CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is not recognized as a recordable device

When you try to burn data to a CD-R or a CD-RW, you do not have the option to send data to the CD drive.

When you view the properties of the CD-R drive or the CD-RW drive, you notice that the Recording tab is not displayed in the CD Drive (drive_letter:) Properties dialog box, where drive_letter is the letter of the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive.

Note To view the CD Drive (drive_letter:) Properties dialog box, click Start, click My Computer, right-click the CD drive that you want, and then click Properties.

Additionally, you may receive the following error message:

This can occur when your computer incorrectly detects the drive as a non-recordable device.

Edit the Windows registry

To resolve this problem, try to edit the Windows registry so that the drive is identified as a recordable device.Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To edit your Windows registry, first back up the registry so that you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. After you back up the registry, edit the registry so that the drive is recognized by Windows as a recordable device. Finally, verify that Windows recognizes the drive as recordable.

Note If the drive is not listed on the Windows Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), the drive may not work with your computer’s built-in CD-copying functionality, regardless of the registry setting. The HCL is a list of computer hardware that is compatible with a particular operating system. To see whether your drive is included on the Windows HCL, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Step 1: Back up the registry

To back up the registry so that you can restore it if you have problems later, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Click to open the following folder:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CD Burning\Drives
4. On the File menu, click Export.
5. In the File name box, type backup of drives key, note the location where you are saving the file, and then click Save.
   
   Note If you have problems later, you can restore this registry subkey by double-clicking the backup of drives key.reg file that you saved.

Step 2: Edit the drive type value of the volume folder

To edit the drive type so that Windows recognizes the drive as recordable, follow these steps:

1. In the navigation pane of the Registry Editor window, click the Volume{GUID} folder under Drives, where GUID is a 32-character identifier.
   
   Note If your computer has more than one CD drive, an additional Volume{GUID} folder is listed for each drive.
2. In the right side of the Registry Editor window, double-click Drive Type.
3. In the Value data box, type 1 if the drive is a CD-R drive or 2 if it is a CD-RW drive.
4. Click OK, and then close Registry Editor.

Step 3: Verify that Windows recognizes the drive as a recordable device

To see whether Windows recognizes the drive as a recordable device now, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Under Devices with Removable Storage, right-click the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive, and then click Properties.
3. If the Recording tab is displayed, Windows recognizes the drive as a recordable device.
4. Click Cancel.

If Windows recognizes the drive as a recordable device, you should be able to burn data to a CD now. If you still have problems, follow the steps in the "Troubleshooting" section.

If your computer has more than one CD or DVD drive and the Recording tab is not displayed in the Properties dialog box (see step 3 in the "Edit the Windows registry" section), a drive may be configured incorrectly as "recordable" in the Windows registry. To resolve this problem, try changing the drive type of the drive you previously identified as a 1 or 2 to a type 3. Then change the drive type of the other drive to a 1 or 2. To try this, follow these steps:

1. Follow step 2 in the "Edit the Windows registry" section to edit the Drive Type value of the Volume{GUID} folder whose value that you previously changed.
2. In the Value data box, type 3, and then click OK.
   
   The drive type value of 3 indicates that the drive is a standard CD-ROM and is not a recordable drive.
3. In the navigation pane of the Registry Editor window, click the next Volume{GUID} folder.
4. Follow step 2 in the "Edit the Windows registry" section to change the Value data entry to 1 or 2, depending on the drive type.
5. Follow step 3 in the "Edit the Windows registry" section to confirm that the Recording tab is displayed in the Properties dialog box of the CD drive.

If the Recording tab is now displayed in the Properties dialog box, you should be able to burn data to a CD. If you still have problems, see the "Next steps" section.

If these methods did not work for you, you can use the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site to find other solutions to your problem. Some services that the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web sites provide include the following:

• Searchable Knowledge Base (http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1) : Search technical support information and self-help tools for Microsoft products.
• Solution Centers (http://support.microsoft.com/select/?target=hub) : View product-specific frequently asked questions and support highlights.
• Microsoft Customer Support Newsgroups (http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/default.mspx) : Contact counterparts, peers, and Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs).
• Other Support Options (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=csshome) : Use the Web to ask a question, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services, or provide feedback.

If you continue to have problems, you might want to contact Support:

This procedure may not work in all cases. This is only a workaround in a situation where the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is capable of functioning in Windows XP and for some reason has been misidentified. If the drive is not on the Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), the drive may not work with the built-in CD copying functionality, regardless of this registry setting.

For help with CD or DVD drive problems in Windows Vista, visit the following Microsoft web page: