mrblobby,
I am finding your question to be a
very difficult question.
Too many factors could be causing the problem. Please forgive the question, but sometimes when people are asked what media they are using, they believe firmly that media choice is
not their problem so they name a known good media so that we will all get off the subject of media. I would sure hate to find out in the end that you really have been using these Arita DVD+R DL disks that you mentioned and never tried Verbatim. Again forgive the question, but I gotta know for real...
Also need to confirm that you are bitsetting your +R media, ...yes?
That aside,
... I think that the Lead in is not written...
on this point, and your earlier worries about finalization, I think you are just postulating and I doubt this course of thought is part of the solution.
... The drive is a slave with a HD as master. My other optical drive is also a slave behind a different HD...
A burner should never be configured as a slave. Master only. A ripper can be configured as a slave. And ... a small point perhaps, but HD stands for High Definition; HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive.
...Both these HD's are in Raid mirror mode. Maybe I have to change this setup ...
This may be the key to your problem. Raid arrays can cause big problems. RAID arrays, in mirror mode, are meant to protect HDD data (a method of backup) by way of redundancy, laying out the same data in two to four different locations over 2-two drive mirrored arrays. A configuration like this can cause nightmares for backing up movies!!! I am going to consult with a member friend on another board who, I seem to remember, knows about RAID problems. I will try to get her to pop in here and comment (no guarantees) ... her name is reasonsnotrules. In the mean time try changing AnyDVD to "Safe Mode" in its "Program Settings" area ... see if you get a working backup.
...I will check if my round IDE cable has 80 wires, if you say that helps I will buy other cables...
I believe these new round, air flow type cables came to market long after 80 wire ribbon cables became the norm so I don't think you can even buy 40 wire round cables. But I could be wrong.
My system is rather full with drives, 2x IDE HD, 2x SATA HD and 3 optical drives, 2 IDE and one SATA. Changing this configuration is a real pain...
Now for my best solution: you have, basically, a graphics workstation quality rig. Probably very powerful and full featured. Making backups is a delicate process but doesn't require a fabulous system. Simple is better and without a lot of conflicting programs, drivers and bus & RAID issues. Instead of dealing with all these complex variables, your objective should be to eliminate conflicts.
A guy with your resources can afford to do the following: Do you have an older motherboard around? ... all you need for backups is a PIII processor ... and a few other spare parts. Buy or scrounge-up a case, MB, powersupply, one smallish HDD, a ripper, a burner and put together a box dedicated to your backups. Don't connect it to the internet. Don't load antivirus or firewalls. Download your Slysoft upgrades to a flash drive on your main computer, run a virus check on those files and then upgrade your backup box via the USB flashdrive. Read the minimum system requirements for the slysoft products you are using. Load Windows2000 SP4 (requires no web connection to MS for activation). Forget Vista, you don't need all the new stuff to make simple backups of your movies. Again, I suggest that your objective should be to eliminate conflicts. My bet is, a simple configuration = the end of your problems.
I suggest this low tech IDE configuration:
IDE0-Master: HDD
IDE0-Slave: Ripper
IDE1-Master: Burner
IDE1-Slave: any drive or no drive (doesn't matter)
Best regards,
Whisperer