Hi, Leo. I had to burn an ISO file to a DVD. For this purpose, I used this
article, “Would you show me how to burn ISO files?” as the guideline. However,
I keep running into a problem. After I’m done with selecting the required file
as a source, the status bar says that the disc isn’t empty and therefore the
write button never enables. But I don’t see any contents in the DVD when I view
it through Windows Explorer. What do I do?
In this excerpt from
Answercast #75, I look at a case where a DVD drive is not recognizing a
blank DVD and work through several troubleshooting steps.
Become a Patron of Ask Leo! and go ad-free!
Can’t burn to blank DVD
Well, unfortunately, if you’re not seeing any contents on the DVD when
you’re looking at it, it still may not be blank.
There are actually two possibilities here. One is the disc itself is
actually not blank. Even an empty disc that has had a file system written to it
is technically not blank. So by that measure, it may be that you need to get a
brand new blank DVD and insert it into the drive.
It’s sometimes a matter of quality and that’s the other part of this.
Sometimes, some DVD drives will not recognize some DVD media as being blank
when they are. That’s a matter of the drive not working properly.
Yes, this could be a drive problem. It’s more simple to fix, of course, if
it’s a “quality of media” problem.
Testing to find what’s broken
What I would do is first confirm that you’ve been inserting a truly blank
DVD into the drive. Then go out and get a different brand, potentially a
higher quality brand of DVDs. You don’t have to get many. We’re just doing a
test here. See if that solves the problem; it may.
If it doesn’t, then I’m afraid you’re probably looking at some kind of an
issue with the drive itself.
At that point, I would recommend giving this a quick try on another computer
with the DVDs that you’ve been using (the blank DVDs that you have) and make
sure that they will work somewhere. That will at least help narrow down the
problem.
Next from Answercast 75 – What’s a
“starter capacity” cartridge for a printer?
I too have experienced that problem with previously used disks. My solution was to format the disk. That has solved the problem. Of course the original problem might arise when the disk is a
+/- R disk!
If those disks have worked before, and now they don’t it’s a software setting or hardware issue.
To narrow it down, try, like Leo suggested, to use it on another machine with the same program & disk(s).
If no go, try different disk(s).
If still no go, it’s most likely your disk(s).
If it works with said disks on another machine, than it’s a setting or drive issue.
Proceed accordingly. It’s a process of trial & error. Take your time & write things down setting wise. Use the “help” button on the software & follow through. It’s how I learn the ins/outs of programs. See if the program you’re using to burn the ISO with, has a forum or help group & ask questions.
Normally creating an ISO copy of something is no big deal.
I use Power ISO. Never had a problem.
Good luck, & if all else fails, try power ISO, they have a free version that is all you could ask for!
Johnny.
Something I have run into, which stems from the good old ‘floppy disk’ era.
Commercial companies releasing software have, for a long time, used custom disk formats. These formats ‘seem to’ store more on a disk than is normally possible (whether they do or not is a matter for debate), which means if you try to duplicate the contents onto a standard disk the PC simply reports back “Not Enough Space”.
I have heard of ISO’s between 5gb and 10gb in size, which will certainly be larger than standard DVD’s, and even in some cases too large for the high-capacity DVD’s.
A simpler method (with the cheapness of memory these days) is to copy the ISO onto a large enough USB stick and use one of a number of free programs to ‘mount’ the ISO as a removeable drive letter.
You may refer to this step by step guide, it will show you how to burn files to DVD/CD, including songs, video, photos, data, ISO files, etc. It’s easy to understand and safe.
http://www.freedvdripper.net/how-to-burn-song-photo-data-video-to-dvd-cd-bluray.html