"DVD player encountered a system error, error: -36"

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Level 1

8 points

"DVD player encountered a system error, error: -36"

I burned video with iDVD and when I try to play the dvd I get a message which states, "DVD player encountered a system error, error: -36". One DVD disk will not play at all and keeps trying to load. Another DVD disk will load, but will say that there is a system error. Anyone know about this problem?

Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.5)

Posted on Dec 20, 2010 12:03 PM

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Answer 1

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Dec 20, 2010 12:15 PM in response to JD101

Type -36 error (I/O Errors (bummers)
This file is having difficulty while either reading from the drive or writing to the drive. The file
may have been improperly written data to the drive or the hard drive or disk may be damaged.
This is almost always indicative of a media error (hard error on the disk). Sometimes (rarely) it is transient.
Solutions: Try copying the file to another drive. Use a disk recovery software, such as Disk First Aid to examine the disk. You can try rebooting with all extensions off. Once in a while this will allow you to read the data. The file in question should be restored from a backup that was stored on a different disk. Regular backups can reduce the time to recover from this error.

My first guess is that you used poor quality DVD media. Maxell and Verbatim are good.

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Answer 2

JD101 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 20, 2010 2:38 PM in response to F Shippey

I am also getting the following messages: "Skipping over damaged area". This occurs on other burned discs as well. I am now getting "error: -69889" and "error: 69902".

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Answer 3

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Dec 20, 2010 2:49 PM in response to JD101

What brand of writable media are you using?

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Answer 4

JD101 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 20, 2010 9:14 PM in response to F Shippey

I am using Memorex DVD+R.

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Answer 5

JD101 Author

Level 1

8 points

Dec 20, 2010 10:48 PM in response to F Shippey

I just placed the burned DVD discs into another Macbook Pro and they played fine. It appears that the discs are properly being burned on the first Macbook, but unable to be played back on that same computer.

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Answer 6

F Shippey

Level 7

21,500 points

Dec 21, 2010 7:34 AM in response to JD101

I am using Memorex DVD+R.

I suspected as much. Many of us here have had very bad luck with Memorex DVD media.

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