Mac mini error message: The attempt to burn a disc failed. Help

Hi,
I'm not sure what has happened but I have tried to burn a CD and a DVD and have received the same error on both occassions, which read:
"The attempt to burn a disc failed. The deviced failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media."
I'm not sure where to start to troubleshoot this. My mac mini is several years old now and in the past I have been able to burn both CDs and DVDs. Please help.
Thanks
Bianca

Calibration failures may indicate a dirty drive or a defective drive. Obviously the cheaper and easier thing to try first is to clean (or have cleaned) the drive.

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Trying to burn CD but keep getting error message "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The burn failed because of a medium write error. Tried different speeds with no luck

trying to burn CD but keep getting error message "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The burn failed because of a medium write error. Tried different speeds with no luck

The burn failed because of a medium write error. Tried different speeds with no luck
Then try to use a different brand of DVD or at least a different batch of DVD. The disk may be defective.

Error message: "The attempt to burn a disc failed. An unknown error"

Anyone having this error message after attempting to burn a disc?
I have 6 discs sitting here ruined after this happened consistently.
Called Apple tech support. Said they never heard of this.
What can I do to resolve? Tried doing the iTunes update and that does not appear to have helped. I am beyond frustrated. To not be able to burn all my purchased music to cd's is not making me a happy camper.
Anyone have any ideas how to fix?
Thanks for all suggestions..

Hey guys, having same type of problem and figured I would throw in my 2 cents. I was getting "error 4000"; i Googled that and followed the procedures for going to my control panel, add/remove and clicking repair. I tried a burn again, also paying attention to previous notes and lowered my write speed to 8X. Same error, different number, this time 4261. I found this thread so I decided to paste my info too, but i do notice the last line of code reads "speed 10X". Hope this helps? I have burned plenty of CDs before, I am burning a mix of MP3 and MP4, amazon and apple purchased, and using older memorex CD-R. They say "recordable, 52X, 700mb, 80 min" at the top. Hope it helps and thanks for the time and effort on here!
Microsoft Windows 7 x64 Home Premium Edition (Build 7600)
Dell Inc. Inspiron 1464
iTunes 10.0.1.22
QuickTime 7.6.8
FairPlay 1.9.16
Apple Application Support 1.3.2
iPod Updater Library 10.0d2
CD Driver 2.2.0.1
CD Driver DLL 2.1.1.1
Apple Mobile Device 3.2.0.47
Apple Mobile Device Driver 1.49.0.0
Bonjour 2.0.3.0 (214.3)
Gracenote SDK 1.7.1.420
Gracenote MusicID 1.7.1.78
Gracenote Submit 1.7.1.106
iTunes Serial Number A13F95689B6E935E
Current user is an administrator.
The current local date and time is 2011-03-18 21:25:19.
iTunes is not running in safe mode.
WebKit accelerated compositing is enabled.
HDCP is supported.
Video Display Information
Intel Corporation, Intel(R) HD Graphics
** External Plug-ins Information **
No external plug-ins installed.
iPodService 10.0.1.22 is currently running.
iTunesHelper 10.0.1.22 is currently running.
Apple Mobile Device service 3.2.0.0 is currently running.
** CD/DVD Drive Tests **
LowerFilters: PxHlpa64 (2.0.0.0),
UpperFilters: GEARAspiWDM (2.2.0.1),
E: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GT30N, Rev A101
Audio CD in drive.
Found 15 songs on CD, playing time 69:43 on Audio CD.
Track 1, start time 00:02:00
Track 2, start time 03:28:41
Track 3, start time 07:28:54
Track 4, start time 11:36:32
Track 5, start time 15:58:57
Track 6, start time 20:26:51
Track 7, start time 25:01:74
Track 8, start time 29:43:02
Track 9, start time 34:25:65
Track 10, start time 39:19:72
Track 11, start time 44:14:37
Track 12, start time 49:13:50
Track 13, start time 54:14:42
Track 14, start time 59:16:04
Track 15, start time 64:17:54
Audio CD reading succeeded.
Get drive speed succeeded.
The drive CDR speeds are: 10 16 24.
The drive CDRW speeds are: 10.
The drive DVDR speeds are: 10.
The drive DVDRW speeds are: 10.
Force Optical Power Calibration before burn is turned on in the preferences.
The last failed audio CD burn had error code 4261(0x000010a5). It happened on drive E: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GT30N on CDR media at speed 10X.

I'm trying to copy a CD which I downloaded from itunes but I'm getting the error message "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc drive didn't respond properly and can't recover or retry." Any ideas?

I bought an album on itunes , it's in AAC audio format and I'm trying to burn it onto a CD.

Hey MGRUBE,
Thanks for the question. I understand you are experiencing issues with burning a disc. The following resource may help to resolve your issue:
Disc Burning Quick Assist
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1152
Thanks,
Matt M.

HT203164 When I try to burn a cd, I get the following message "The attempt to burn a disc failed. An unknown error occurred (4450). I slowed down the speed to as low as 4x and I get the same message.

Anybody have this issue? Everytime I try to burn a disc, I get the following message " The attempt to burn a cd failed. An unknown error has occurred 4450." I tried slowing down the burn speed to as little as 4x. Please help!

Hello rcrown01,
The following articles can help get iTunes back to burning.
Can't burn a CD in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1436
iTunes for Windows: Additional troubleshooting tips for burning issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1374
Cheers,
Allen

I tunes: when trying to burn a playlist I keep getting the message: the attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc could not be read from or written to. I am using version 12

I tunes: I am using version 12 of I tunes. Ever since downloading it I get the message when trying to burn a playlist it says, The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc could not be read from or written to.
I uninstalled V-12 and then reinstalled it. This enabled me to burn a disc again but after a couple of tries I received the same error message again. Has Apple put out a fix to this problem that anyone is aware of?
Thanks.

Hi rossfrombluffton,
Welcome to the Support Communities! The resource below provides some general things to consider when burning a disc with iTunes. I would also try burning a music CD and a data disc from a different application in the Windows OS and trying a different brand CD just to confirm the issue is not with the optical drive.
Can't burn a CD in iTunes for Windows - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-ae/HT203173
Find out what to do if you can't burn an audio CD using iTunes for Windows. Sometimes an audio disc may not burn as expected. Here are some things to check.
Update iTunes
Download and install the latest version of iTunes for Windows.Check for unauthorized songs
iTunes will stop burning a disc if you purchased one or more of the songs in a playlist from the iTunes Store and the songs aren't authorized to play on your computer. This message should appear: "Some of the files can not be burned to an audio CD. Do you still want to burn the remainder of this playlist? For more information on why some files can not be burned, click below."
To find out which songs aren't authorized, play each song in the playlist. Songs that play are authorized. Songs that don't play aren't authorized. You'll be asked to authorize any unauthorized songs.Make sure your playlist will fit on a single CD
If there are too many songs in a playlist to fit on a single CD, iTunes should ask if you want to burn multiple discs or cancel the burn. This message should appear: "The songs in this playlist will not fit on one Audio CD. Do you want to create multiple Audio CDs with this playlist split across them? This will require more than one blank CD to complete."
If you click the Audio CDs button, the burn will continue and you'll be asked to insert blank CDs until the playlist is completely burned. If you click cancel, the burn will be canceled.
To make the playlist shorter so that it will fit on a single CD, select a song to remove from the playlist and choose Edit > Clear. Repeat this step until the duration of the playlist is between 60 and 80 minutes. The duration appears at the top of the playlist window. Most CD-R discs can hold 60 to 80 minutes of music.
Check how many times you've burned the playlist
An unchanged playlist that contains songs purchased from the iTunes Store can be burned no more than seven times.Additional steps and submitting feedback
Go to iTunes Support to get additional troubleshooting suggestions specific to your optical drive configuration or to submit feedback to Apple.Learn more
For additional troubleshooting, please see these steps:
Additional troubleshooting tips for burning issues
iTunes for Windows doesn't recognize my audio CDs
Last Modified: Feb 3, 2015
Have a good day ...
- Judy

The attempt to burn a disc failed...error 4310

Everytime I try and burn songs on a cd from one of my playlists, the cd burner will complete 7 or 8 songs and then give me the following error message:
The attempt to burn a disc failed. An unknown error occured (4310)
I updated iTunes to it's newest version and I'm still having the same problem. It will never burn more then 8 songs and occasionally it will give me this message before it even finishes one song. This is VERY frusterating and I've ruined countless blank cd's trying to get this to work!
I also tried looking at other topics on this board from people with the same problem but my question was not answered.
Please Help!
-Isaac
CD Diagnostics-
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 (Build 2195)
Dell Computer Corporation XPS-Z
iTunes 6.0.1.3
CD Driver 2.0.4.3
CD Driver DLL 2.0.3.2
LowerFilters: Cdr4_2K (5.3.2.31),
UpperFilters: GEARAspiWDM (2.0.4.3), Cdralw2k (5.3.2.31),
Video Driver: 32MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS (Dell)\GeForce2 GTS
IDE\DiskWDCWD800JB-00JJA0_____________________05.01C05, Bus Type ATA, Bus Address [0,0]
IDE\CdRomSONYCD-RW__CRX160E_____________________1.0g___, Bus Type ATA, Bus Address [0,0]
If you have multiple drives on the same IDE or SCSI bus, these drives may interfere with each other.
Some computers need an update to the ATA or IDE bus driver, or Intel chipset. If iTunes has problems recognizing CDs or hanging or crashing while importing or burning CDs, check the support site for the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard.
Current user is administrator.
D: SONY CD-RW CRX160E, Rev 1.0g
Audio CD in drive.
Found 12 songs on CD, playing time 45:30 on Audio CD.
Track 1, start time 00:02:00
Track 2, start time 03:35:32
Track 3, start time 07:44:61
Track 4, start time 11:54:54
Track 5, start time 15:40:30
Track 6, start time 19:13:02
Track 7, start time 22:27:50
Track 8, start time 26:42:37
Track 9, start time 29:09:66
Track 10, start time 33:01:05
Track 11, start time 36:12:03
Track 12, start time 40:31:62
Audio CD reading succeeded.
Get drive speed succeeded.
The drive CDR speeds are: 1 2 4 8 10 12.
The drive CDRW speeds are: 1 2.

Hello bannahmontana
The article below will get you on your way to isolate the issue.
iTunes for Windows: iTunes Diagnostics, CD/DVD Drive Tests
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1567
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Regards,
-Norm G.

The attempt to burn a disc failed. An unknown error occurred (-50)

Hey Guys,
Got the error message "The attempt to burn a disc failed. An unknown error occurred (-50) in iTunes.
I'm just trying to burn a few audio CDs.
Running most current verison of Mavericks, all software up to date.
I've tried changing the burning speeds from Maximum Possible, to 12x, 8x, 4x. Still get the error.
I've tried 3 brands of CD-Rs get the error on all 3.
Any suggestions?
Thx
CD

Error -50 is a very unhelpful generic communications error with a number of possible causes. Something between the drive to which you are downloading and the drive from which it is all coming is not working correctly, which probably leaves several hundred options.
Have you tried simply restarting the computer?

What does this mean: The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc drive didn't respond properly and can't recover or retry.??

Is this an iTunes or disc issue? I have burned music to these disc before.
Error message: "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc drive didn't respond properly and can't recover or retry."
Using........
iTunes 10.7
Memorex Music CD-R 40X 700MB 80min
MacBook Pro
Mac OS X 10.7.5
2.4 GHz Core i5
4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3

Not sure. Try this:
Troubleshooting CD burning errors:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2955

ITunes 11.4 The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc drive didn't respond properly and can't recover or retry.

27-inch, Late 2009
Processor 2.66 GHz Core i5
8 GB memory
Software OS X 10.9.5
iTunes 11.4
Can not burn a playlist in iTunes 11.4 to a CD, upon completion of the burn operation get error message, "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disc drive didn't respond properly and can't recover or retry." Receive this message using 2 different external drives that are Apple compatible. 1. is a Pioneer SuperDrive that I had replaced from a previous Mac in a OWC enclosure, 2. the other is a OWC 8X Slim Portable USB 2.0 External. After receiving the error message I can re-insert the disc into the drive and it will mount the disc and it will list all the songs with the correct size, but none of them will play. iTunes then comes up asking me if I want to import the CD, at this time iTunes has a (not responding) status in Finder. Can burn from finder with no problem, only have issue in iTunes.
Background
Last year I took the iMac to the local Apple Store 3 times and they determined the optical drive was defective and replaced it, the last time even replacing the cable to it. When I attempt to burn playlist from internal Superdrive it states it can not burn due to media errors. I have tried Memorex, TDK and PNY media with the same results. I thought purchasing the OWC Slim Portable USB 2.0 External would resolve the issue. If I put a commercial audio CD into the Internal Superdrive it will not mount and will eject it, if I insert the commercial audio CD into the external drive it will mount and play. Now the extended warranty is expired on the iMac and I don't know what next to try.

After multiple attempts to both find an answer to this problem or to fix it myself I've given up and switched to a Windows PC. The same media works just fine at maximum write speed with no special tricks needed. I got my iMac specifically to manage my photographs and burn images for friends and family. It has been nothing but a big disappointment to say the least. To read messages saying I need to lower my write speed or buy more expensive CDs is just laughable. Unless I see something major change I'm sticking with my Windows PC.

The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disk is locked and cannot be written

I am having a problem burning CDs. iTunes begins to burn CD than cancels with the following message "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The disk is locked and cannot be written." After some research I found the following article "Burning disc in iTunes for Windows using a Sony CD-RW/DVD CRX830E model drive fails with 4280 error." I followed directions as noted, this worked for the burning of one CD, then failed message returned. I have tried different CDs and lowering record speed to no avail. Burner worked up until updating to latest iTunes. Here is the diagnostic report
Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 (Build 2600)
Sony Corporation PCG-GRT390ZP(UC)
iTunes 7.0.2.16
CD Driver 2.0.6.1
CD Driver DLL 2.0.6.1
LowerFilters: PXHELP20 (2.0.0.0), AFS2K (3.1.21.0),
UpperFilters: GEARAspiWDM (2.0.6.1),
Video Driver: NVIDIA GeForce FX Go5600 (Sony)\GeForce FX Go5600
IDE\DiskIC25N060ATMR04-0______________________MO3OAD1A, Bus Type ATA, Bus Address [0,0]
USBSTOR\DiskLexar__JumpDrive______1.00, Bus Type USB
USBSTOR\DiskSony___MSC-U04________3.00, Bus Type USB
IDE\CdRomSONYCD-RW__CRX830E_____________________JFK1___, Bus Type ATA, Bus Address [0,0]
If you have multiple drives on the same IDE or SCSI bus, these drives may interfere with each other.
Some computers need an update to the ATA or IDE bus driver, or Intel chipset. If iTunes has problems recognizing CDs or hanging or crashing while importing or burning CDs, check the support site for the manufacturer of your computer or motherboard.
Current user is an administrator.
E: SONY CD-RW CRX830E, Rev JFK1
Media in drive is blank.
Get drive speed succeeded.
The drive CDR speeds are: 4.
The drive CDRW speeds are: 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.
The last failed audio CD burn had error code -46(0xffffffd2). It happened on drive E: SONY CD-RW CRX830E on CDRW media at speed 4X.
Any help would be appreciated.
Sony Vaio Windows XP

hmmmm. i see that there's a chipset driver revision listed on the drivers and downloads page for your M520:
Gateway M520 > Windows XP
are your chipset drivers currently up to date?

"The attempt to burn a disc failed. The device failed to respond properly"

Hello everyone,
I have suddenly developed a problem when trying to burn a CD. I get the "Checking playlist" and "Initializing" messages, and then Writing...(the name of the first track)", but about 20 seconds later, just when seems as if it will start burning, the CD is ejected and I get the following message: ""The attempt to burn a disc failed. The device failed to respond properly, unable to recover or retry."
I have browsed the forums here and it seems that many other people have had similar problems. I am running a Powerbook G4, OS X version 10.2.8, iTunes 6.0.5.
I have used several different brands of media, and many slower burning speeds, but nothing helps.
I can still listen to CD's with my computer, just not burn anything.
My computer is about 5 years old. Do you think that this problem is suddenly occurring simply because my optical drive needs to be replaced?
Also, another issue, possibly related, but maybe not, is that, after my burn failed for the first time, I put in a completely different CD to see if it would play. It did, but instead of listing the correct tracks on the CD, it showed the tracks of the previous playlist that had the failed burn.
For example, I imported the tracks from one CD into my Library, then moved them to a playlist. When I tried to burn the contents of that playlist to a CD, I received the "attempt to burn failed" message that I previously described.
Then, I inserted a completely different disc, but iTunes read it as having the same contents of the playlist that had failed to burn, but when I clicked on the track titles, they played from the new CD that I'd inserted, not the failed playlist. So although the titles indicated that I was working with the failed playlist, the media that played was from the new CD.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Sarah
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.2.x)
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.2.x)

I'm having a similar problem. In my case, the problem started about two months ago. I regularly update software. Currently I'm at 10.4.10 and iTunes 7.3.2(6).
In my case, I'm trying to backup recent iTunes purchases. I'm unable to burn CDs with the original combo drive (CD) or my internal NEC burner (DVDs). I get a series of coasters. Occasionally .Mac Backup fails as well. Toast 7 works fine. Even stranger, I can burn 1 DVD successfully with an external Pioneer DVD burner (4x) USB 2 using iTunes. (I have a belkin USB 2 card) Multiple DVDs fail. I recently switched to this PowerMac from an iBook and several preference files were copied with my home directory during the transition. The external drive was used with the iBook, but not on this system before which may lend to the preferences file as a possibility.
However, I find it odd that my external drive works and both internal drives are failing. I was suspecting the IDE controller on the logic board, except that Toast works. This logic board is not as old as the computer. It was a replacement in 2005 when an after market ATI card fried and took it and the power supply out. At first I suspected a hardware problem and replaced the IDE cable which looked warn. The NEC drive is about two years old and the combo drive is the original. They are on the same controller.
In my case it is certainly possible the drives or controller are starting to fail. I wonder if anyone else might have an external cd/dvd drive they could test that are having the problem.

"the attempt to burn a disc failed. you do not have enough access privileges for this operation"

I just changed my password for my apple i.d. so I could purchase a new album. I then bought the album, put it into a playlist to burn it to a cd-rw. And when i click ok to start the copy i keep getting this message "The attempt to burn a disc failed. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation" I have no idea what to do as to there is nothing on google except for write access. Which i don't need. Any suggestions?

Oddly enough. I think I just solved it. It looks like, for some reason, my computer has about 8 different "iTunes music" folders, and I've been saving my music to the wrong one. Neat. Music now imports and plays as it should. Copying things over is going to be so fun tonight!

HT1751 On an old Mac I got this message while trying to burn a CD for the car: "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The burn failed because of a medium write error." What does this mean? And how do I work around it?

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I had been getting this all morning and checked other messages from the community. THe one which worked was trying a different brand of disc.
I had been using Verbatim which had copied the music fine off the Real Player on my PC at school, but wouldn't work with I Tunes. Tried a Staples and an Office Depot CD-R , both of which did the job.

I have an older iMAC that once burned CD's with no issues. Now I get an error message saying "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The device is not accessible, probably because it was removed". I have never had it touched so the device was not removed.Help

I have an olde iMac that once I have an older iMAC that once burned CD's with no issues. Now I get an error message saying "The attempt to burn a disc failed. The device is not accessible, probably because it was removed". I have never had it touched so the device was not removed. Please advise as to what could be the problem. How to fix. Thanks

Try resetting the SMC and PRAM first, if that doesn't help try a cleaning disc.....and then buy an inexpensive external burner. Slimline super drive failures are all too common.
To reset the SMC
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
Resetting NVRAM / PRAM
Shut down your Mac.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

Mac mini error message: The attempt to burn a disc failed. Help

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