Not write file on cd or dvd disc - Dell DVD-rom DVD Drive

On a CD-R, if you don't finalize or write protect the disk, can you overwrite a file?

Or in overwriting are you simply creating a second file of the same name in the TOC/directory and deleting the name, only, of the first file

You can add more data if there is space on the DVD+R, but you can't overwrite it.

You see, when a disc is burned, little microscopic ridges are put onto the disc. This is your data.

You cannot overwrite this data.

It's kind of like trying to use a permanent marker on the same spot of paper twice.

CD-ROM

Known as a read-only disc, usually used to store commercial programs and data. You can't add or delete information on a CD-ROM.

650 megabytes (MB)

Highly compatible with most computers and devices.

CD-R

You can burn files to a CD-R more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from the disc. Each burn is permanent.

650 MB and 700 MB

You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Highly compatible with most computers and devices.

CD-RW

You can burn files to a CD-RW more than once. You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A CD-RW can be burned and erased many times.

650 MB

Compatible with many computers and devices.

DVD-ROM

Known as a read-only disc, usually used to store commercial programs and data. You can't add or delete information on a DVD-ROM.

4.7 gigabytes (GB)

Highly compatible with most computers and devices.

DVD-R

You can burn files to a DVD-R more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from the disc. Each burn is permanent.

4.7 GB

You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Highly compatible with most computers and devices.

DVD+R

You can burn files to a DVD+R more than once (each time is referred to as a session), but you can't delete files from the disc. Each burn is permanent.

4.7 GB

You must close the session to read this disc in a different computer. Compatible with many computers and devices.

DVD-RW

You can burn files to a DVD-RW more than once (each time is referred to as a session). You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A DVD-RW can be burned and erased many times.

4.7 GB

You don't need to close the session to read this disc in another computer. Compatible with many computers and devices.

DVD+RW

You can burn files to a DVD+RW more than once (each time is referred to as a session). You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A DVD+RW can be burned and erased many times.

4.7 GB

You don't need to close the session to read this disc in another computer. Compatible with many computers and devices.

DVD-RAM

You can burn files to a DVD-RAM more than once. You can also delete unwanted files from the disc to reclaim space and add additional files. A DVD-RAM can be burned and erased many times.

2.6 GB

4.7 GB

5.2 GB

9.4 GB

DVD-RAM discs can generally only be used DVD-RAM drives and might not be readable by DVD players and other devices.

hope this helps

You don't have to. DVD's and CD's are already formatted from factory. But if you are having problems to record on (burn) them probably your computer is not capable for DVD burn, just CD's. But if it is equipped for burning then try this:
See also

• Which CD or DVD format should I use?
• Close or finalize a CD or DVD

Format a CD or DVD

Before you can copy files to a CD or DVD, the disc must first be prepared using a process called formatting. There are several ways to format a CD or DVD disc. Your choice of format determines which computers and other devices will be able to read the disc.

1. Insert a disc into your computer's CD or DVD drive.
   

2. In the dialog box that appears, click Burn files to disc.
   

3. In the Burn a disc dialog box, type a name for your new disc.
   

4. Click Show formatting options, and then click one of the following formatting options:
   

   • Live File System
     

   • Mastered
     

5. Click Next to prepare the disc.
   

   Now you can copy files to your disc using whichever method you selected.
   

Hello,
You can use DVD+RW, DVD+R or DVD-R / DVD-RW and CD-R and CDRW. Backup files are best stored on DVD-R.
Chris

Any format of disc the player accepts (according to the instruction manual - if you still have it), as well as those which your PC recognises. CD-R (as audio) will work, as will finalised DVD-R discs containing video.

CD-RW & CD-R discs - for mp3/jpeg files - use your PC and choose the appropriate burning software.

DVD-R discs - use either your PC and again choose the appropriate burning software, or a DVD recorder - you must finalise the discs in the recorder for compatible playback in players.

This may or may not help. If your PC is equipped with a CD/DVD drive, write the above-suggested discs in that.

you could use this burnaware its totally free if you dont like it just uninstall it also there are plenty of free burning sofware cnetdownload.com or majorgeeks

http://www.majorgeeks.com/BurnAware_Free_d5839.html
BurnAware Free is one of the most popular free CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc burning software available for Windows.

Using this program you can easily create and burn Audio and MP3 CD, Data and DVD-Video disc, ISO and Cue Image,
erase or format rewritable disc, copy your CD or DVD to ISO image.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/CDBurnerXP_d4242.html
.


http://download.cnet.com/active-iso-burner/3000-2646_4-10602452.html

Active ISO Burner will allow you to burn an ISO image file to CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL(Dual Layer), DVD-RW and DVD+RW (including double layer, DL). Active@ ISO Burner software accepts command line parameters to automate ISO images burning process.

http://download.cnet.com/instant-cd-dvd-burner/3000-2646_4-10393316.html

Burn audio, video, and data CDs/DVDs and create and burn ISO files. Instant CD & DVD Burner is the ideal choice for anyone looking for a simple but full featured CD/DVD burner. Build and burn ISO files on the fly and compile all kinds of audio, video, and data CDs and DVDs from any kind of file (MP3, WAV, AVI, MPEG, DIVX, XVID). Instant CD & DVD Burner supports all major drives including CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM (SCSI, IDE, EIDE, and USB 1.0 and 2.0).

http://download.cnet.com/burn4free-cd-and-dvd/3000-2646_4-10217894.html

Burn4Free CD and DVD is a burning solution that's compatible with more than 3,000 DVD, Blu-ray and CD burners. Burn data and audio from different file types (WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG, FLAC, WavPack, and CDA). Burn and save ISO files, open and save your project to disk, verify content, print compilations, copy DVD, copy BLU RAY and import your audio compilation from M3U and ASX playlists. The drives supported include dual-layer DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM, BD-R, BD-RE (SCSI, IDE, EIDE, and USB 1.0 and 2.0).

http://download.cnet.com/burnaware-free/3000-2646_4-10878661.html?tag=mncol;8

BurnAware Free is a full-fledged disc burning tool - fast, lightweight, feature-packed and, most importantly, 100% free. The program burns all types of CD, DVD and Blu-Ray discs containing data, digital photos, music and video. With BurnAware Free, you will be able to create bootable or multi session CDs and DVDs, high-quality audio CDs from your collection of MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, M4A, AAC and FLAC files, burn disc images, copy discs to backup ISO images and do a whole lot more.

http://download.cnet.com/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-Free/3000-2646_4-10776287.html

Multi-disc file backup and restore on CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs; create compressed backup archives with powerful password protection; split archives automatically across multiple CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs; restore archive contents to their original locations; integrated Audio CD ripper store your audio tracks as WMA or WAV files; new option for setting the number of copies you want to burn (available for all disc formats); discs can now be verified immediately without being ejected first (if the drive supports this feature); numerous other small improvements that make the program easier to use and more effective; burn files and folders on data CDs/DVDs/Blu-ray discs; burn Audio CDs from WAV, MP3, FLAC, WMA and Ogg Vorbis files; burn MP3-CDs from your MP3 files; burn Video DVD, Video CD (VCD) or Super Video CD (S-VCD); create and burn CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc images; burn speed and other options can all be set automatically.

http://download.cnet.com/Macrium-Reflect-Free/3000-2242_4-10845728.html

Macrium Reflect Free Edition. An award winning disk imaging solution for free. A complete disaster recovery solution for your home and office. Protect your personal documents, photos, music and e-mails. Upgrade your hard disk or try new operating systems in the safe knowledge that everything is securely saved in an easily recovered backup file. Macrium Reflect supports backup to local, network and USB drives as well as burning to all DVD formats. This version is for non-commercial home use.

http://download.cnet.com/ImgBurn/3000-2646_4-10847481.html
ImgBurn is a lightweight CD/DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-ray burning application that has several modes, each for performing a different task: Read - read a disc to an image file; Build - creates an image file from files on your computer or network (you also can write the files directly to a disc); Write - write an image file to a disc; Verify - ensure that a disc is 100% readable (you can also have ImgBurn compare it against a given image file to ensure the actual data is correct); and Discovery - used in combination with DVDInfoPro, you can check the quality of the burns your drive is producing.

Format a CD or DVD

Before you can copy files to a CD or DVD, the disc must first be prepared using a process called formatting. There are several ways to format a CD or DVD disc. Your choice of format determines which computers and other devices will be able to read the disc.

1. Insert a disc into your computer's CD or DVD drive.
   

2. In the dialog box that appears, click Burn files to disc.
   

3. In the Burn a disc dialog box, type a name for your new disc.
   

4. Click Show formatting options, and then click one of the following formatting options:
   

   • Live File System
     

   • Mastered
     

5. Click Next to prepare the disc.
   

   Now you can copy files to your disc using whichever method you selected.
   

hi yes you can, you can use any media to store photos and files, even DVD DL discs hope this helps

If the computer still cannot read a disc, there may be a problem with the drive. Go to method 3 to troubleshoot the CD or DVD drive. If the computer can read the other disc, there is a problem with original CD or DVD. Contact the manufacturer of the damaged disc to obtain a replacement. Method 3: Try a different disc drive If the disc is clean and undamaged, check whether there is a problem with the drive. To do this, follow these steps: If the computer has more than one disc drive, insert the disc in a different CD or DVD drive to see whether it can read the disc. If your computer does not have more than one disc drive, you can insert the disc in a different computer. If the other CD or DVD drive can read the disc, there may be a problem with your CD or DVD drive. Go to method 5. If the other CD or DVD drive cannot read the disc, the disc may not be compatible with the drive. Go to method 4. Method 4: Make sure that the disc is compatible with the drive Check the following list to make sure that the disc that you are trying to use is compatible with your CD or DVD drive. A DVD disc is incompatible with a standard CD drive. A CD-RW disc is incompatible with a CD drive that does not support CD-RW discs. A DVD disc is incompatible with a drive that does not have a DVD logo on the front. If the disc is compatible, go to method 5. If the disc is incompatible, use a compatible disc or contact the vendor for a compatible replacement. Back to the top Method 5: Use Windows Update to check for updated drivers If the disc is compatible with your CD or DVD drive, check for updated drivers that the CD or DVD drive may be missing. To check for driver updates that you can install, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com If these methods do not resolve your issue, try the advanced troubleshooting steps in this article. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, you might want to ask someone for help, or you might want to contact Support. For information about how to do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/ If methods 1 through 5 did not resolve the issue, you can follow these methods to try to isolate and resolve the problem. Method 1: Test the disc by using the command prompt to copy files Try to copy files from the disc to the hard disk. If the hard disk cannot copy files, the disc might be damaged. If the files are copied successfully, there may be file types on the disc that the hard disk cannot read, or there may be a problem with the CD or DVD drive. To test the disc by using a command prompt to copy files, follow these steps: Create a test folder on the hard disk, and then give the folder a folder name such as "cdtest." This is the folder to which you will try to copy files. Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) cmd in the Open box, and then press ENTER. Copy the files from the CD or DVD drive to the test folder on the hard disk. To do this, type xcopy DiscDrive:*.* HardDiskDrive:cdtest /v /e at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. Make sure that you replace “cdtest” with the name of your test folder. Note In this step, DiscDrive is the drive letter of the CD or DVD drive with which you have problems. HardDiskDrive is the drive letter of the hard disk drive to which you want to copy these files. If you are asked whether cdtest specifies a file name or a directory name, press F. If you successfully copied the files from the disc to the hard disk, the disc is not damaged. To remove the copied files, type rd /s cdtest at the command prompt, and then press ENTER. If you cannot copy the files, the disc may be damaged. Contact the manufacturer of the damaged disc to obtain a replacement. To continue trying to isolate the problem and test the CD or DVD drive, go to method 2. Method 2: Test the CD or DVD drive in a "clean boot" state If the disc is readable and undamaged, there may be some hardware or software that is interfering with the CD or DVD drive. You can test this by inserting the disc into the drive after restarting your computer in a clean boot state. This helps you determine whether any hardware or software is interfering with the CD or DVD drive. To test this, follow these steps: Restart the computer in a clean boot state. Note For more information about how to start Windows with a minimal set of drivers, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 310353 How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state After the computer is restarted, exit all programs and applications that may be using the CD or DVD drive. First, right-click each icon in the notification area, and then click Exit. Note The notification area is located at the far right of the taskbar, near the clock. Some programs that are listed in the notification area do not have an Exitcommand. Therefore, you may have to click Quit, Close, or Disable, depending on the commands that are available for that program. Click Start, and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) taskmgr in the Open box, and then press ENTER. Windows Task Manager opens. Click the Applications tab. If any programs appear in the Task list, click the name of the program to select it, and then click End Task. Repeat the previous step until the Task list is empty. Close Windows Task Manager. Reinsert the disc in the CD or DVD drive. If the CD or DVD drive can read the disc, there may be other programs preventing the drive from reading the disc. Go to method 3. If the CD or DVD drive still cannot read the disc, go to method 4. Or, if you are not specifically using a DVD drive, you may want to contact Support. For information about how to contact Support, go to the "Next Steps" section. Method 3: Change the CD or DVD drive configuration If there are programs that are preventing the drive from reading the disc, you can try to resolve this issue by configuring the drive to run in direct memory access (DMA) mode. DMA mode is a high performance mode for transferring data to and from devices. These include CD and DVD drives. To configure the CD or DVD drive to run in DMA mode, follow these steps: Configure the CD or DVD drive to run in DMA mode. For more information about how to switch your computer's disc drive controller to DMA mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 310751 Device settings are hard to find in Windows XP Reinsert the disc in the CD or DVD drive. If the CD or DVD drive can read the disc, you are finished. If the CD or DVD drive still cannot read the disc, try to troubleshoot DVD components by using method 4. Or, if you are not specifically using a DVD drive, you may want to contact Support. For information about how to contact Support, go to the “Next Steps” section. Method 4: Troubleshoot DVD problems If the advanced troubleshooting methods 1 through 3 do not resolve the issue, and you have problems specifically with a DVD drive, follow these steps to try to isolate and resolve the problem. Prerequisite You must use a DVD drive with a DVD logo on the front, not a standard CD drive. Step 1: Unplug any cables that are connected Unplug any cables that are connected to the video outputs of the computer. Reinsert the disc in the DVD drive. If the DVD drive can read the disc, you may have problems with the video hardware installed on your computer. Contact the manufacturer of the video hardware for support or for a replacement. If the DVD drive still cannot read the disc, go to step 2. Step 2: Update the DVD driver Contact the manufacturer of the DVD drive to obtain an updated driver for the DVD drive, and then follow the manufacturer's instructions to install the driver. Reinsert the disc in the DVD drive. If the DVD drive can read the disc, the problem was caused by an outdated driver. You are finished. If the DVD drive still cannot read the disc, go to step 3. Step 3: Obtain a hardware-based DVD decoder or software-based DVD decoder Contact the manufacturer of the DVD drive to obtain a hardware-based DVD decoder or software-based DVD decoder, and then follow the manufacturer's instructions to install the decoder. Note Many video adapters help decode DVD discs. However, the video adapter may not fully decode a DVD movie. Reinsert the disc in the DVD drive. If the DVD drive can read the disc, the problem was caused by an outdated DVD decoder. You are finished. If the DVD drive still cannot read the disc, make sure that the sound card in the computer is compatible with the DVD drive. To do this, contact the manufacturer of the sound card. Reinsert the disc in the DVD drive.

1. Insert a writeable CD or DVD into your computer's CD or DVD recorder.
   
2. In the dialog box that appears, click Burn files to data disc.
   
3. In the Burn a Disc dialog box, type a name for this disc, and then click Next.
   It might take several minutes for the disc to be formatted in the default Live File System format. When the formatting is complete, an empty disc folder opens.
   
4. Open the folder that contains the files you want to burn, and then drag the files into the empty disc folder.
   
   You can copy files to the disc folder by dragging them to the disc icon or to an open disc folder As you drag files into the disc folder, they are copied automatically to the disc.
   

But I recommend you to use any CD or DVD burning software like Nero, BurnAware etc. There are lots of free burning tools available on Internet too.

Why I recommend third party software is because you can select burn speed plus minimum disc burning error.

Unable to read a CD-R or other recordable disc. Question: Unable to read a CD-R or other recordable disc.
Answer: Unfortunately this can be a difficult question to answer because of the amount of potential reasons for this issue to occur. Below is a listing of several steps and recommendations that can be taken to help identify the cause of the issue and/or resolve this issue.
Drivers Verify you have the latest drivers installed for the CD-R or recordable drive. There are numerous driver related issues that may cause a CD-R drive or other recordable to stop reading a CD-R disc. If you are running Microsoft Windows verify your drive is properly detected and listed in Device Manager with no conflicts or errors.
If Windows Device Manager detects an error on the drive or if it has other drives listed in Device Manager with errors on them remove the device from Device Manager and reboot the computer to let Windows re-initialize the drive.
If Windows shows no errors, the above steps did not resolve the issue, or you are running a different operating system check with the drive manufacturer for updated drivers. A listing of disc drivers can be found here.
CD-R disk Not all CD-R disks are compatible with all types and speeds of CD-R drives or other recordable drives (especially earlier CD-R drives). Verify the manufacturer gives 100% guarantee for supporting all drives and disc speeds, for example, TDK discs often give a 100% guarantee.
Pre-mastering/Mastering Software Pre-mastering software can sometimes produce incorrect tracks due to bugs. An incorrect ISO image could be generated, or incorrect sub header codes could be recorded in the case of Mode 2 discs. A good way to check whether the incompatibility problems lie with the originating software or with one of the other causes listed above is to test the same disc on several CD-ROM drives. If one drive is capable of reading the disc back correctly, chances are that the problem was not in the mastering, but is one or more of the other factors listed.
Disc is a recordable disc that the drive or player does not support Verify the drive supports the recordable media you are attempting to read. Below are some situations to watch out for.

• Old CD-ROM or early DVD drive - Some early CD-ROM drives and Gen 1 DVD drives (some of the first DVD drives released) do not support CD-R discs and/or CD-RW discs. Not only does this apply to computers but also home entertainment DVD players.
• CD-RW in CD-R or CD-ROM drive - CD-R drives are incapable of reading CD-RW drives. If you are using a CD-RW disc verify the drive is a CD-ROM or CD-R drive is capable of reading the disc.
• DVD recordable discs - If you have a DVD recordable disc and are unable to get it to read verify that the DVD drive is not a Gen 1 DVD drive and/or that it supports reading the DVD recordable media you are using. Additionally a standard CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, etc drive is not able to read DVD discs.

Disc was created incorrectly Make sure you're creating the disc properly. For example, a common mistake users make when creating audio CD's that they can listen to in their computer, car, or home stereo is burning the MP3 files or other files directly to the CD as a Data disc and not an Audio disc. All this will do is burn the data files to the disc and not create an audio disc. This may allow you to listen to the audio files in the computer but will not allow you to listen to the music in the majority of other CD players unless they support MP3 format.
Disc or DVD contains media content not supported by the player Not all home entertainment DVD players are capable of supporting and playing all the different formats movie files and audio files are stored in. Make sure the format or codec of the movie or audio file you're saving to the CD or DVD is supported by the DVD player. If you're computer is capable of playing the files off the DVD but your home entertainment DVD player is not able to play the file it's likely you're encountering this issue.
Bad disc If after reading through the above recommendations you still continue to have the same issue it's possible that the disc is a bad disc. Try re-burning the disc and if possible try a different type of recordable disc.

Computer DVD Support

Click on the above link should get ya back up and going/Good Luck....Please dont for get to Vote.Thank you.