[CaptainHaddock]

I've noticed that since installing the latest Mac OS updates, I can no longer burn CDs or DVDs with Toast. Burning starts out fine, but always ends with some kind of hardware error. This is a huge pain, I need to burn a lot of discs for the multimedia work I do.

I've confirmed that my hardware works fine; in fact, I can still burn with the Finder. But the Finder is useless for authoring DVDs, backing up CDs and DVDs, and lots of other stuff. I should also add that I'm using the same media that worked just fine a month ago. My machine is a 20" iMac about 2 months old.

From searching the forums at Roxio and Macfixit.com, I've confirmed that many other people can no longer burn either. The problem hasn't been acknowledged by Apple or Roxio, and no fix is forthcoming.

Any ideas for other CD and DVD copying/burning software?

[fisherKing]

reinstall toast?
repair permissions??
try burning at a slower speed (at least see if that helps)

running 10.3.5 & have no such problem.

[CaptainHaddock]

I've done all this, it makes no difference. Obviously, not *everyone* is having this problem, but I'm not the only one either. I'm beginning to wonder if I should just disable all software updates, since things seem to keep breaking (like FTP the other day).

[Jasoco]

I don't know what it is, but maybe it's just coincidence or luck, but I can't recall an update breaking anything on my computer.

But of course, I haven't tried burning a CD lately. For all I know, that could be one thing I can't do now. Guess I better check.

[Big Mac]

Originally posted by CaptainHaddock:
I've done all this, it makes no difference. Obviously, not *everyone* is having this problem, but I'm not the only one either. I'm beginning to wonder if I should just disable all software updates, since things seem to keep breaking (like FTP the other day).

Sometimes things break with system updates. I've never had a problem with one throughout the history of Mac OS X, though. If anything, the incremental updates have added support rather than taking it away. An external burner I bought awhile ago for my iBook did not have Finder burning support until I applied one of the updates.

[Love Calm Quiet]

I've got 10.3.5 on a TiBook & on an iBook. Neither can burn a CD-R via finder now. Not even burning at 1x rate.

Both quit after "11.61% burned". iBook said there was a hardware malfunction. But this is quite a coincidence both are now failing to write.

Also, using Disk Utility, both machines produced unmountable CDs. How many are having this problem?

[Webscreamer]

Nope. No it doesn't.

[ryju]

All works fine here.

[CatOne]

I can burn CDs fine from the finder with 10.3.5. Burned 5 or 6 of 'em (photos on a recent trip).

However, I CANNOT successfully burn a DVD from the finder. It bombs out about 1/4 way through the burn

[Love Calm Quiet]

Has anyone with "burning" problems tried trashing any plist files? (I wouldn't know which to try)

Fixes lots of other sins...

[CaptainHaddock]

Wow, I'm definitely not alone here. :/ I've produced a pile of coasters in the last few days trying to burn CDs and DVDs, and I never had a problem before.

What's even more annoying is that I don't have any problems doing simulated burns. Just the real ones crap out.

Hey Apple, anyone reading this? Any ideas?

[dtriska]

Originally posted by CaptainHaddock:
Hey Apple, anyone reading this? Any ideas?

Apple doesn't read these forums. It does, however, host its own forums.

[MacGallant]

I burn cds fine in Finder and Toast. I'm using Toast version 6.05, not the latest one though.

[ryju]

I burned a DVD last night in iDVD, worked fine, but I unhooked all my peripheral devices just incase.

[Macpilot]

Did you try doing the Combo Installer?

I had some issues with the 10.3.5 stand-alone updater, so I downloaded the full 88mb Combo Updater and I think it solved some stuff.

By the way, I have not had trouble burning CDs or DVDs.

Good luck.

[EdipisReks]

mine works fine in 10.3.5, with both the finder and Toast Titanium 5.2.1

[xtremekinetix]

Tried (for the first time, BTW) to burn a DVD to back up files on my AlBook HD. Used Toast 6 and a Lacie external DVD-R/RW drive (in the print lab at my school). Not only did the burn process shut down shortly (about 3-5 min) into it, but somehow my computer is completely messed up right now. Finder freezes up on me all the time and won't relaunch, and my HD icon is now appearing out among the other icons scattered on my desktop, rather than in the top right corner where it normally should. (Actually, where the DVD-R icon was at.)

To make matters worse, (like an idiot�don't ask me why) I inserted the DVD that failed to burn into my slot loading drive to see if anything had burned onto it. My computer wouldn't recognize it�it just sat there spinning away in the drive. I tried to eject it with the eject button, restarting holding down the mouse button, restarting from the command line and typing "eject CD"�all nothing. I tried all this several times. (In fact, the computer froze up at various points throughout all of this.) I called Apple's support line�no help. I took it to my university bookstore's Apple service dept, and they said that they would have to open up the drive, that it would most about $90, and that most likely I would have to replace the whole drive. Not good.

Finally, out of desperation, I start tooling with the drive. I read on here somewhere on this forum that someone got a stuck disk out by sticking a screwdriver in the drive and stopping the CD from spinning, thus forcing the computer to spit it out. So, I took a business card and inseted it into the drive (above the disc so as to not damage the lens), and�viola�the computer spits the disc out. I'm psyched because I just avoided pouring a ton of cash into some unnecessary fix on my computer.

At any rate, my HD icon is still appearing out of place. Anyone got any suggestions for what might be up, and how to fix it?

If nothing else, I just wanted to add my 2 cents that I have also, I guess, experienced the failed burn with 10.3.5. Ugh.

[MacGallant]

Originally posted by xtremekinetix:
Tried (for the first time, BTW) to burn a DVD to back up files on my AlBook HD. Used Toast 6 and a Lacie external DVD-R/RW drive (in the print lab at my school). Not only did the burn process shut down shortly (about 3-5 min) into it, but somehow my computer is completely messed up right now. Finder freezes up on me all the time and won't relaunch, and my HD icon is now appearing out among the other icons scattered on my desktop, rather than in the top right corner where it normally should. (Actually, where the DVD-R icon was at.)

To make matters worse, (like an idiot�don't ask me why) I inserted the DVD that failed to burn into my slot loading drive to see if anything had burned onto it. My computer wouldn't recognize it�it just sat there spinning away in the drive. I tried to eject it with the eject button, restarting holding down the mouse button, restarting from the command line and typing "eject CD"�all nothing. I tried all this several times. (In fact, the computer froze up at various points throughout all of this.) I called Apple's support line�no help. I took it to my university bookstore's Apple service dept, and they said that they would have to open up the drive, that it would most about $90, and that most likely I would have to replace the whole drive. Not good.

Finally, out of desperation, I start tooling with the drive. I read on here somewhere on this forum that someone got a stuck disk out by sticking a screwdriver in the drive and stopping the CD from spinning, thus forcing the computer to spit it out. So, I took a business card and inseted it into the drive (above the disc so as to not damage the lens), and�viola�the computer spits the disc out. I'm psyched because I just avoided pouring a ton of cash into some unnecessary fix on my computer.

At any rate, my HD icon is still appearing out of place. Anyone got any suggestions for what might be up, and how to fix it?

If nothing else, I just wanted to add my 2 cents that I have also, I guess, experienced the failed burn with 10.3.5. Ugh.

I experienced the "icon scattered all over the place" problem after I updated toast 6 to version 6.07.

I tried deleting the many preferences including the finder.plist but the "scattered icon" problem was still there. I was forced to do a erase and install as a last resort and that fixed it.

Here's another way to resolve the icon problem if you're afraid to do a erase and install, it was a tip posted at Apple's forums. See if it works for you.

http://discussions.info.apple.com/we....0@.6898eeae/1

[Grrr]

AppleInsider have reported on 10.3.6 which apparently includes some important revisions relating to the burning of optical media.
Have a look..
http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=663