Changing E Drive from DVD-RW to CD-RW

Hi,

I didn't see this exact problem in previous threads, so I'm asking for help with it.

I recently mistakenly put a DVD-RW disc in my computer's E Drive. It was the first time I ever used a DVD-RW, and I bought a box of them by mistake thinking they were CD-RW discs. (I wanted to save money that day, so I thought I'd get the discs rather than a USB stick.) Now when I go to Computer> E Drive> Properties> Recording I have some options, but see no way to make the E Drive have CD-RW as the default rather than DVD-RW. I checked all the other tabs in E Drive> Properties as well, but can see no way to do it. This is a problem, because I just tried to format a CD-RW disc, and it went through the process only to open a window at the end saying the disc was unable to be formatted. I don't know if the change in E Drive from CD-RW drive to DVD-RW drive is related to the problem I had formatting the disc, but I suspect it might be.

Can anyone tell me how to change the E Drive back to CD-RW? And does anyone know if the formatting problem is definitely related to that?

Any help is very much appreciated. I hope that if someone reads this and has a solution, the explanation is geared to someone who needs it clearly explained.

Thanks.

what are you trying to do with the cd? Ive never had to format one!

I just want to put music files onto the CD-RW disc. Maybe my documents, also. I'm getting ready to do a system recovery.

shouldn't have to format the discs, try one without formating!...ps for data you will get alot more on a dvd...good luck , tell us how it works..

I'm having trouble with that, surprisingly enough. I can remember dragging and dropping files, too, without formatting a disc, but now when I try, I'm not able to. When I dragged the MUSIC folder to the DVD RW Drive (E icon in the folders column, the round progress ring appears, and it spins for quite awhile. (I'm trying to describe the Vista progress icon that shows the computer is doing something.) Then if I open Task Manager, I see the Program Is Not Responding message.

Then I tried right clicking on my MUSIC folder, left clicking on SEND TO, but the E: Drive was not in the list of options as it should be.

Something is messed up today when I've opened COMPUTER, with the icons taking way to long to appear, and the Program Not Responding message appearing quite often. So, the thing I'll try now is a system restore, because yesterday I wasn't having these problems. Then I'll try to put the MUSIC folder onto the disc without formatting, and I'll tell you how it went.

perfect...good luck

Well, that didn't solve the problem. When I tried to put the files on the disc after the system restore, I got the following message:
Insert a disc
Please insert a disc into drive E:

and then the disc drive popped open. There was a disc in there already, of course.

Then the following appeared:
Insert a disc
Windows can't write to the disc you inserted. Please insert a writable disc into drive E:

The disc I was using is CD-RW so there shouldn't be a problem.

It would be good if I could at least resolve this, though I still don't know how to change the drive from DVD-RW to CD-RW. if I can at least get my MUSIC onto the disc, then I can do a system recovery, which I've put off too long. I've been unable to get my Windows Updates for awhile now, and so....

If you have any ideas, they're welcome, though I might have to browse the forums now that I've got the new problem as described. Your help is appreciated.

do you have your music in the windows media player? you can burn from there!

Hi again,
That would take quite a few discs, because I have many music files. I think I'll try to see what I have on my USB sticks, and if I can find some room on some of them for the files. I may have to put put some on one stick and some on another and some on a third, because they're pretty full, I think. I'm not a very organized person, I guess!

hello
see if this fixit from ms helps... Your CD or DVD drive cannot read or write media

ps you can burn your music to the dvd discs, 4.3gb holds alot of music...good luck

Thanks for replying again, and sorry for the delayed response. I tried to install the Microsoft tool you recommended, but an update was required, and I was unable to install that on my laptop. It is KB928439. My Windows Updates have not been working for a longer time that I want to admit, and I was trying to resolve that very problem today, but quit for awhile. So, I have multiple problems with my computer, and the thing to do seems to be to go ahead and do the system recovery. Thank you again for all of your suggestions.

Dinah K

sometimes thats just easier in the long run! you can still backup with dvd's, then reload them...good luck , let us know how it turns out!!