Cannot open blank DVDs under 14.04

[Robert Heller]

At Fri, 19 Sep 2014 17:55:40 +1000 "Ubuntu user technical support,  not for general discussions" <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com> wrote:

> 
> Thank you for reading this.
> 
> I've spent most of the day trying to install Xubuntu on a friend's 
> laptop that is currently running a very sick version of Vista.
> 
> I have two laptops; one runs Kubuntu 14.04 and the other Xubuntu 14.04 
> but neither will detect blank DVDs. They both will open pre-recorded 
> DVDs, so the drives are not faulty. Both had version 13.04 installed 
> previously and did detect blank DVDs. So either I have missed something 
> obvious or 14.04 is the problem.

What do you mean by 'detect blank DVDs'? It is not that you can actually do
anything with a blank DVD (but that might depend on the sort of DVD: I *think*
DVD-RW disks can be formatted, but since I have never used re-writable I don't
know for sure). Under CentOS (5 and 6), 'blank' DVD-Rs and CD-Rs are not
'detected' either. Instead one goes ahead and uses's cdrecord or the like to 
burn an ISO image.  If the disk already has an image on it, cdrecord or the 
like fails.  Note: *I* don't use any sort of GUI to deal with burning CDs or 
DVDs.  (I have used wodim under Debian 7 to burn DVDs.)

> 
> My Kubuntu laptop has Vista installed as well and it will detect blank 
> DVDs. So I installed unetbootin under Windows, which was an exercise in 
> frustration in itself, but unetbootin does not see my USB DVD drive (the 
> internal drive is faulty).
> 
> My friend wants to throw the laptop into the bin but I'd like to show 
> that Linux can save a little bit of landfill. So, can anyone suggest why 
> both of my DVD drives cannot see a blank disc but can see a pre-recorded 
> disk? One of the pre-recorded disks was recorded under 13.04 on the same 
> USB disc drive.
> 

-- 
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