Stupid Dell Inspiron DVD Burner

I have a year old inspiron e1505. I have tried in the past to burn DVDs but failed. Now somebody told me that my burner might only be able to burn DVD RW discs. Is this possible? I can burn CDs but can never burn DVDs that actually plays in my DVD player.

In device manager it does say Phillips DVD+-RW SDVD8820 and a SCSI CDRom Device.

Can I only use DVD RW discs then? Does it matter whether I buy + or -(which one is better for the price)? Help,

 

No, you should be able to burn DVD Rs as well, call up dell support. My drive says the same thing (I have a Dell Desktop)

but i can burn any type of media fine

Phillips DVD+-RW DVD8701

 

This might be a problem with the firmware for the Phillips dvdrw drive or the preinstalled burning software. Unfortunately, there are no updates available from the dell website. You may want to try this free software from this site:
http://www.burn4free.com/

It may fix your problem.

 

There's a thread about problems with that drive model at the CDfreaks forum. Some people there suggested solutions. It sounds like the Phillips DVD+-RW SDVD8820 is known to have a lot of issues.
link

FYI -- Firefox blocked a popup from that site -- probably just a nuisance ad, but who knows.

 

Thanks

Dell is sending a replacement Sony drive over. thanks for all the help!

BTW, I heard DVD-R disc are not good because they might not be compatible with all burners or players, and its too bad I already bought a pack. Should I return it for a DVD+R? Whats the main difference and whiuch ones should I stick with? Thanlks!!

 

If you're going to be burning data, use DVD+R's. If you're going to be burning movies and playing them on an old (like 8 years old) standalone DVD player (the type that attaches to a TV and not the type inside a computer), use DVD-R's. The brand also has an effect on readability, as does the drive that burns the disc.