Ever since I installed 4 GBs of RAM I have been having issues with hardware and software and trying to fix them as they occur. Today's problem is with my CD ROM drives. I have 2 CD ROM drives, one is: HL-DT-ST DVD+RW GRA-4120B. The other one is: SAMSUNG DVD-ROM SD-616E. They both can read data and read and play music and copy files from the disk onto my desktop. They just can't burn disks. One of my CD burning software says: "CD ROM is not writable", and another software says, "No Recorder". I have tried to "Enable CD recording on this drive" in the properties/recording tab but they both refuse to be enabled. Every time I go back and look, and even after rebooting, they are no longer checked (not enabled). Does anyone know what is going on? Any help would be most appreciated.

You should be able to write to the GRA-4120B providing you are using the correct disks. It is +RW which means -RW disks wont work. The Samsung will never write anything as it is ROM - Read Only Memory. What software are you using to write to the GRA-4120B. It can make all the difference. Stuart

You are right about DVD disks having to be +RW. But I'm using the same CD disks I used before, CD-R. It's not the disks. It has to do with the CD ROM settings, I believe. One software is RecordNow and the other one is CD BurnXP. I don't think it's the software. I believe it's in the Hardware settings. That's why I can't change the "Enable CD recording on this drive".

Are you sure you installed compatible RAM? Look here for the proper configuration: http://www.crucial.com/store/listpa... As Stuart said, the SAMSUNG DVD-ROM is a ROM drive; Read-Only memory. You're never going to be able to burn a CD or a DVD with that drive. As for the DVD burner, you said "But I'm using the same CD disks I used before" Before what? Before the memory upgrade? I'm assuming by "RecordNow" you mean Sonic/Roxio CD/DVD burning software. Am I correct? If so, you can go to Dell's support site, enter the Service Tag on your machine, and download the proper drivers to reinstall the software. If that doesn't work, PM me with your email address, and I'll send you two updates to the Sonic/Roxio software that will fix the burning problem. Life's more painless for the brainless.

I understand that the SAMSUNG DVD-ROM is a ROM drive; Read-Only memory. Is it possible that the BIOs got messed up. Before installing the RAM I remember that I used to be able to choose whether I wanted to copy and burn a CD in the Drive D: to the Dive E: or vica versa, the Drive E: to the Drive D:. Weird huh? Anyway, I installed 2 pkgs- DDR2 2GB PC6400 DUAL C4 speed 800MHz CL4 Heatspreader by OCZ Dual Channel kit. I bought 2 sets of 2 Modules, each 1 GB totalling 4GB. Of course not all 4GB is being used. Only 3.25GB is being accessed 'cause I have Windows 32 bit not a 64 bit CPU. I have a copy of the original Dell CD RecordNow 7.1 Program and drivers, which I uninstalled and then reinstalled. But it doesn't make any difference. As soon as the program opens, even before I have selected a project tab, at the very top it says "No Recorder". Also it says "a suitable disc was not detected". Something is wrong with the hardware settings, don't you think? I did not update my BIOS before installing the RAM. So when I started to have problems, like my color printer was not recognized and then my CD ROM DRIVES were not recognize in either Explorer or the Device Manager I had to go see what was going on. I updated my BIOs to the most current version according to Dell's specifications. And checked out my settings. Maybe I need to go back and change something? What do you think?

Guess what! It's working now. Don't know how or why but I believe it had to do something with the CD ROM Drivers. Anyway, thank you StuartS & Jennifer SUMN for all your help. If I find any other hardware or application issues I'll be sure to send a post. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that nothing else goes wrong.