Burn Failed

Question

Level 1

13 points

Burn Failed

I started received the following iPhoto message when trying to backup my iPhoto library to either a DVD or CD. "The burn to the Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-106D drive failed. The device failed to respond properly, unable to recover or retry." I can burn from iTunes, and just recently burned a slideshow: I presume this is not a mechanical problem. Any assistance or advice will be greatly appreciated. This problem is on iPhoto '08 on my G5 (v7.1.5). Thank you.

G4 G5, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 12, 2009 7:33 PM

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Answer 1

LarryHN

Level 10

106,110 points

Jan 12, 2009 11:34 PM in response to Anele

has the error occured multiple times? It might just be a bad disk

LN

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Answer 2

Anele Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 13, 2009 9:06 AM in response to LarryHN

Hi, No it's not a defective disk. I've tried 3 different boxes of disks and several from each box. I've also tried to back up from 150 pictures to 700 pictures on a DVD, to see if quantity makes a difference. That didn't pan out either. I'm open to more suggestions before I drag this G5 tower to the Apple Store. Thanks.

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Answer 3

shhhh

Level 1

0 points

Jan 21, 2009 5:29 PM in response to Anele

I am having the same problem. My drive works fine when I'm using iTunes, so it's not the drive. I tried deleting the preferences file, as someone suggested on a previous posting, but no luck with that. One more user eager for suggestions!

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

207,451 points

Jan 21, 2009 8:47 PM in response to Anele

Try the basic fix: close iPhoto, delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your User/Library/Preferences folder, launch iPhoto and see if that helps.

TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. Just put the application in the Dock and click on it whenever you want to backup the dB file. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Note: There's now an Automator backup application for iPhoto 5 that will work with Tiger or Leopard.

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Answer 5

Anele Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 31, 2009 3:25 PM in response to shhhh

Hi, sorry for the delayed response, but, I did break down and called the Apple Technical support, and indeed they told me to delete to the Trash the plist of iPhoto and the Cache. Did not work. I was advised to pull out the files which I wantd to copy onto a Burn folder on my desktop and proceed from there. It is presumed there is one photo (out of 18000) that is defective, and preventing an efficient burn directly from iPhoto. This cannot be the final solution.

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