The device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media

[ThreeBKK]

Quote: Originally Posted by kslim It also doesn't appear to be a problem in the Windows world. All that indicates to me that OSX is the most likely culprit. Too bad Apple support is so poor.

It might be possible to prove/disprove your own theory by booting into Windows and trying to burn the disc from there.

[dinspring]

wow, this is an interesting thread...
I found it because i was having the same laser calibration error as most here.
This started happening to me after I upgraded to OS10.5, although it's possible i bought the new blank discs at that time too, I'm using a;

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: Power Mac G5
Model Identifier: PowerMac7,3
Processor Name: PowerPC G5 (2.2)
Processor Speed: 1.8 GHz
Number Of CPUs: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 3 GB
Bus Speed: 900 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.1.8f7
Serial Number: G8442FX4QPL

with a;

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-117D:

Firmware Revision: B705
Interconnect: ATAPI
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)
Cache: 0 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: Insert media and refresh to show available burn speeds

and currently cheap dynex DVD+R discs (should I have bought DVD-R????).

I tried the voodoo fix and it restarted and it actually got a lot further into the burn process but then failed verification and I can't read the 'finished' disc.

got to say, this doesn't feel like a hardware issue if so many people are just recently having it with so many different types of mac and media. anyone else suspect OS 10.5?

[dinspring]

i picked up some memorex DVD-R and the problem has gone..

[greeniep]

I am a new poster... and I tried the foreign language trick, and it didn't work for me.

I am having burning issues. I thought it was the pack of DVD's I bought, because I am not sure the difference between -/+ R, so I bought a new pack of DVD - R's. And the first DVD out of the pack burned fine. But the second one gave me the same message:

the disk can't be burned because the device failed to calibrate the laser poser for this media.

So I am stuck again. I just thought you should know because of the suspicion to the mysterious new posters all swearing by the foreign language trick. It didn't work but so far no new problems with my computer. So I don't think it is malicious.

[ChristoAcosta]

This will probably apply to very few of you, however...

I noted that on the first page, someone mentioned the drive perhaps not being able to determine the correct region. I often change my ODD's region, and usually leave it on [not-set] instead of Region 1 (US). I got the same error, and was a bit puzzled, until I opened Region X, and set the DVD drive to Region 1. It is now burning a DVD beautifully with no reboots, etc....

Like I said, it probably will not apply to the many of you who do not swap regions a lot...

FYI, specs:
Black MacBook 2.16 - 10.5.4 - 4Gb RAM - Matshita UJ-857E (vZB0E)

[emmie13]

I, too, have experienced this error when attempting to burn CDs (in iTunes). I have a Sony DVD RW DW-U10A (a model which died in a PC of mine, as well, for what that's worth). Just tried this fix and it seems to work: in the Advanced Settings in Preferences, under Preferred Speed I chose "Maximum Possible". When I chose the speed myself, the CD would never burn, but when it chose the speed it worked. Hope this works for someone.

[reesmaxwell]

This is just crazy. I would love to find an explanation as to why this fix works.

I tried to burn a DMG to a Memorex DVD+R DL ... and I got the following after a long preburn/burn: "The device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media."

I found landrick's crazy solution, completed it and rebooted, and now the DMG burns correctly!

This just makes no sense ... I'm curious as to what made landrick go through those steps? What caused landrick to think that would make any difference, and who at Apple can answer why this fixes the issue?

[mattjgalloway]

So so random, but I too tried the random fix of the "The device failed to calibrate the laser power level for this media." problem by going into international settings. I had failed disks lots of times, then tried the fix (but without restarting at the end) and then the next time I tried the disk, it worked perfectly.

Random. Would like to know why this works though...

[wittyusername]

I'm using a Powermac G5, I think it's still the original G5 with Dual 2.2

By the end of my Apple Care I had my Hard Drive replaced, as well as my Logic Board. (I had some weird crashing problem and after 4 trips they finally replaced the logic board).

I had this laser error probably about 4-6 months ago or so. I was nearly out the door to buy an external burner (I figured after so long the burner was probably just bad). My archaic solution then was to run as many different DVDs and CDs in the drive to keep it 'awake' and then quickly burn (this was ridiculous and quite difficult as I'm burning out of DVD Studio Pro and after the muxing time, the drive pretty much had died down anyways). It worked. Eventually.

After that I didn't have any problems. Until today. I searched on Google, and found this thread.

I tried the language trick, but to no avail. Again I was almost out the door to run to MicroCenter to get an external burner. I have 2 spindles from which I burn from. One is Maxell DVD-R, and one is Memorex Printable DVD-R. I had been trying to burn onto the Maxell, and then I tried the Memorex, and it worked no problem.

I used to use Verbatim and I never had a problem. But it looks like I'll have to continue buying Memorex from now on.

[saskmacdude]

I've never had a problem burning a DVD on my 20" Intel iMac before this morning. Burn failed after about a minute, with the aforesaid error. Did a quick google search, found this thread, did EXACTLY what it said (and ONLY that) then came back to Disk Utility after a restart and started burning the same .cdr DVD image. Same media, same image, JUST ran through the steps in the hint. I'm now half way through my burn.

Thanks all!

[cocotu]

so everyone agrees on the solution? Change International Settings fix?? yes/no?

[ThreeBKK]

I'd say that, so far, it looks like coincidence that some users were able to successfully burn their image to disc after trying this "hint". It probably has more to do with the process of rebooting the Mac and/or internal temps changing. You'd probably see just as many people successful if they had just shut down, waited several minutes, then rebooted and immediately tried burning. Add to the recipe, trying discs from different manufacturers, or production runs, and you've got a good catch-all for getting your burn session to complete successfully.

[JDV]

I don't know, ThreeBKK. This seems to me to be too often for coincidence. But I do agree that it isn't very clear why it seems to work in some instances and not in others, so perhaps your conjecture is correct. What I wonder is why this error condition and associated message is so common and yet I have yet to see any official comment on it. Perhaps the message is used for many different conditions (kind a generic failure message), but if that's so, it's unfortunate for it doesn't help one figure out the true nature of the problem. This is a remarkably long and inconsistent series of posts. I'd sure like someone to say something definitive about this issue.

Joe VanZandt

[jjsterner]

I tried that voodoo trick to no avail. I'm attempting to make a backup of my leopard install disk which has it's own tricks to it. I used a terminal command to make the leopard.iso (dd if=/dev/disk1 of=leopard.iso) that I found on another site and attempted to burn with disk utility. Anyhow, I'm on a MBP that's just a year old now and the same matshita dvd-r uj-857e that many are using here. I'm also using the memorex dvd+r dl that other's have had troubles with. After much frustration and many restarts and failed burns, I attached an external NEC drive (nec dvd rw nd-3550a) that's attached via firewire 400 and got it on the first try. Also, I used the same dvd's that were failing in the superdrive (mat****a) to make two in a row. It's odd, but I'd say the superdrive and memorex +r dual layer disks just don't like each other.

-J

[ThreeBKK]

jjsterner:

That's an interesting story, thanks for relaying it!
Did you, at any point, try to use different media, other than Memorex, in the SuperDrive?

[egself]

tried the language thing, still doesnt work for me, trying to burn dvds in iphoto...

[jjsterner]

Quote: Originally Posted by ThreeBKK jjsterner: That's an interesting story, thanks for relaying it! Did you, at any point, try to use different media, other than Memorex, in the SuperDrive?

No, I don't have any other media on hand to try. I do have access to a MacBook with a superdrive and may also try the Memorex media in that drive to see what happens.

[esbandido1]

I tried the language thing and I am still getting this error message. I'm trying to burn Memorex DVD+R DL with a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857E inside a MacBook Pro...

[esbandido1]

Tried a Verbatim brand DVD+R DL once I got home from work and everything worked fine.

Felt some relief that it's hopefully a problem specific to the media and won't require a trip into the repair center.

[Shroombaker]

Quote: Originally Posted by esbandido1 I tried the language thing and I am still getting this error message. I'm trying to burn Memorex DVD+R DL with a MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-857E inside a MacBook Pro...

I have the exact same media, harddrive, and computer. The language trick did not work for me over many attempts. I will try different media next...