Write DVD!
Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I play movies?
How do I redownload my order?
Do DVD ROM disks read DVD RAM media?
Why doesn't my SCSI DVD RAM drive work on a RAID card?  
Why can I not write to the DVD RAM?
Why did the DVD RAM start showing as write protected, when I used to be able to write to it?
Can I use the new single sided 4.7 gig or 9.4 gig double sided media?
Why can I not format a disk on a WinNT or Win2000 system?
Why does my Toshiba sd-w 1111 not write reliably?
Why is my Toshiba sd-w not recognized?
What is the capacity of DVD RAM disks?
Why did my DVD RAM drive disappear on a win98 system?
How do I manually remove WriteDVD from a win2K system?
What DVD RAM drives are supported?
Why do I not see a removable drive icon on my WinNT or Win2K system?
How do I have WriteDVD coexist with EZ CD Creator on win2K systems?
I have a damaged DVD RAM cartridge, what can I do?
Why can't I see all my partitions on a cartridge?
Why did I get"class not registered" in Win2000 when installing writeDVD?
What requirements are necessary for Write DVD! to support DVD-R?
Why do I not see a removable drive icon on my Windows XP system?
Why if Windows98 or WindowsME user installs the 'Windows Media Player 7' update it doesn't work?
How do I uninstall the Adaptec plug-in from Windows98?
How do I uninstall the Adaptec plug-in from WindowsME?

Question: Why can't I play movies?

Answer: DVD movies are encoded in MPEG2. This requires a special decoder that is either hardware or software. We make neither. The sellers of your DVD drive should be able to find you a decoder. In order to play DVD Movies, try using the SAI file system switch utility to use OS embedded ISO 9660 for DVD-ROM.  We've had a very difficult time getting MPEG2 decoders to work with DVD-RAM drives. The decoder companies often have updates to their software. Please contact them for support. Back to top of page.

Question: How do I redownload my order?

Answer: Digital River handles our online ordering. You can redownload from their site at http://www.digitalriver.com/cs

Question: Do DVD ROM disks read DVD RAM media?

Answer: There are some that do but not all do.  The best way to find out for a specific drive is to read the spec(ification) sheet for that drive.  If the DVD ROM drive says multiread, it should read DVD RAM media.  Some of the DVD ROM drives that do read DVD RAM media only read 2.6G media not 4.7G media.  A good URL to use to get a list of DVD ROM drives that read DVD RAM media is   Back to top of page.

Question: Why doesn't my SCSI DVD RAM drive work on a RAID card?

Answer: We have never succeeded in getting them to work on a RAID card, please use a regular SCSI card.  Back to top of page.

Question: Why can I not write to the DVD RAM?

Answer: Please clean the lens (instructions on how to do this should have come with the drive) and the media.  Back to top of page.

Question: Why did the DVD RAM start showing as write protected, when I used to be able to write to it?

Answer: Please use the removable drive icon.  Also most DVD RAM drives only write to DVD RAM media.  Back to top of page.

Question: Can I use the new single sided 4.7 gig or 9.4 gig double sided media?

Answer: If the number that identifies the drive does not start with 1 (one) then you can.  Back to top of page.

Question: Why can I not format a disk on a WinNT or Win2000 system?

Answer: You need administrative rights to be able to format a disk. Back to top of page.

Question: Why does my Toshiba sd-w 1111 not write reliably?

Answer: Please update the firmware to 1012:
Official way:
The latest firmware is 1012.  For firmware updates, You would need to send the drive into the Repair Center in Fremont CA.  Call 510 651-6798 or fill out the RMA form online at
www.pcs-sj.com and click TOSHIBA RMA. 

In the SCSI Controller for the ID of the DVD-RAM drive. You want to Make sure that the Maximum Transfer Rate is set for 20MB/s. Disconnect Yes. 
Sync Negotiations Yes.
Wide Negotiations NO.
Installing a jumper on pin 5 (verify) will speed up the drive.

Unofficial way (win98 program):
http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/firmware/dvd/dvdrf.htm

Neither method is officially supported by us since these are supplied by other parties. Back to top of page.

Question: Why is my Toshiba sd-w not recognized?

Answer: If you have the Intel Ultra ATA Storage driver of versions of the Intel Application Accelerator prior to 2.2; you need to update to version 2.2 or later of the Intel Application Accelerator. Back to top of page.

Question: What is the capacity of DVD RAM disks?

Answer: After a disk is formatted:  2.3 gig on a 2.6 side and 4.3 gig on a 4.7 side.  On double sided disks, they must be physically flipped over. Back to top of page.

Question: Why did my DVD RAM drive disappear on a win98 system?

Answer: If you hit ctrl+alt+del (all three keys at once) then stimon will show as running.  End task on stimon and the dvd ram disk will show up again.  We suggest upgrading to Write DVD Pro. Back to top of page.

Question: How do I manually remove Write DVD from a win2K system?

Answer: Please delete from system 32:

sai_32.dll and also sai_32nt.dll

Also delete from system32\drivers

 saidvd.sys and also saiudf.sys

Also delete the entire write DVD! directory from Program files.

In windows\inf there are oem.inf or oem?.inf files that might be ours.  need to take a look and see something towards the top like saidvd or copyright Software Architects.  If that is there delete that file and the corresponding .PNF file.

Finally from device manager delete both the removable disk (if it is there under disk drives) and also delete the dvd ram (not the cd rom) from under cd roms.

Also delete the Software Architects key from Hot_Key_Local_Machine\Software Back to top of page.

Question: What drives are supported?

Answer: Drive support list for Write DVD!

  Back to top of page.

Question: Why do I not see a removable drive icon on my WinNT or Win2K system?

Answer: Put DVD RAM cartridge in drive and let drive recognize that it has media in it.

WinNT:  Start Disk Administrator (start\programs\administrative tools).  Then under disk drives (not cd roms) find a listing for the DVD RAM and assign a drive letter.

Win2K:  Start Disk Management MMC (right click on my computer, click on manage, then click on disk management).  Then under disks (not cd\dvd roms) find a listing for the DVD RAM and assign a drive letter.

  Back to top of page.

Question: How do I have Write DVD coexist with EZ CD Creator on a Win2K system?

Answer: Depends on version of EZ CD.  If version 5, please install EZ CD 5 then 5.0.1 patch and then install EZ CD.  If version 4 much more complicated but it is right below:

Uninstall writeDVD and EZ CD Creator.  Use the steps at the end to finish uninstalling  EZ CD Creator.  Install writeDVD reinstall EZ CD

Talking about uninstall, there is a bug in the EZ CD uninstallation.   EZ CD does not remove all the files.  It will leave the filter drivers behind in the system and causes the dvd-rom disc problem even after you ran uninstall.  To fully cleanup, you will have to manually remove the drivers.  Here are the steps

For ver 4.02c

============

1) remove the files Cdralw2k.sys and Cdr4_2k.sys in \winnt\system32\drivers\

2) remove the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdralw2k

3) remove the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdr4_2k

4) remove the registry value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\LowerFilter

5) remove the registry value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\UpperFilter

For ver 4.0

==========

1) remove the file Cdr4vsd.sys in \winnt\system32\driver\.

2) remove the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdr4vsd

  Back to top of page.

Question: I have a damaged DVD RAM cartridge, what can I do?

Answer: Depends on the format of the volume. If UDF, then FixDVD! can be used for a fix. If FAT, FAT32 or NTFS need to use a disk repair utility that recognizes those formats (e.g. Norton) Back to top of page.

Questions: Why can't I see all my partitions on a cartridge?

Answer: If you make multiple partitions under FAT, you need to reboot your computer to reflect the changes (98 only; only one partition is allowed on removable media under 2000 and NT) Multiple FAT partitions are only possible under 9x / ME; it is possible to create multiple partitions in all windows forms but only 9x and ME will see more than one partition. UDF only allows for one partition. NT and 2000 only allow one partition on removable media. Also NTFS is not recommended for removable media like DVD RAM. Back to top of page.

Question: Why did I get "class not registered" in Win2000 when installing Write DVD!?

Answer: If you got "setup failed to run installation: class not registered" then run dcomcnfg and on the applications tab, choose install shield setup kernel and go to properties. Change the authentication level from default to none.

Question: What requirements are necessary for Write DVD! to support DVD-R?

Answer:That the drive supports DVD-R. The support is implemented by means of an image file. Back to top of page.

Question: Why do I not see a removable drive icon on my Windows XP system?

Answer: With WriteDVD! ver. 4.0.8 or later on Windows XP, the second drive icon is no longer supported.Back to top of page.