Okay, so now I've got a functioning DVD burning facility (though not fully so - see at * below). I'm not content however because I'd really like to understand what's going on here.
See, the machine in question is a brand new one. It's got very little on it by way of applications. It started off copying & burning DVDs without any problem.
Then something happened. I'm can't be 100% sure about attributing blame, but given the timing I think it was the installation of iTunes.
Okay, so loading up the Adaptec Aspi interface gets me back on track. Problem is that the burning software (Nero on XP) worked fine beforehand with only the Ahead/Nero SPTI wrapper and native XP. Why do I now need the additional ASPI layer?
If iTunes is to blame, what did it do? In XP it's possible to put specialised DLLs into the specific application folder & not have to have them in the general Windows folders - could that be done here to keep iTunes happy but leave the main set-up as it was originally? What about registry changes ?
* when I say I've got burning back, it took me a while to realise that the Adaptec installation had succeeded & that I could burn DVDs again.
The reason it took me a while is that I had started using the simulation mode (because I was coastering too many discs). The simulation would complete okay, but as soon as burn-for-real started, up came the errors. The Adaptec solution didn't make any difference, the same thing happened.
Eventually it occurred to me that - long shot as it might be - I hadn't tried straight-to-burn since the Adaptec fix. So I did & it worked!
So where I am now is:
Straight-to-burn - works for single copy
Simulation only - works
Simulation followed by real-burn - fails
Multiple copy - fails
So, what it looks to me is happening is something to do with the copy of the DVD image - when it's straight-to-burn the image is owned exclusively by Nero, but when it's a two-or-more-step process something else is getting hold of the image & locking Nero out. At least, that's my theory. iTunes anyone?
