Linux Mint Forums

I have a problem.
I have an HP All-in-One 200 desk top computer and a SONY VAIO laptop computer. Each has a CD/DVD writer. The HP CD/DVD writer is the problem. It doesn't seem to want to play anything I download that is related to Linux. For example, any of the Linux .iso distributions, such as Linux Mint, Ubuntu, etc. The HP has no problems with commercial disks that come with various hardware such as printers, webcams, etc. The SONY plays everything.
I am wondering if there is some built-in feature that disallows the HP from reading the free-source Linux stuff. (Am I being paranoid?)
On a side note, if I copy something on my SONY to a USB stick, it plays with no problems on the HP. And vice versa.
Do you think it is a hardware problem or what? I have tried many cd and dvd disk manufacturers.

The most likely explanation is that your HP drive is failing or is incompatible with whatever media or other drive you're using to burn the discs. Such incompatibilities are common, and have plagued optical drives since the first CD-R drives to hit the market. Depending on how you're doing it, you could try burning the discs on the HP rather than on another device (if you're using another computer to burn the discs now), change the brand of media you're using, burn at a slower speed, or replace the drive.

@srs5694
Thank you for your reply...

Depending on how you're doing it, you could try burning the discs on the HP rather than on another device (if you're using another computer to burn the discs now), change the brand of media you're using, burn at a slower speed, or replace the drive.

I have already tried a number of brands...
I have tried burning at a reduced speed...

I have not replaced the drive yet, because I want to determine if the drive is the problem or not.

I have burned the disks on the HP and all play well on the SONY. But if I burn a Linux app, (example: "GParted"), on the HP it will not play on the HP. Plays well on the SONY. Downloads other than Linux stuff, (.exe stuff), do play on the HP.

I'll interpret "play" as "read."

Are you saying that if you burn a disc with a Windows program, you can read it fine, but if you burn a disc using the same software, the same settings, the same brand of media, and all other variables controlled, but you simply burn it with a Linux program, then you can't read it? If so, then that makes absolutely no sense; it must be a coincidence or there's some uncontrolled variable. The reason is that a DVD player is far too stupid to recognize the type of data it's delivering (Windows vs. Linux binaries).

If you've got an uncontrolled variable (say, if you're burning the discs that contain Windows binaries under Windows and the ones that contain Linux binaries under Linux), you need to look at that variable.

Yes, "play" may be interpreted as, "read". Good guess.

No, the operating systems have not been brought into play. (Note: "play" here may not be interpreted as "read").

As I tried to explain, if I download some linux app using the HP computer, irrespective of whether I am using Windows 7 or Linux Mint, the HP computer will not read the disk after it has been burned. If I download Linux Mint live .iso and burn it to a disk, the HP computer will not read it. It just acts as if there were nothing in the disk reader and loads the GRUB menu as normally done. When I take this same disk to my SONY laptop it immediately recognizes and starts the Linux Mint .iso disk.
My question is, since the disks appear to be all right, (they load on the SONY), is it possible that the HP is set up to reject reading different Linux apps.

I have burned & installed Linux on my HP on more than one occasion so I'm guessing that's not your issue. I would say that if you can boot the disc created from the ISO on your Sony machine, then your HP's disc drive is flaky.

Yes, I think you might be correct. I am going to mark this thread as solved, order a new cd/dvd writer and hope for the best. Many thanks to all, I appreciate the replies, for sure.

Wait, just a quick question. You said:

If I download Linux Mint live .iso and burn it to a disk, the HP computer will not read it. It just acts as if there were nothing in the disk reader and loads the GRUB menu as normally done.

This may be a simple one that you've already checked off, but I couldn't gather from what your other posts said if you have or not: did you make sure that your boot order is correct? If it's going directly to Grub as if there was nothing in there, then (for some strange reason) your HP may not have the CD/DVD-ROM being checked before the hard disk on boot.

Just a thought.