DVD burner question - is my burner dying ?

[Mikey]

Hi guys,
I have a question as to whether you think my in-computer DVD burner is dying or do you think the problem might be something else ?

My burner worked fine up until today ....

How it normally ran was it would take about 7-ish minutes to do a complete burn.
Both buffers would move, but they'd mostly stay on the high side.

Starting today,
My burns are taking a good 10 -13 minutes to complete.
Both buffer are going crazy, but mostly stay down very low ... sometimes you can't even see the graph - they're so low.
The computer - or burner --- also is making funny sounds ... like reaving an engine up and down.
A few times the burn just stopped 3/4 of the way through ... ruining the blank discs.

I tried a few things ....
I rebooted the computer .....
Used a different brand blank (incase I got a bad batch of discs)
Tried downloading and reburning something I already burned that worked fine in the past.

None of the above worked.

Does this sound like the burner has had it ?

[cjefferys]

It sounds like it could be the burner. How long have you had it? I'm guessing that you've used it a lot? I would have tried the same things you did (rebooting, etc) but yeah, these things don't last forever (except my Pioneer burner, that thing is a tank ). At least new burners aren't too expensive now, so I'd try to buy a new one and see if it works (try to get one at a store that is good with returns, so that you can return it if it turns out that the burner isn't the problem)

[Mikey]

I've had this burner for about maybe 8 months or so.

I would guess I burned between 200 - 400 DVD's with it.

[cjefferys]

Hmm, that doesn't seem too old or too well used yet. (my Pioneer is about 4 1/2 years old and I've probably burned a couple thousand or more discs with it). Do you know what make of burner yours is?

[Mikey]

It's a Phillips

[cjefferys]

I've never used that brand of burner and really haven't heard anything either good or bad about them. So I guess that doesn't help me much. Maybe you could check if the burner has a warranty? If it did crap out on you, I would hope that Phillips stands by their product if it's under a year old.

[mitchedwards]

Could be your burner. My DVD burner on my new PC died after 4 months and hardly being used.

newegg.com has some great prices on replacement parts.

[Mikey]

I called Walmart up and their cheapest in-tower burner is an HP for $55.00

Seems expensive for Walmart

[spaceace35]

try newegg.com
i score a sweet deal for like $25 delivered for a great burner

[Cosmicman]

Phillips burners (especially the older ones) are known to take a dump.

[tay666]

Might be your burner.
But before you replace it, have you checked to make sure you didn't get infected with any malware or viruses?
Something could be hogging system resources and not leaving enough for the burner to do it's job.