booting problems

[ckamin]

Any other burning software you can recommend that I can try for free that verifies a burn

Greetings!
There is another option for you. Nero is a good program for burning. The later versions will verify the burn, but if you are stuck with Nero 5 or 5.5, you can use a free disc verification tool to scan the disc for errors after the burn. It is called VSO Inspector and is offered by VSO-Software. They also offer a free trial of their other software. I use them from time to time. Blind Write is pretty good at making copies of certain types of discs and I use Copy to DVD and other software on occasion. They can be found here: http://www.vso-software.fr/download.htm If their software works well for you, they have a lifetime Goldmembership that allows you to use any of their products now, and in the future for a one-time fee of $149 US. I did that some years ago and it was a lot less then. They are real good at getting you a Reg Key for any product you want. You can also purchase the individual products if you like. I would certainly recommend trying them before buying them. BUT that would cost money. I LIKE FREE Better! Check below for some info on a free tool. I have NOT tried it, so I cannot make any representation of how well it might or might not work.

Some information from Micr$oft about burning discs in XP. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...ptember16.mspx

Here is information on a free "Unofficial" Power Toy that will enable ISO burning in XP.: http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd.htm

Here is the link to the developer's site for the ISO recorder. It appears to do CDs AND DVDs : http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

Good luck! Let us know how you make out.

EDIT 10-19-05 07:18
Forgot to mention one more item. I noticed that you seem to be using RW media to burn to. I would recommend that you use write-once CD-R for a trial. Some CD drives may have difficulty reading a RW disc, or even a CD-R at times. Use good quality media and look for media recommendations from the drive manufacturer. Be sure to use a SLOW speed for better compatibility.
END EDIT

[rockinrodent]

I downloaded CD Burner XP Pro. It seems to be a nice program, that's free, and verifies burns. It's tellling me I'm having an error on closing I believe. Any way of diagnosing a possible problem with a burner? Anyway of fixing or maintaining one? I've had this burner for about 2 years, but never used it till now. It's just been sitting in a box of parts.

[ckamin]

It's tellling me I'm having an error on closing I believe.

In Nero the option "Finalize CD" might be the answer. If you are burning a large, disc sized iso, I believe it is a required setting to properly close the disc. I am not familiar with the one that you are using now, and don't have any recommendations for settings or it's use in general, so I can't help you there.

Any way of diagnosing a possible problem with a burner?

You can always send it back to the manufacturer or distributor if it is under warranty. Since you said you have had it for two years, that probably is not the case. If it's not under warranty, it might be more cost effective to purchase a new one. They can be had for as little as $30-$40 occasion, in USB 2 configuration. I recently got a deal on one for about $22, plus shipping. There are a few things that you can do to troubleshoot your drive yourself, but it is time and detail intensive. Since you have an external drive, it could be anything from a bad USB cable to the alignment of the laser or a piece of dust on the lens. A firmware update might also be in order, if one is available. You might try to burn a different disc to less than full capacity and verify that one. You can use the VSO disc inspector independent of the burning process and then try to use the CD rom drive that you are having read errors on, to verify the disc too. That might verify if the reader is possibly OK also.