Troubleshooting DVD burning problems on my Macs.
December 20, 2011 9:05 AM   Subscribe

Help me burn these family movie DVDs on my Mac, please!

I have a DVD of some family movies that I would like to burn some copies of. Problem is: It doesn't work.

I have put the disk into three different Macs I have and they spit it out. I have tried it in all three and they respond much like when you try to give cough syrup to a toddler.

Is there any way I can access the files or pull the files off?

I have tried to play it on my brand new iMac, my old G4 PPC Powerbook, and my ancient circa 2002 iMac.
None of them register it at all.
They recognize other media without a problem.

It is a Maxwell DVD+R. This should work. I have both played and burned DVDs on both the new iMac and the Powerbook before - is there a reason it isn't working this time? Everything else is fine.

I thought that I could pull the files onto a jump drive and then burn it one at a time.

It plays in some DVD players.

It is only video, there is no audio.

I would really like to have this done by Christmas, if I can.

Thanks!
posted by Tchad to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)
 
Response by poster: Perhaps I should add:
I will have access tonight to an old Dell laptop if that would help me get to the files.
posted by Tchad at 9:07 AM on December 20, 2011


Have you tried cleaning the dvd?

Personally, I'd call the nearest Apple store and make an appointment with the genius bar. They're pretty good at figuring this kind of thing out.
posted by empath at 10:07 AM on December 20, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks, Empath. I won't have access to an Apple store until after Christmas. The disk is pristine and has only been played once or twice. Thought maybe there was some kind of voodoo I could do to get it to work.
posted by Tchad at 10:25 AM on December 20, 2011


If the DVD+Rs keep getting spit out, it's possible the issue is with the media. Run and get a different brand of DVD+R (or DVD-R) and give those a try. Try to find something with the slowest maximum burn speed.

If you're using iDVD to make your DVDs, check to see if your version has the option to output to .dmg (in the File menu, the option is to "Save as Disc image"). You can then put that .dmg file on a thumb drive and burn it elsewhere.
posted by inviolable at 10:32 AM on December 20, 2011


Oh, for some reason I thought you were trying to READ the DVDs.. Yeah, just get a different kind. Mac's can be picky..
posted by empath at 11:41 AM on December 20, 2011


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