Problem writing dual layer, get error 'power calibration area is full'

[BigBird]

Got a 50 pack of Elite-M DVD+R DL, 8x discs. Bought them about two years ago. Have managed to write to couple of them in the past but have mostly failed. I've now fitted a new Plextor drive which I thought may solve the problem of failed writes but keep getting a 'power calibration area full' error.
A couple of times when I reboot the pc it manages to write a disk but now it won't at all. I think the reboot was just luck to be honest and nothing to do with any problem. Get the same problem in my other pc and laptop.

Have tried with ImgBurn and with nero with the same error. I guess it's the disks,,, I don't know. The disks I had a few more years back were not much good either but they used to fail half way through a write session and not due to 'power calibration area full'.

For the amount of success I've had with writing to dual layer the format may just as well not exist. Because of the early problems I had when dual layer writers first became available, I suppose I've avoided dual layer where at all possible, instead of sorting it out. If I remember rightly it was a bit hit and miss for most people at first. Is writing dual layer still much more problematic than single layer? Shouldn't be if the drives and the disks are designed for it.

Does anyone here have a good success rate with dual layer and if so what disks/program can you recommend?

BigBird (">

[evilsatan]

IMGBurn is a great bit of software and most will recommend Verbatim media or Taiyo Yuden. It is also a good idea to burn at 2-4x for a more stable write. I would be blaming the discs for your problem, poor quality discs cause all kinds of problems.

[fanni]

For me i always use verbatim discs and imgburn

ive tried loads of different brands in the past and just when you get a good burn from a new batch the rest of the pack will fail use the same writer and a pack of verbatims and you'll get everyone burn fine.

[pickie]

there 2 years old and a no name brand, chuck them in the bin and get some decent discs, verbatim DL 8x around £25 for 25 spindle, and i know what your prob thinking, i only paid £5 for these 25, if thats the case go buy another spindle of them and you might get a couple of good burns, if you want good results go get verbatims

[BigBird]

Thank you all for your input. I suspected the disks were the problem but was unsure whether dual layer writing was just problematic anyway, so was reluctant to buy more disks only to have the same problem again. Have just ordered a pack of 25 Verbatim disks from Amazon. Don't need them often but every now and again I have a large iso file to write to disk and it will save having to extract the files and split between two single layer disks. Probably won't use them for general backups because it's still cheaper to use single layer. Should have suspected a catch when I bought the Elite disks as they only cost me around £12 for a pack of 50 about two years ago.

BigBird (">

[rIKmAN]

IMGBurn and AOnes here for the last 5yrs (360/Data/DVD Films etc)

One or two coasters along the way but nothing noteworthy, and usually settings based or me doing other shit on the computer and causing it.

[flik]

AOnes for the last 5 years with less than a handful of fails. I have burnt thousands of discs over the years. You can buy 50 from Scan for less than 15 quid. Verbs are great but very overrated and overpriced. Oh and I burn iHas images at 4 speed and can download and unrar stuff at the same time with No coasters at all. I even watch HD movies off the hard drive whilst burning at four speed.

[BigBird]

Got my Verbatim disks yesterday and have just used two of them on a couple of iso's I've been keeping on the hard drive until I managed to sort the dual layer burning problem. Worked perfectly without any problems. Thanks again for the advice and also to rIKmAN and flik for the AOne suggestion. Will certainly consider them next time for that price.

The one thing I don't understand is how other manufacturers can get away with selling DL disks that are not up to the job.

BigBird (">

[ka$h]

The one thing I don't understand is how other manufacturers can get away with selling DL disks that are not up to the job.

The other disks are manufactured to a specification/standard.

The fact that they are not compatible with your writer is another matter. They may work fine in someone elses, but for some reason (made to a higher standard than the bare minimum), the verbs seem to work on almost everyone's writers without many failures.

K

[matthewy2]

Ive had this issue before. Verbs worked for a little while after but in the end they stopped working to.

Replaced the dvd writer fixed the issue for me

[pickie]

Ive had this issue before. Verbs worked for a little while after but in the end they stopped working to.

Replaced the dvd writer fixed the issue for me

but i hope you still used verds after getting a new burner, ive been through many dvd burners and only use verbs, least the brand of disc is out of the equasion if something goes wrong