the DRU series is regarded as one of the best out there.

I did, sucessfully, burn a video DVD last night. Sonic's MyDVD crashed 4 times while I was setting up the video clips to be burnt. I find it's like working on an old windows machine. IE: save your work, you never know when it's going to crash.

It's almost funny. I can import a couple clips to the program, then start editing/arranging them in order then... "the program MyDVD has encountered an unexpected errora and needs to close" Blah blah.

Then I start it again, re-open my project, edit some more video, finish, and it crashes.

Start it again, finish editing, even if it doesn't crash, I save, and close it. Then I open it anew just to burn.

This is crap.

I will find new burning software.
Later.
Thanks.

I chucked DVDIt for DVDlab. Its not free, but I think there's a demo.

For copying DVDs, DVD shrink is a good one. You don't have to burn using it though, you can use anything else. I think a lot of people like using Nero. I personally use either DVD shrink or CloneDVD for compressing a DVD, and I use CloneDVD for burning. I haven't had any problems.

Oh, and I use Ritek 4x media