my friend is having a problem with his dvd/rw combo drive when he burns a disc weather it be cd/dvd- or cd/dvd+r it burns the disc ok but when it s finished burning he puts the disc in and it will not read it but he says it plays ok on other peoples dvd drives any ideas hank

I am a little confused..He burns the disc ok but it then doesn't work in the drive he burned it in? But works on other peoples drives? Is it a data disc? or a movie? or audio? What software is he using to view the disc? On other peoples drives does he mean computer drives? or stand-alone dvd players? or cd players?

yep. burns but doesn't read it in the drive it was burned in. it says "please insert disc".think it might have something to do with the fact that there are three drives (2xcd, 1xdvd-rw) showing in device manager but there is only a dvd-rw physicaly in the computer.(tried uninstalling the two phantoms from device manager but they're back after restart) it happens with data discs and video/audio discs, but just the ones that were burned in the computer just clicking my computer then clicking the drive from there to view files. sonic is installed on computer(files will burn with sonic but dont play with it) plays on other computers.dont know about standalone it's usually just divx, avi, wav, mp3 files etc

"tried uninstalling the two phantoms from device manager but they're back after restart" Have him try removing 'all' the drives in safe mode. Do yourself a favor BACKUP! Sorry, I do not check for private messages

been awhile since I used sonic. I beleive that it won't play avi,wav etc.. It converts files to create a dvd. But wont play them so unless the disc is a dvd sonic wont play it. Try using a different program to play the disc. maybe DivX. That should play them. or wmp. as for removing the phantom drives if you are comfortable editing the registry you can erase them. Or instead of removing them from device manager(since they are in the registry they keep showing up) try Disableing them in your profile. right click on the phantom in device manager then click disable. Damm-trying to type and eat at the same time. If it works you owe me a baked potatoe since I just knocked it on the floor reaching for the keyboard. just kidding. I have another still on the plate. post back again if you still have problems. and try the disc thru DIVX or another software.

thanks guys, will tell him to try those solutions. when he tries divx/wmp he gets "please insert disc into drive". sorry about your dinner km3161,enjoy the rest of it

and definately tell him to try removing ALL 3 drives in safe-mode. Then hopefully windows should recognize just the one. If that doesn't work then try my suggestion. and there is always the possibility that his drive is screwed. Reading and writing discs is actually two different internal functions. If he has another drive he could install that in his machine and see if he gets the same error when he tries to play a disc made in the original drive. That could help determine if it is a hardware or software problem. Don't worry bout the potato-I usually have more then one anyway. Just glad it hit the floor not the keyboard. I load it with melted butter. I could have wound up posting a HELP MY KEYBOARD IS BUTTERED post. Good Luck and post back if you need more help.