I can't burn to DVD only CD

Does anybody know why I can't burn any of my photo files to a DVD, only CD. CD's don't have enough memory. I'm useing Canon Zoombrowser with Windows XP. Thanks for any help

My first question would be a possibly obvious one, but are you sure it is not just a CD burner and a DVD reader?

Zoombrowser is crap for trying to burn anything BUT a CD. Nothing in the software to allow you to burn a DVD. Only option is to get a piece of software to burn DVD's like Nero for example. There are a few free ones out there. This one is free and has been rated pretty good by various forums on the subject.
http://www.imgburn.com​/index.php?act=downloa​d

corporallouis wrote in post #9773599
Zoombrowser is crap for trying to burn anything BUT a CD. Nothing in the software to allow you to burn a DVD. Only option is to get a piece of software to burn DVD's like Nero for example. There are a few free ones out there. This one is free and has been rated pretty good by various forums on the subject.
http://www.imgburn.com​/index.php?act=downloa​d

Thanks I'll give that a try when I get home.

mule wrote in post #9773565
My first question would be a possibly obvious one, but are you sure it is not just a CD burner and a DVD reader?

I have DVD & CD burners. Funny thing is I can only burn to a CD in the DVD burner. (GO FIGURE)

Trudaroof wrote in post #9773625
I have DVD & CD burners. Funny thing is I can only burn to a CD in the DVD burner. (GO FIGURE)

Are you still using Zoombrowser to try that? There probably isn't a burning engine program within Zoombrowser to "tell" your DVD burner to work on burning a DVD. Nero seems to be a "standard" burning program and is often given away free with various burners. Not the full blown versions, but a basic one that will burn DVD's. Maybe someone you know has a copy they didn't use because they have a full scale Nero program. A "lot" of folks have given up on burning files to DVD's as the life expectancy of DVD's doesn't seem to be as long as predicted. Most seem to be going the portable hard drive way. If you must burn to DVD's, just make sure you use the VERY BEST DVD's. Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim's are rated highly. Memorex and many more should be avoided like the plague. Good luck . . .

corporallouis wrote in post #9774198
Are you still using Zoombrowser to try that? There probably isn't a burning engine program within Zoombrowser to "tell" your DVD burner to work on burning a DVD. Nero seems to be a "standard" burning program and is often given away free with various burners. Not the full blown versions, but a basic one that will burn DVD's. Maybe someone you know has a copy they didn't use because they have a full scale Nero program. A "lot" of folks have given up on burning files to DVD's as the life expectancy of DVD's doesn't seem to be as long as predicted. Most seem to be going the portable hard drive way. If you must burn to DVD's, just make sure you use the VERY BEST DVD's. Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim's are rated highly. Memorex and many more should be avoided like the plague. Good luck . . .

Yes, ZB has an export/backup to CD button. And I guess when they say CD they mean it (not DVD) I will try Nero. Are You saying that files on a DVD will only last so long?

Yes. New research has shown that the longevity of certain DVD's is not nearly as long as predicted. A lot of professional's are now backing up their files on actual hard drives. There are units that have multiple hard drives just in case one of the hard drives in the unit fails. These guys make big bucks with their photos and need assurances their moneymakers are nice and safe. Even these units fail as with anything mechanical. Outside of saving to gold plated DVD's, I guess all we can do is burn and pray. I think if we use the best brands of DVD's, they'll last for our lifetime, but cheaper brands are now starting to decay. I've had some only 3 years old and had to rescue them off cheap Sony discs. I now use Taiyo Yuden exclusively and burn at the slowest speed available in my burners. I check mine every couple of years to see if they'll load on my computer. Looking hard at an external, portable hard drive now.

Win XP only natively burns CDs. To burn DVDs, you need software like Nero, which can burn both CD and DVDs.

Burnable DVDs are formulated to burn at high rates, so the optical dyes are inherently LESS stable than the ones used in burnable CDs. The +-RW are even less stable than the write-once DVDs. And the DVD+R have better error checking and robustness than the DVD-R.

Great free burning software. http://www.cdburnerxp.​se/
Works in XP/Vista/Win 7 both 32 and 64-bit.

Also, you may have blown the DVD laser and only be able to burn CDs in that drive.

As Wilt says above, Windows XP does not natively support DVD burning - The OP needs to get software that will do this, like Nero for instance.