Any help gratefully received!!! Just bought a standalone DVD recorder, which burns DVD+R and DVD+RW disks. FUnctions brilliantly, but... My laptop contains a Toshiba SD-C2502 DVD-Rom drive which will not read the DVD+RW disks that the DVD recorder creates, and when I try to access them, I get the message: "Windows cannot read from this disk. The disk might be corrupted, or it could be using a format that is not compatible with Windows." Is it normal for DVD-Rom drives (mine is about three years old) not to read the newer DVD+RW disks, and would a newer drive sort this problem out? Or can I download a patch or an update to allow the disks to be read? I have searched the internet, including the Compaq and Toshiba sites, but can't find such an answer. Could it be something to do with the fact that it seems impossible to FINALIZE a DVD+RW disk, where you can finalize a DVD+R disk? Would this make a difference? Any suggestions extremely gratefully received!!! Thanks in advance Jeremy

According to Toshiba, that drive only supports DVD-ROM (DVD-5, DVD-9, DVD-10, DVD-18), DVD-R (read, single border).

Actually I think that computer drives are more compatible than home DVD players. That is another reason not to use DVDRW. If you have enough data to fill a DVD why would you want to erase it?

OtheHill - when you say "That is another reason not to use DVDRW. If you have enough data to fill a DVD why would you want to erase it?" - - - that is fine for data usage, but by its nature, you want to be able to reuse DVD+RWs in standalone DVD recorders - just as you would reuse video cassettes.

Crunch the numbers, they simply don't add up. If you are regularly recording media to be viewed once and then erased you would be better served using harddrive space which can be reused for free. IMO I can only find one clear case where I would consider using DVDRW media. If I were using DVD burners to perform daily unattended backups using two decks and alternating days. Even then tape would make more sense. To each his own I guess. Check out this site for player compatibility. http://www.videohelp.com/dvdplayers.php