How-To Geek

I have been using a 2010 version of a burning software that seemed to work well, until now, all I am doing is wasting money on disks as the errors pile up. I thought I would see what other users of Win8 would recommend. I have win8 Pro, 64-bit on a desktop PC. Unfortunately, I have an old PATA writer installed via ribbon on my mobo, but that did not seem to be a factor, I was able to burn data, music, backups, etc. No links needed, just give me the names of software for me to research! Thank you!

"...an old PATA writer..."
It's possible that you're erroring out due to the laser having reached the end of its lifespan.

check the connection of the ribbon on the optical drive and mobo as well. I had that happen one time and that was the problem. One of the connectors was not seated properly. Sounds like a hardware problem.

Really think it is hardware related. You could try installing another burning program or uninstalling and reinstalling the one you have now. Then see what happens. If that doesn't fix it you may have to consider that your optical drive is bad.

Another way to look at this is to clean the laser head, this can be done by camera brush, isopropyl alcohol or a good blast with air dependent on your access to the drive.
With any burning but especially with DVD the laser path must be clear.
Another thing to note is that burning speed is very important, the lesser is the better for .iso, apps and music / videos.

And the best option for this is -r DVD, less coasters in the end.

Mike