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HP PCs - CD or DVD drive cannot burn discs

If you cannot burn music or data to blank CDs or DVDs, follow these steps to resolve the problem.

For business computers, security restrictions might prevent the use of the optical drive for anything other than reading the disk. Contact your company's IT department or your local IT service for more information.

Note:

This document assumes that your CD or DVD drive is recognized by Windows and is capable of reading discs. If your disc burning software displays the message No burner is currently available (or similar), or the drive cannot play CDs and DVDs, then this document does not solve the problem. Instead, see HP PCs - CD/DVD drive is not detected (Windows 10).

Use a different type of disc

If your computer cannot burn discs, try using a different type of disc. The type of disc you use for burning must be compatible with the type of disc drive in your computer. For example, you cannot burn a DVD-R disc in a drive that does not support DVD-R technology.

For testing purposes, try a few different brands of compact disc recordable (CD-R). CD-R discs are supported by all recordable disc drives.

Why try another disc? There are many different brands and types of writable discs with unique burning properties - some perform better than others. Your disc drive can adjust various properties of the laser and disc rotation to match the properties of the disc, but it might not be able to find a match with some batches of recordable media.

If the drive cannot burn discs of other brands, decrease the disc burning speed.

Decrease the disc burning speed

If your computer cannot burn discs, try burning the disc using a slower burn speed.

Decrease the burning speed in your disc burning software. When burn speed is reduced, it takes longer to complete the disc, but the writing process is more likely to finish successfully and the completed disc has more reliable playback in other devices.

Decrease the disc burning speed in Cyberlink Power2Go

Remove the CD/DVD drive from Device Manager

If your computer cannot burn discs, try removing the CD/DVD drive. Follow these steps to remove the drive from Device Manager:

  1. In Windows, search for and open Device Manager.

    Search for Device Manager

  2. Double-click DVD/CD-ROM drives to expand the category.

    Device Manager window showing location of DVD/CD-ROM drives

  3. Right-click the drive name and select Uninstall.

    Device Manager window, uninstall DVD/CD-ROM drive

    If a confirmation window opens, click OK. The drive name should be removed from the list (and the DVD/CD-ROM drives category is removed if there is only one drive). Do not restart the computer and do not refresh the hardware list.

  4. Close Device Manager.

    Note:

    You must clear the registry filters before attempting to burn another disc.

Clear the registry filters

If your computer cannot burn discs, try clearing the registry filters. To clear the upper and lower registry filters, use these steps.

  1. Remove all CD/DVD writing software (for example, Cyberlink Power2Go) using the Programs and Features window in Control Panel. For more help, see HP PCs - Uninstalling Software (Windows 10, 8).

    Note:

    Make sure that you can reinstall your disc burning software before you uninstall it. To find the software after you uninstall it, use HP Recovery Manager if the burning software came from HP, or use the installation files if the burning software came from another company.

  2. Unplug all nonessential external plug and play devices, especially cameras.

  3. In Windows, search for and open regedit.

    If you are prompted for an Administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

    Searching for regedit

  4. Select Computer in the main window.

    Registry Editor

  5. Click File > Export, type a filename that is easy for you to remember, and then click Save.

    A copy of the registry is saved for back-up purposes to the Documents folder. If problems occur after using these steps, browse to the file, and then double-click it to restore the registry.

  6. Click the arrow next to the following items in the list to expand the items:

    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

    • SYSTEM

    • CurrentControlSet

    • Control

    • Class

  7. Select 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318. Make sure that you have selected this exact key name.

  8. If a LowerFilters value is listed on the right side of the registry editor window, select the LowerFilters value and press the delete key. Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes.

    Registry Editor with LowerFilters value selected

  9. If an UpperFilters value is also listed, select UpperFilters in the right side of the window and press the delete key. Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes.

  10. Delete all other UpperFilters and LowerFilters values within the 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318 key if any exist.

  11. Close the Registry Editor, restart the computer, and then wait until Windows configures the necessary drivers for new hardware.

  12. After you remove all CD/DVD writing software, restart the computer and reinstall the software. Depending on the software, you can reinstall from Microsoft, HP, or the manufacturer's website.

    • Check the Microsoft Store. Many of the apps that came pre-installed on your computer are available to download for free in the Microsoft Store app.

    • Go to HP Customer Support - Software and Driver Downloads page. If a Let's identify your product to get started page is displayed, select your computer type, type the model name of your computer, and then click Submit. From the list of available software and driver categories, find the software or driver you are looking for, click the category name, and then click Download.

    • Go to the software manufacturer's website.

    For more information and support, see HP PCs - Issues with Apps in Windows 10.

  13. Try creating a disc again. If you still cannot create a disc that can be read in another drive, use Microsoft System Restore.

Test for optical drive hardware failure

The laser alignment and the hardware that supports it must retain a high degree of accuracy. As the CD/DVD drive in your computer ages, it is affected by vibration, dust, mechanical wear, and other factors. If your CD/DVD drive still does not work and you suspect that the CD/DVD drive might be bad after using the previous steps, test the drive to see if the hardware has failed.

For more information about testing for CD/DVD drive hardware failures, see HP PCs - Testing for hardware failures in Windows 10.

If the CD/DVD drive test fails, the drive needs to be replaced or the computer needs to be serviced.

Perform a System Restore to resolve an issue in Windows

If the issue is recent, restore the computer to a point before the problem began, to resolve the issue.

Go to HP PCs - Using Microsoft System Restore for more information.

Perform a Windows system reset

If the issue persists, recover the computer back to its original configuration.

Microsoft provides a reset feature that repairs your computer by reinstalling the operating system. Before using this option, make sure you back up all your important files.

Go to HP PCs - Reset the computer for more information.

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