Newbie Needs Help with DVD Fab Burning

4795209

I'm new to using DVD Fab and to this forum, so please pardon if I am not posting everything totally correct.

Here's my problem: When I burn DVD movies using the latest DVD Fab program from the DVDFab.com website it works fine. The problems come afterward the movie is burned to the blank DVD disc. :(

When the blank DVD comes out of the burner, I click "Finish" but this action seems as though this stalls the program or something.

The title of the DVD I just burned stays on the laptop for days sometimes, even after I clean out the cache many times and delete the DVDFab program completely. I click on "Computer" and go to the DVD/CD burner E drive and it says the title of the movie DVD and it will not show anything else even if I put in a new DVD movie to burn. After I burn one DVD movie and the blank DVD comes out, and then click "Finish," if I put in a new DVD movie, the program will not refresh and the new DVD movie title will never show up. If I uninstall the DVD Fab program and re-install it, it still will not work again as it did the first time.

I use Verbatim blank DVDs, the DVD/CD drive is only a few months old and the DVD Fab program will work fine for one use, but then I cannot use it again sometimes for weeks or longer.

What am I doing wrong? Can anyone please help? Am I not following instructions or procedures right? I want to purchase the full DVD Fab program, but want to make sure it will work ok first.

stonemiser

Are you using the DVDFab program as the burning software to get it to disc? If so, download ImgBurn and follow the instructions in the secong post here in this forum (Setting up ImgBurn and DVDFab to work together) to get DVDFab to use it to burn to disc. It's free to download and I just started using it. Love it. Give that a try and see if you have the same problems. Maybe your disc drive isn't playing nice with DVDFab's burning software.;)

4795209

Does DVDFab not allow for burning the content to disc or is it not supposed to? It has worked several times before, so I don't understand why it should not work all the time. That's what I'm trying to figure out. I will look up ImgBurn, but I was hoping DVD Fab could rip and burn, as it did before.

stonemiser

Yes. I had used it for years to burn to DVD, but since joining the forum here and reading the post talking about ImgBurn, I figured I'd try it. It's actually faster at burning to disc than what I was getting with DVDFab. Nothing wrong with thier software, but if I can get something to burn it faster, I'll take it.

Let's go another way here, what type of DVD Burner do you have? I really do think it's something to do with your burner and not the program.

Does the data actually get to the disc?

One other thing I can think of is, is the small box that says "save" checked on the final page that pops up after the burning process is over?

Just trying to rule things out and maybe help some of the computer Guru's on here as much info we can.

tli

Expired Trial Version?

[QUOTE=4795209;5817]... the DVD Fab program will work fine for one use, but then I cannot use it again sometimes for weeks or longer.

... I want to purchase the full DVD Fab program, but want to make sure it will work ok first.[/QUOTE]

How long have you been using the trial version of DVDFab? Did your trial period expired already? I'm not familiar with the trial version so I don't know if it would burn a blank DVD after expiration.

stonemiser

tli, you may be onto something there, but what gets me is that the title stays on his computer within the program. Sounds like something is locking it up.:confused:

4795209

First to Stonemiser:

I understand why you would like something that would burn faster, but to me I'm willing to wait if it will work and burn the DVD as it did before. I like less programs on the laptop . DVD Fab worked great a few times then konked out on me, so I would prefer using DVD Fab for ripping and burning if it would work for more than just a few uses. To answer your other questions:

I have an Optiarc DVD/CD RW burner. That's all I know. It was purchased and installed in my laptop within the last year and is relatively new and has worked very well for burning many times up until now.

Yes, the data gets on the disc when DVD Fab worked before. It made beautiful, complete copies several times. Then stopped working completely. No matter what DVD I put into the tray, the program would not read any thing.

"One other thing I can think of is, is the small box that says "save" checked on the final page that pops up after the burning process is over?" To answer this, I honestly do not remember if the box was checked or not. What would happen if it was checked or if it was not checked? What does it do?

TLI asked me if the program had expired. No it had not. I downloaded the trial version from the website page several months ago first. I used it a few times, then it stopped working. I uninstalled the program from my laptop and then just tried it again a day or two ago. It worked one time and then stopped working completely again. Whatever new DVD I put into the tray, the program simply does not read it. Something is happening after it burns the DVD to the blank DVD, that it cannot read anything new placed in the tray. That's the problem, but I do not know how to fix that and that's what I need help with.

GregiBoy

If you used it a few months ago, uninstalled and reinstalled, the trial would have still have expired unless you have done a clean reinstall of your Operating System.

That's the way it works. The trial is for 30 days from the first time that you use it.

W&B

[QUOTE=4795209;5848]I downloaded the trial version from the website page several months ago first. I used it a few times, then it stopped working. I uninstalled the program from my laptop and then just tried it again a day or two ago. It worked one time and then stopped working completely again.[/QUOTE]
You only get a 30 day trial period and after that it will no longer be fully fuctional but it should still rip to your hdd. Do you have problems with any other burning programs? you can use Fab on lappy's but slim type drives are VERY problematic. I suspect that's your problem. Can you borrow a usb type drive to troubleshoot with?

Edit: sorry Gregiboy, I was reading and got distracted.

stonemiser

May be something messed with your drivers for the DVD drive or maybe it is that you are using the Temp DVDFab. Not sure. I wish I could be of more help.:(

By the way, are you running Vista or XP? I did look up "problems with Optiarc DVD Drives and alot of the sites did say that Vista and Optiarc don't play well together. Not saying that is the problem since you state that it did well with multiple burns till now. You last description does lead me to the Temp DVDFab program. You may want to buy the liscence. I've used this program for years and to me, it's the best out there.;)

GregiBoy

maybe uninstall teh device in "Device manager", reboot and let Windoze reinstall it.

4795209

[QUOTE=Wild and Blue;5850]You only get a 30 day trial period and after that it will no longer be fully fuctional but it should still rip to your hdd. Do you have problems with any other burning programs? you can use Fab on lappy's but slim type drives are VERY problematic. I suspect that's your problem. Can you borrow a usb type drive to troubleshoot with?

Edit: sorry Gregiboy, I was reading and got distracted.[/QUOTE]

Wild and Blue:

I can respect that if that's what you believe. But if that were true, why would the DVD Fab program allow me to burn DVDs after I uninstalled and then re-installed it? Also, the date that the program says it's good until changes every time I uninstall and reinstall it. Also, that does not address why it would burn some times and not other times and why the title of the last DVD burned is still stuck to my DVD burner drive name.

There's something happening after the blank DVD pops out of the burner with the DVD content on it, that's preventing it from reading DVDs after that. :(

4795209

Also, I have many flash drives, but what would that do to change anything?

W&B

Well I admit it is a stumper as to how you are getting around the 30 day trial but most here will tell you the same thing about the slim type drives. As for your drive not refreshing itself in windows explorer, I had the same problem about a year ago and it had something to do with a virtual drive I installed but I can't remember exactly what I did to correct that, only difference is mine would refresh if I scrolled my mouse pointer over it but your case seems much worse. I am positive it has nothing to do with Fab. Sounds like you might have some form of malware but thats just a guess. I'll dig around the net and see if I can come up with something, that was how I found the answer to my problem.

W&B

I remember now how I fixed my drives not refreshing. All I did was go to Control panel and selected the autorun icon. I keep mine always disabled since I do alot of video work and I don't like the pop up or any program starting after inserting a disc but after I installed a virtual drive it mucked something up. All I did was re-enable it, rebooted and then disabled it again and my drives would refresh after I ejected my disc or UNmounted my virtual drive. Might not be the fix for your problem though. I'm running Vista Ultimate x64 btw. As for the optiarc drive not working well with vista, I have a ad-7200a installed for about 6 months now and never had any problems and never personally heard of anyone having problems with any optiarc drives, less its a slim type but even then it's not brand specific.

4795209

The problem is frustrating because it seems as though there is a solution, but I can't figure it out. When I used DVD Fab before, it was the same problem. It would burn a few DVDs and then stop working. It would not read any new DVDs as being in the tray. I had been using HomeDVDCopy for a long time and that worked great, and then just stopped working one day as well. Uninstalling and re-installing did no good. It doesn't work no matter how many times I reinstall it and try different DVDs. That was not a trial version. But I just uninstalled it because it only takes up space if it never works any more.

The optiarc drive has worked very well for a long time, but the more programs I tried the less often it seemed to work well. When I say the drive has the title of the movie on it, if you go to "Computer," and then look at the DVD/CD drive which is the E drive, it has the title of the movie on the E drive. And the title stays there for a long time, almost as if it's stuck in what it was doing last. And I think the solution is somewhere in that. The program is stuck in what it was doing last and can't move on. It still thinks it's burning or trying to burn that same DVD title from before. If I can fix that weird glitch, I can fix the DVDFab program glitch.

GregiBoy

With the amount of time you are spending on this problem, it may be cheaper to just buy a new drive.

W&B

[QUOTE=4795209;5922]When I say the drive has the title of the movie on it, if you go to "Computer," and then look at the DVD/CD drive which is the E drive, it has the title of the movie on the E drive. And the title stays there for a long time, almost as if it's stuck in what it was doing last. And I think the solution is somewhere in that. The program is stuck in what it was doing last and can't move on. It still thinks it's burning or trying to burn that same DVD title from before. If I can fix that weird glitch, I can fix the DVDFab program glitch.[/QUOTE]
Understood, same glitch I had and as crazy as it sounds what I posted before fixed my problem with them not refreshing, only reason I tried that was after I Googled DVD drive not refreshing I found that somewhere and just tried it. Your problem sounds more serious and even with the many post I've read about ppl having problems burning with laptops with their internal burners I've never heard of that. Thats the only reason I suggested trying to borrow a usb type if possible to troubleshoot. Usually they just won't burn properly and when they do its either a bad burn that won't playback at all or skip/freeze. Other than that I really don't know since it is a general computer problem, sorry I can't be of more help.

maineman

Good advice from everyone...
It sounds like you're experiencing some sort of I/O conflict. Worse, the problem is somewhat intermittent and involves multiple software.
Worse still, you're there and we're not. It's not that your explanations are poor, they're actually quite good, but based on what we know, it's a bit of a crap shoot.

A few questions and I apologize if I've missed 'em.

I'm not understanding the free trial status...
As stated, the free trial will cease to function after 30 days unless you reformat your hdd or manually edit the registry...this would require knowing exactly how and what to edit.
Subsequent to the free trial period, the retail version will cease to function.
Only the freeware version will work and there is no burn utility...period.
It is a ripper only.

What OS are you using and how is your I/O mode configured in Fab...
ASPI, SPTI or Auto?

Do you have any packet writing software installed?
For eg., Nero's InCD is notorious for causing problems.

Have you tried what GregiBoy suggested and uninstalled the burner in device manager?

Is your burner in UDMA mode (if yes, which one?) and have ever you noted that it's fallen into PIO mode?

I hate to say it, but as GregiBoy said, slimline burners are crap when it comes to video archiving.
They're sure not inexpensive though, are they?
I would give serious consideration to buying an ext burner or tossing an internal burner into an external case.

4795209

To answer MainMan/Super Moderator's questions, I'll just list the questions and then my answers, since it's getting late and the caffeine's starting to wear off:

I'm not understanding the free trial status...
As stated, the free trial will cease to function after 30 days unless you reformat your hdd or manually edit the registry...this would require knowing exactly how and what to edit.
Subsequent to the free trial period, the retail version will cease to function.
Only the freeware version will work and there is no burn utility...period.
It is a ripper only.

Ok. All I can tell you is that I first installed it a while back, either a few weeks ago or a month ago. It worked great for a while and then just stopped altogether. I uninstalled it, ran C Cleaner (from CCleaner.com) and reinstalled in. It worked again and didn't show anything about it expiring by a certain date. Ran great one time but then conked out. I have a strong feeling I'm doing something wrong but can't put a finger on what.

What OS are you using and how is your I/O mode configured in Fab...
ASPI, SPTI or Auto?

I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 running Vista, laptop. I think it's a Sampron processor or something like that. I have no idea what I/O mode is or what the other things are, so I'd choose Auto if given the chance.

Do you have any packet writing software installed?
For eg., Nero's InCD is notorious for causing problems.

Not that I know of. I DID have HomeDVDClone.com's product for a while. That, too, worked great for a long time. It was paid for and just stopped working about two months ago. Just wouldn't read any more DVDs. Then I uninstalled it completely and tried DVD Fab.

Have you tried what GregiBoy suggested and uninstalled the burner in device manager?
I don't know how to do that. I was laid-off a few months ago and can't really afford a new burner yet, so don't want to do something I can't make right if I screw it up. If you guys tell me how to do it, how to fix whatever might come up, and tell me it's safe to do on my laptop, I'll try it and see if that works. It might. Wouldn't I need the burner device CD or original program to uninstall it and reinstall it?

Is your burner in UDMA mode (if yes, which one?) and have ever you noted that it's fallen into PIO mode?
This is way over my head, and don't know the answer to.

I really appreciate everybody helping so much, and I think DVD Fab is a great product. There seems to be some weird glitch going on from when it's done working, like a hiccup or something, that I'm not understanding. Seems to have something to do with a setting or something I'm not doing correctly.