Need help formatting a DVD

Cyos

Cyos

New Member
I recently got some DVD RWs, and unfortunately, they need to be formatted before you can use them. However, my computer does not seem to be able to format disks. I have tried single-clicking the drive, and then on "File" at the top, and there is no format option. Right clicking also yields nothing related to formatting. Is there any other safe, reliable, free way to format a disk?
 
I've never heard of having to format a dvd before using it, you should be able to put it in your dvd burner and let whatever burning program you have take it from there. If you're trying to access a disk that hasn't been written on before, then nothing will show up and may say it needs formatting but it doesn't. Also make sure your burner supports the disks you're using
 
Well, a friend of mine has the EXACT same DVDs, and he told me that he couldn't do anything with them until he formatted them. However, he's out of town for a while, so I can't get to his DVDs to try them. I guess what I'm asking for is some sort of free software that lets you format disks? Becuse I'm sure my reader can support them - they're 4x, and my optical drive is 16x, so there should be no problem.
 
download the trial version of nero you can do a quick format or a full format of the disk. The quick is about 30 sec to 2 min, and the full is quite a bit longer than that.
 
again, I've never heard of formatting for cd's or dvd's, you sure he isn't doing drag to disk or something cause that needs a format
 
I'm thinking he's talking about cd-rw's or dvd-rw's, whereas he's going to have to reformat the disk before anymore information can go onto it, or just to get the old crap off.
 
The situation, just to clairify, is this: when I try to copy files via windows explorer or burn them with windows media player, I get an error. Also, in My Computer, the disk reads as having 0 bytes free space. My friend formatted his DVDs (identical to mine), and they worked fine. However, I can't seem to be able to format disks on my computer. Hope this helps. Also, I'll check into Nero and see if I can get results with that.
 
In this situation, I have to point out 2 things...

Firstly, as suprasteve pointed out, your drive might not actually support these discs (Combo Drives or some of the older DVD Burners do not support DVD-RW Format Discs)

And secondly...what happens when you use NERO to do some things, it quite apparently 'seals' the disc so you cannot utilise it any longer (even if it has additional space remaining). This is why it should show 0 Bytes Free Remaining Space on an ordinary DVD+/-R. Now, what I wonder is that if this same thing applies to DVD-RWs which are 'supposedly' rewritable. NERO might actually seal these as well.
 
I have tried all the DVDs I bought, all ten of them, and they all had the same error. On visual inspection, none of them appear physically damaged. Also, I haven't installed Nero yet, nor have I ever used it; the "free" trial version requires a serial number, which I do not have. I also doubt it's a problem with my drive, as this computer is almost brand new. I have also read data of countless other CDs - games, music, etc. - but have never had to write anything. Are there any other suggestions?
 
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Thanks for that PM; it worked perfectly! Thanks to everyone for your help with this problem.
 
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