Not all players/software can handle the various format options you have for the RW's. It might be the type of RW recording method........VR that can be incompatible.......especially with Vista.

Solutions?

Possible configuration for burning the DVD RW disc in Power2Go configs.

or

Firmware update for you DVD/CD burner

Thanks for the reply Mike. I am working in XP. I've checked the configs in Power2Go and DVD-RW is listed as supported disc type for my player PHILIPS DVD+-RW SDVD8820 and the disc in question when in the drive is recognised as a blank erasable writable DVD-RW with capacity of 4488.1 MB capacity.

I'm a real PC novice, so have no idea what a firmware update is. If, given the above, this is the likely solution, can you please tell me how to do/check this.

Thanks again.

TCA:

I looked up your model and it seems that it's a DVD unit that Dell has installed in their Laptops. Is this correct? If it is, then your absolute best bet is to work with Dell on this issue.......especially if updating the firmware is an issue. I checked the Dell support website for the model and a firmware update did come up. However, the update was for something entirely else (but still recommended). My feeling on firmware updates is: "If it ain't broke, don't update". So, what I'm saying is that calling Dell support may be your best answer, unless you want to "wing" it.

If this isn't anything to do with Dell, then I'm at a loss, because the number doesn't come up at the Philips support website.

On the other hand, this may be totally an issue with Power2Go in how you have things setup to burn the DVD. Things like the method of file naming can cause problems like this (ISO9660 vs UDF...etc) All that stuff is in the disc burning settings.

And.....if that's not enough, it could be a problem with Explorer and the OS (Vista?). Have you tried looking at the disc using "My Computer"?

Finally, (I'm not sure about this), some programs don't even "see" a disc unless the session has been finalized or closed. But that doesn't make much sense for a RW disc.

So those are things to ponder, in no particular order. Really, investigate those settings first in Power2Go. You might also want to burn the disc and take it to another computer. That would certainly verify if it's Power2Go, Explorer, Vista, or the drive.

This link to Dell support will provide you with a ton of stuff (comments, problems, updates...etc) Again, it may be better to call Dell, but the reading may narrow things down. Notice at the top of the list is the link for the firmware update. Farther down are people having similar? problems.

http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&k=SDVD8820&cat=sup&x=8&y=3

Just about everything you'd want to read for fun?

Thanks again Mike. I'm using Windows XP.

It's not a Dell, it's an Advent 7104 as made by PC World in the UK. I will however go through the burn process again and check the disc on another machine.

Looking in My Computer, the disc (after burning) shows as Total Size 0, Free Space 0.

Strangely I also noticed that a CD-RW I had been using previously, which held files close to the 700MB capacity, is now showing a Total Size of 28.8MB, Free Space 28.8MB yet I can't even write the smallest file to this disc now.

I'm close to giving up.

Sometimes brand of DVD or CD makes all the difference with certain players. Try a different DVD-RW like Verbatim or Fuji.I have found that Memorex is not a very reliable disc.
Good Luck

I have a problem along these lines, I have burned to dvd-rw with no problems however when I try to erase the dvd I recieve an error message and the dvd does not erase.