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HP Customer Support

Drive Cannot Write to Writable Discs (Windows XP, Me and 98)

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This document pertains to HP and Compaq Desktop PCs with Windows XP, Me and 98 and a CD or DVD burning drive.
Use the steps in this document to troubleshoot problems that can occur while trying to burn discs with a recordable CD or DVD drive. Start at Step 1, do not skip to other sections until Step 1 has been completed.

Step 1: Identifying the drive in Device Manager

Use the following steps to determine if the drive is being properly recognized by Windows and to find important information about your drive:
  1. In Windows XP, click Start , and right-click My Computer .
    In Windows 98 and Me, right-click My Computer .
  2. In Windows 98 and Me, select Properties , and click the Device Manager tab.
    In Windows XP, select Properties , click the Hardware tab, and then click the Device Manager button.
  3. Click the plus sign (+ ) next to DVD/CD-ROM Drives (or similar) category.
    Figure 1: Drive device name in Device Manager
  4. If the CD or DVD drive is not showing up in Device Manager, close Device Manager and use the support document CD or DVD Drive is not Detected .
    If the name of a CD or DVD drive is listed but is listed as "CD-ROM", skip to Step 4 to set the drive as a recordable drive.
    If the name of a CD or DVD drive is listed, write down the name of the drive and continue to step 2.
    NOTE:If the drive name contains an error (a yellow triangle or a question mark), double-click the drive name to read the error message. You can then use this information to search for more troubleshooting information in the event the rest of these steps do not help.

Step 2: Ensuring your system is compatible with the CD/DVD media

Read and understand each of the following items before attempting to troubleshoot further:
  • You cannot burn DVDs with the Windows XP disc burning process. At the time of this writing Windows XP only supports CD burning, not DVD burning. To burn DVDs in Windows XP you must use separate software - such as RecordNow or Creator Basic. Please continue using this document if you are having problems burning DVDs with special software.
  • Make sure your drive is actually capable of burning to the type of media that you want to use. For example, a combination DVD/CDRW drive cannot burn DVDs. Eject the drive door and look at the front of the drive to view all the various formats that the drive is capable of using.
  • If the drive is having problems burning discs that you know are compatible with the drive, either the disc is bad or the drive's firmware may be able to be updated. Updating the drive's firmware may make the drive compatible with more brands of discs. Updating the drive's firmware does not enable the drive to burn a new type of disc. For example, you cannot update the firmware of a CD-R/RW drive so that it can burn to DVD+R or Dual-Layer discs.
    If you want to update your drive's firmware or you are still not sure if the drive supports the disc you want to burn, please refer to the support document Identifying the Preinstalled CD or DVD Drive .
  • If your drive is not burning or recognizing any discs, use quality CD-R discs for testing purposes as CD-R is highly compatible.
  • Dual-Layer discs can only be burned by DL compatible drives. To check, open the drive door and look for a "DL" printed on the front of the drive.
  • Blu-ray discs can only be burned by BD compatible drives and requires special software to burn. To check, open the drive door and look for a "BD" printed on the front of the drive.
After checking each of these items, continue to Step 3.

Step 3: Decreasing the burn speed

If the drive is not recognizing the disc at all, skip to Step 4. Decrease the CD writer's burn speed by half to increase the likelihood of a successful burn. Decreasing the burn speed is a quick, easy way of increasing successful disc burning sessions, at the expense of taking more time to create a disc. The following steps are for Windows XP only. For Windows 98 and Me, decrease the write speed from within the software that you are using to write discs (RecordNow, Easy CD Creator)
  1. Click Start , and then My Computer .
  2. Right-click the drive icon, and select Properties .
  3. Select the Recording tab and reduce the Current Write Speed by half (for example, from 16x to 8x).
  4. Click OK and close the My Computer window.
    Try burning a CD. If the drive fails to create the CD, go to the next step.

Step 4: Setting up disc recording in Windows XP

If the computer does not have Windows XP, skip to Step 6.
If you are using Windows XP, use the following steps to ensure that native burning is enabled:
  1. Place a blank disc into the drive.
    NOTE:If the error <drive letter> is not accessible. Incorrect function. " opens, close it and continue using these steps to correct this problem.
  2. Click Start , and then My Computer .
  3. Right-click the writable drive icon, and select Properties .
  4. If a Recording tab is shown, select the Recording tab, select Enable CD recording on this drive , and then click OK . Try burning a disc again. Continue to the next Step if you are unable to burn a disc.
    If a recording tab is not shown, continue using these steps.
    Figure 2: Enable CD recording on this drive
  5. Look for a Recording tab:
    If the Recording tab is not shown, Windows XP has not detected the drive as a recordable device. Use the following sub steps to enable the Recording tab:
    Click the following Microsoft Fix it Solution to clean the registry filters automatically:
    If you cannot use the Microsoft Fix it Solution, continue using these steps to clear the upper and lower registry filters manually.
    Click Start , Run , and type regedit in the Open field.
    Backup the registry: Select My Computer from the list, click File , Export , type a name that you will remember, and click Save .
    Click OK , and browse to the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CD Burning\Drives
    Click the Volume key that matches the CD/DVD drive that is capable of writing discs. If only one drive is installed, one volume key is listed. If you have more than one drive, examine the data values (by double-clicking them in the right pane) to find the correct drive.
    With the volume key selected in the left pane, double-click the Drive Type value in the right-pane.
    Figure 3: Drive Type registry value (CDRW)
    Type the number 1 in the Value Data field if the drive is capable of recording to CDRW discs (including CD-R discs). Type a 2 if the drive cannot write to CDRW discs but can burn CD-R discs.
    NOTE: A value of 3 indicates that the drive is only capable of reading discs. Changing this value to a 1 or 2 enables Windows to view the drive as a recordable drive.
    Click OK , and close Registry Editor.
    Repeat the steps in this section, starting with step "b".
    NOTE: For more information about enabling the Drive Recording tab, please refer to Microsoft support article 316529 CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is not recognized as a recordable device (in English).

Step 5: Resetting the drive in Windows

Use the following steps to replace the drive settings in Windows.
  1. Remove the drive from Device Manager :
    1. Open Device Manager and select the CD Drive name.
    2. Click the Uninstall or Remove button (in Windows XP this is the square button with a red X).
    3. Click Yes or OK to remove the CD listing. Do not restart the computer.
    4. Close Device Manager .
    5. If your computer has Windows XP or 2000, go to the next step without restarting the computer .
      If your computer has Windows 98 or Me, restart the computer, wait until all "New Hardware" messages have resolved, and then try burning a disc. If problems persist, skip to Step 6 .
  2. Clear the registry filters (for Windows XP only):
    1. Click Start , Run , and type the following into the Open field: regedit
    2. Click OK . The registry editor appears.
    3. In Windows XP, click File , Export , type a filename that is easy for you to remember, and click Save .
      A copy of the registry has been saved for back-up purposes. You can double-click the export file to restore the registry in the event of a problem.
    4. Click the plus sign (+ ) next to the following items in the listed order:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
      • SYSTEM
      • CurrentControlSet (or the current control set with lowest number if that is all that is listed)
      • Control
      • Class
      Figure 4: Delete: LowerFilters value
    5. Select 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 .
    6. Select UpperFilter in the right window and press the Delete key.
      Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes .
    7. Select LowerFilters in the right window and press the Delete key.
      Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes .
    8. Close the registry editor, restart the computer , and wait until Windows configures the necessary drivers for new hardware.
    9. After Windows is done configuring the new hardware, uninstall all CD writing software (RecordNow, EZ CD Creator) using add/remove programs.
      CAUTION:Make sure you understand how to install your burning software before uninstalling it. HP disc burning software can be reinstalled through the application recovery process.
    10. After all CD writing software has been removed, restart the computer and then reinstall the CD writing software using the HP or Compaq application recovery software or by using Compaq's quick restore.
    11. Try burning a disc. If you still cannot create a disc, go to the next step.

Step 6: Using Microsoft System Restore

If the computer still cannot write to the disc, use System Restore to go back to a time when the drive was recognized by Windows. This step is only for Windows Me and XP. If you do not know how to restore Windows, use the Support document " Using Microsoft's System Restore Feature ."
When done, try burning a disc again to see if it works. If it works, you are done. If it does not, go to the next step.

Step 7: Using HP System Recovery

If the computer still cannot write to the disc, recover the computer. If you do not know how to recover the computer, use one of the following documents:
When done, try burning a disc again to see if it works. If it works, you are done. If it does not, go to the next step.

Step 8: Determining if the drive hardware is bad

If the computer still cannot write to the disc, open PC Doctor to gather more information and respond accordingly (not on Presario units manufactured before 2000).
  1. Click Start , Run , and type the following into the Open field: pcdrw32
  2. Click OK and wait for the PC Doctor window to appear.
  3. Open the appropriate CD/DVD-ROM test from the list of tests (as in the column to the left of the first menu).
  4. If an error code is reported, the computer may need to be serviced. Run the test again to confirm the error code. Use the following support document if you need more information: Using PC Doctor
  5. If, after you have tried all these steps, the drive still cannot write to recordable discs, the drive is probably bad and should be replaced.
NOTE:One or more of the links above will take you outside the Hewlett-Packard Web site. HP does not control and is not responsible for information outside the HP Web site.