HAVE PROBLEMS? Some initial CloneDVD points before you post

Before posting about your problem, please do some of us a favour so that we can help you better.
Follow the steps, and do/answer/provide information for 5A through to and including 5F.


Follow these steps, step by step (both Pre-steps and the Regular steps, which follow the pre-steps):


Section I. Pre-steps

i. Clean the disc (yes, even brand new discs may have a slight oily film that needs to be cleaned off)
Here's something you may not know: simply because a disc plays fine and looks fine doesn't mean
it is fine. Dvds can be defective right out of the shrinkwrap due to poor quality control during the
manufacturing process. Companies like to outsource for the cheapest manufacturing costs, including
outsourcing for cheap labour. Well, the consumer ends up paying for cheap quality control in the end.
Click this (take a look at #2, #17, and
#47 from that link).

ii. Remove packet writing software from your system, including Roxio's Directcd, Nero's Incd, Roxio/Sonic's
DragtoDisc or Drive Letter Access, CyberLink InstantBurn, NTI's Filecd, etc.
Click this, and read fully.
It's important that those filter entries do NOT appear in your registry.


iii. Check to see if there's an updated firmware version for your burner and your reader; see this example for instructions.


iv. Set your drive's region code if it's not set already. With some dvds and some drives, Anydvd may not decrypt CSS unless your drive's region code is set properly. You
must exit Anydvd when checking. No; it does not matter if you set your drive's region code. You don't lose anything. There's nothing to worry about. You set your drive's region code once, and with Anydvd you'll never have to change it again.

So what should you do if you see "Drive (Hardware) Region: 0 (not set!)"
in Anydvd's status window? Do this:

• Right click the fox on your system tray. Exit Anydvd
• Click start. Right click on "My computer"--->select "properties".
• Click on the 'Hardware' tab--->click the 'device manager' button.
• Open the dvd/cdrom branch---> right click on your optical drive
• Click "properties".
• You should have a region tab. From there you can select a region.
• Select the region that you're in
• Start Anydvd

Section II. Regular Steps

1. Use the latest Anydvd release which you'll normally see as the top sticky in the AnyDVD(HD) thread.
You may need to reboot after installing if prompted to do so.

2. Click the red fox icon on your system tray. Click "default". Click "ok". Insert the disc in your optical drive. Allow Anydvd up to 10 minutes to scan the disc before you open any other programs when inserting the original disc into your optical drive. Some computers take more time to scan some discs than other computers do, depending on system specs.


3. Use the latest CloneDVD release which will always be posted as a stickied post at the top of the CloneDVD forum: http://forum.slysoft.com/forumdisplay.php?f=20.

4. Follow the steps from this link in order: click http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?t=476 (follow them step by step)

If you're using +R DL blank discs, I recommend using Clonecd: click http://forum.slysoft.com/showthread.php?t=327


5. If you still have problems, then . . .


A. Post an Anydvd .zip log file

a) Ensure Anydvd is running.
b) Put the problematic original movie dvd in your burner. Wait for Anydvd to scan the disc.
c) Right click the red fox icon on your system tray.
d) Select "Create Logfile"
e) Wait for Anydvd to create a log file.
f) A pop-up screen will appear. Take note of the location where Anydvd created the logfile and the logfile's name. Click "ok".
g) Windows Explorer will open, and you will see a zip file called "Anydvd_Info_titleofmydisc.zip" (or something similar; see step f)
h) When replying or posting in the Slysoft forums, look for the icon that looks like (in other words, look for the paperclip after clicking "quote" or when creating a new thread)
i) If you don't see that paperclip icon, click the "go advanced" button. You should see that icon now. Click the paperclip.
x) A small pop-up screen should appear (if it doesn't please ensure your browser is enabled to allow pop-ups from the Slysoft forums)
j) Click the "Browse" button, and locate and select the .zip file you created.
k) click "upload"
l) Close the window. When you submit reply, or submit a new thread, the .zip file will be attached automatically for us to take a look at


B. State the a)full error message(s) you encountered (click "details"), b)tell us what program(s) you were using when you received the error message(s), and c) describe in detail what you were doing when you received the error message(s). What problem are you having exactly?



C. If you use Clonedvd, then provide the Clonedvd log file after Clonedvd has finished--or after you receive an error message.



a)In the white area under the tab labeled "Log", right click and select "save as".
b)Select where you want to save the log, and then save it.
c) The log will be a .txt file. Zip it up using Winzip or another program. If the text file is small enough, you should be able to upload it anyway. Otherwise, use Winzip.
d) When replying or posting in the Slysoft forums, look for the icon that looks like (in other words, look for the paper clip after clicking "quote" or when creating a new thread)
e) If you don't see that paper clip icon, click the "go advanced" button. You should see that icon now. Click the paperclip.
f) A small pop-up screen should appear (if it doesn't please ensure your browser is enabled to allow pop-ups from the Slysoft forums)
g) Click the "Browse" button, and locate and select the .zip file (or .txt file) that you created.
h) click "upload"
i) Close the window. When you submit reply, or submit a new thread, the .zip file will be attached automatically for us to take a look at

D. Provide a link to the disc from Amazon or from another reputable store (do not use reference links . . . omit "/ref xxxx" from the Amazon link).

E. What blank media are you using? Specify

• brand name
• type (-R, +R, -RW, +RW, RAM, DL, ...),
• media code (I really want this info),
• capacity/size,
• batch codes/serial codes (often found printed on the inner plastic hub of the blank disc . . . if you can't find this, then nevermind), and
• country (factory information would be great as well, if possible) where the media was made (look on the physical packaging; do not rely on programs to accurately give you this information).

If you don't know how to obtain media codes, you may find the following programs useful:

• http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com
• http://www.dvdinfopro.com/

 

On a few occasions people have expressed concern what they believe is a registration number for PowerDVD that is included in the log files. This is not an actual registration information and poses no risk for others to see.

The SR_No that appears in the log files is also the same number you'll find in the About window of PowerDVD and when you download the installer it is also located in the filename. This SR_No corresponds to the version release of the software. Everyone running the same version of the software is going to have the same SR_No.

 

General Advice

1. Update your burner's firmware (if available).
   
   
2. Use good quality media (Memorex, Ritek, Princo, Fuji, TDK from Costco, and Maxell not made in Japan are not good quality media). If you use poor quality blank media, then you should expect problems.
   
   • Use Verbatim Datalife Plus, Taiyo Yuden (not Valueline), and Maxell Broadcast Quality for single layer backups.
   • Use Verbatim +R DL (made in Singapore) or MAM-A +R DL 8x for double layer blank media.
   • Don't use -R DL (useless format).
   
   
3. Set your drive's region code if it's not set already.
   
   • Right click the fox on your system tray. Exit Anydvd
   • Click start. Right click on "My computer"--->select "properties".
   • Click on the 'Hardware' tab--->click the 'device manager' button.
   • Open the dvd/cdrom branch---> right click on your optical drive
   • Click "properties".
   • You should have a region tab. From there you can select a region.
   • Select the region that you're in
   • Start Anydvd
   
   
4. If you were burning at max. speed, try lowering your burn speed (if you're using 16x rated blank media, do not burn below 4x).
   
   
5. If you are using +R, +RW, or +R DL media, change the booktype to "DVD-ROM" (see step 3 in article "How to burn a simple backup with CloneDVD2" for details).
   
   
6. Bad burn quality is notorious around the end of discs if using poor quality media (try using a custom disc size of 4300 in whatever burning program you're using if you're using low quality single layer blank media) and also at layer breaks when using low quality DL media (use Verbatim +R DL media made in Singapore instead, and change the booktype to "DVD-ROM").