I cannot burn pics or text. I keep getting the error message "device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media"

Question

I get the following error message whenever I try to burn anything...!..any solutions?  Thank you.

Answer 1

When you put in a disk to burn, the burner performs a test burn on a spot of the DVD where data doesn't get placed. This lets the optical burner and computer determine what kind of disc you've given it. The error message is most likely to occur when there's a mechanical problem with the burner or when you have bad data.
I used to work for an Apple reseller and in any week we'd have a couple people bring in their Macs thinking their optical drives were damaged when they really just had bad media. Most people don't realize that CD and DVD media can go bad with age so it wasn't at all uncommon for people to say, "I burned a disc last month just fine." And I'd stick a DVD from our stock into the computer and burn one just fine too. Problem solved for a lot less than the cost of a new burner.
BTW, if you are in a dusty environment or there's a smoker in the house you might also have a dirty lens so a lens cleaning kit wouldn't be a bad investment either.