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Cannot Burn DVDs even with Snow Leopard

I have not been able to burn dvd's in either of my drives for over a month now. I can't do it in Toast or Disk Utility. I've tried cleaning the lenses and the "international fix," nothing works. I've come to the conclusion it's something in the most recent software that has changed something. Is there some way to install 10.4 on one of my external hard drives so I can boot up from that and try it? I downloaded 10.4.4 and 10.4.7 server update, but neither will let me install them. These drives aren't that old and since both stopped at the same time, it can't just be the drives.

2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon Mac LPro 2 GB 667MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM, Mac OS X (10.6), Optiarc DVD-RW AD-7170A ATA

Posted on Aug 28, 2009 4:55 PM

Reply
137 replies

Jan 2, 2011 5:37 PM in response to Mersalmararc

wow, I just tuned into this thread having upgraded my Macbook to Snow Leopard from Tiger last week and discovering I can't burn dvds anymore. CDrs yes, DVDs no.. My ancient copy of Toast doesn't even launch, which is fair enough I suppose, although others seem to have no trouble running it on SL - anyway, figured I needed to upgrade to Toast 10 but thought I'd check out the forum first and glad I did.

Amazing this has been ongoing for 16 months with no resolution!! What gives??

I've had much the same error messages as everyone else, even using Disk Utility or Burn, tried various brands of media, all failed..

this is pretty astounding, a major flaw to leave unchecked. If nothing is resolved real soon I'll have to go back to Tiger, which worked just fine.

Jan 7, 2011 5:52 AM in response to distantbombs

NOT FIXED IN 10.6.6. Not that I expected it...

I burned two coasters on a 2x DVD-R/RW in a MacBook (10.6.5) and 3 with a 4x DVD-R/RW in a MacBook Pro. Data was burned from 3 different sources, twice from externals via FireWire, and once from the internal disk AFTER repairing permissions and applying the 10.6.6 combo update in Safe Boot. I've covered my bases. I also believe it's a Mac OS issue. This is going to be expensive if I have to set up a special burning machine running 10.5.

"The disc can’t be burned because because communication between the computer and the disc drive failed (error code 0x80020022)"

Very sad. It's as if Steve killed support for discs.

Feb 9, 2011 4:57 AM in response to Steadinan

I'm having the same problem, and like everyone else here, the problems only commenced when I upgraded to Snow Leopard. I've owned Macs since the Classic II and own a reasonable amount of AAPL shares. I think I am getting to the stage where this will be my last Macintosh computer due to the exponentially increasing level of hardware difficulties I have experienced in each computer "upgrade" cycle - and more importantly Apple's decreased level of willingness/ability to address/acknowledge said products since their rapid expansion and increased focus on iPOD,iPAD and iPHONE.

Two Logic Board replacements on eMac (First one due to faulty ATI graphics card, second one soon after as the first replacement board was faulty), one macbook pro which can only access one memory module (common problem), two logic board replacements on my newish Macbook Pro (due to nVidia graphics problem for first one and then finding they had used faulty logic board which required replacement again for the second) and a battery which imploded and then started swelling, taking out the trackpad with it - apparently this is "normal" behaviour.

Seriously, I will keep the Apple shares as they have further to run, but it is sounding as though Windows 7 (I can't believe I am saying this) is a more mature and stable operating system where things (like burning DVD's) just work and when there is a hardware problem, I can address this myself with a firmware update or hardware replacement. As I have not used Windows and have so much Apple software, I am currently researching "Hackintosh" options - at least then I will be in control of my hardware/software compatibility options and should be able to circumvent - to some degree at least - this increasing ability of Apple to deny or ignore problems and leave them unaddressed and unacknowledged for 1.5 years ... for me Snow Leopard has been Apple's "Vista" and Apple is adopting more and more of Microsoft's bad habits each day.

Mar 16, 2011 5:19 AM in response to Mersalmararc

After working my way through a spindle of DVD-Rs (now coasters) I have found this topic!! I have just upgraded to a newer MacBook Pro which is running SL 10.6.6 and have found I can't burn DVDs. My last MacBook Pro was running Leopard and I didn't have a problem. Until I did a bit of research on the web I thought I just had a dodgy drive but after reading about everyone elses similar problems I ran heaps of tests. I've used toast, the finder, different media, different speeds. I've reset the PRAM, repaired disk permissions but I still get the error messages when verifying. Here's the weird thing and what makes me think it's software related... I can burn disks from files or DVDs ripped with my last Mac no problems at all. The files are stored on an external drive but they also burn fine when they're dragged to the new Macs HD. I migrated all my data from the last Mac to the new one using migration assistant so I don't know if that's screwed with anything? Aaargh! So frustrating!

Apr 6, 2011 7:32 AM in response to Gavanj

Welcome to Discussions, Gavanj

Gavanj wrote:
Dear Apple,

I just switched from a PC to a Mac. First "upgrade", my isight stopped working. Second software upgrade and my isight is working again, but I can't burn DVDs. This is a basic computer function. Please release another software update ASAP.

Thanks.


(1) You are NOT writing to apple here. Read this: http://discussions.apple.com/help.jspa



You can offer comments or suggestions for improvements directly to Apple from:



    http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Pick the product most closely associated with your concerns.
You will not get a response, but you can be certain that the responsible

Apple people will see your input for consideration in future products.


(2) While you are waiting for the next update, the current Combo Updates sometimes fix issues that arise after an OS X update. Try the 10.6.7 Combo Update using the following technique:

  • Backup your Mac and turn off Time Machine



  • Disconnect peripherals and restart Mac



  • Use Disk Utility to repair permissions



  • Download and install http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1361

  • Repair permissions again immediately following the restart that finishes the update.



  • Test DVD burning. Reconnect needed peripherals and test again.



 (• Turn Time Machine on again when you are satisfied that the update worked.)

Message was edited by: EZ Jim


Mac Pro Quad Core (Early 2009) 2.93Ghz Mac OS X (10.6.7)
MacBook Pro (13 inch, Mid 2009) 2.26GHz (10.6.7)
LED Cinema Display; G4 PowerBook 1.67GHz (10.4.11)
iBookSE 366MHz (10.3.9); External iSight; iPod4touch4.3.1

Apr 8, 2011 10:01 AM in response to Mersalmararc

Hello.
I'm completely new to this forum and trying to figure out why I can no longer burn DVDs. I get the error message: "The disc can’t be burned because because communication between the computer and the disc drive failed (error code 0x80020022)".
Can someone please explain to me in the simplest non-techy terms what I should do?...if there is a solution out there.
Thanks for your time.

Jun 15, 2011 6:47 PM in response to Mersalmararc

Same problem here. I can no longer burn DVDs after updating to Snow Leopard.


Trying to burn from Disk Utility, not any 3rd party software, so it shouldn't be an incompatibility issue there.


Tried with a couple of different sets of DVDs (DVD -R DL, DVD -R) which used to work fine before I updated to Snow Leopard.


Error is: "The disc can’t be burned because because communication between the computer and the disc drive failed (error code 0x80020022)".


Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro4,1

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.5 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 6 MB

Memory: 4 GB

Bus Speed: 800 MHz

Boot ROM Version: MBP41.00C1.B03

SMC Version (system): 1.27f3


MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-867:


Firmware Revision: HA13

Interconnect: ATAPI

Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)

Cache: 2048 KB

Reads DVD: Yes

CD-Write: -R, -RW

DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW

Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, DVD-DAO

Media: To show the available burn speeds, insert a disc and choose View > Refresh


Guess I'm looking at a trip to the Apple Store so they can tell me to buy something. 🙂

Jun 15, 2011 7:21 PM in response to benrobertsabq

FIXED. For me anyway.


I played with System Prefs a bit and now I can burn DVDs again.


Here's what fixed it for me:


System Preferences.


CD's & DVD's


Previously my preferences were set like this, note the "Ask What To Do" in the first two options and burning failed: 😟

User uploaded file



Set your preferences like this instead, "Ignore" in the first two options.

User uploaded file


Save your changes to prefs and exit.


Insert a blank DVD.


Wait for it to Spin up.


Click "Burn" in Disk Utility, and off it goes as normal and writes the DVD. 🙂


Makes absolutely *no* sense to me, but I made 5 coasters from two different sets of DVDs previously with my prefs set to Ask, and now after setting them to Ignore, just burned 4 different properly working disks.


Let me know if this helps anyone?

Aug 23, 2011 8:04 AM in response to Mersalmararc

So having the same problem as most folks here - my macbook pro (late 2008 intel) stopped burning DVDs with any program after an upgrade to snowleopard - after much digging around, I found this post:


http://joelmarcey.com/2009/01/05/macbook-pro-superdrive-burn-problems-update-fix ed-with-laser-lens-cleaner/


The solution is to go get a CD/DVD optical lens cleaner disk, run it, and then magically, the drive can burn DVDs again.


I tried it last night, it totally works.

Oct 12, 2011 12:09 PM in response to lnford

Your suggestion worked for me. However, the first time I ran "Repair Disk Permissions" it only solved the problems for burning photos onto a CD but not songs from iTunes. I then ran the "Verify Disk Permissions" and then ran "Repair Disk Permissions". This solved my problem and I can now burn disks again using my Mac Book Pro running Snow Leopard version 10.6.8 with the 2GHx Intel Core Duo processor.


Thanks for your suggestion.

Cannot Burn DVDs even with Snow Leopard

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