Out of the box - won't recognize discs - won't install

[goldie]

So, I downloaded the trial version and liked it. I bought the official VS 11.5 PLUS from Amazon.com and it came today! I was so excited - I put the disc into my computer and.... NOTHING!

I tried the disc in both drives several times, rebooted several times, removed the trial version, rebooted, tried again, tried a different disc (son's game) which worked without a glitch, tried to explore from My Computer, and both drives don't even register that there is a disc in the drive. It's as if I have purchased blank discs.

Please help! Does anyone have any ideas or similar experiences?

Thanks,

C. Gold

[Ken Berry]

There are occasionally such things as dud program discs, and you may unfortunately have one. If you have a friend with a computer, try it on their's. If it doesn't work there, then clearly you have a lemon. But I suspect your only option would be to return it to Amazon and ask for a replacement. I doubt that Corel would replace it since you did not buy it directly from them.

[sjj1805]

If I recall Correctly Amazon are a bit like Ebay, Most of the stuff they "sell" is on behalf of well known and trusted outlets BUT they also deal in used items.
Double check your disc to make sure it is an original (factory pressed disc) and not a CDR (Home made disc).

If you are satisfied that it is a genuine manufactured disc then tilt it in the light and look across its mirrored surface for flaws, dirt or fingermarks.
If none apparent then you can try checking your manufacturers website for updated firmware. Firmware is software that resides inside a DVD Player/Burner that enables it to communicate with the computer. Every so often the manufacturers update that firmware to make it compatible with a wider range of CD/DVD discs - more new makes appear on the market every week.

Try a friends computer to see if another computer can read the disc.
If all this fails then as suggested above you will need to contact the seller.

[goldie]

Thanks.

I'm not happy about the prospects of buying dud, but I will attempt the things you've suggested and if it fails, I will contact Amazon.com. I am convinced that it is authentic software (I've been the dupe of pirated software before via ebay ), but I will definitely try the firmware idea before I contact the retailer.

Thanks for your help.

[sjj1805]

I just noticed your user name - bit dangerous to use your email address because it will get picked up by the search engines like google, yahoo, ask jeeves and the like. Next thing you know you will get a ton of spam email arriving at your inbox.

If you want me to alter it for you please send me a PM with a couple of alternatives in order of preference.

[bm707]

FYI, I bought VS11.5+ on Amazon, and there is definitely something strange about the discs. It is definitely authentic and was fulfilled by Amazon, but the discs were fairly scratched, and could only be read in one of my drives. BTW, the discs only contained VS11 unpatched, so I still had to download the patch and 11.5 update from Ulead's website and install them separately. In any case, if you get a replacement from Amazon, I don't know if it will be any different.

[lancecarr]

goldie, whilst bm707's post is full of good intention is is NOT advisable to dowwnload the trial version of VS 11, use the CD key you have then try to update from there.

The trial version, historically, is usually a first release of the software and is rarely uspdated from the point of it being put up for download. Additionally many, many users have had problems activating the trial version despite correct activation codes and applying patches and updates.

Try to resolve the probelm you have rather than introduce more!

[sjj1805]

I doubt very much the serial number for a full version would work with a trial version anyway - I haven't downloaded a trial version but don't they have to be activated (as opposed to the entry of a serial number) ?

[bm707]

Sorry for my error; I have edited my original post to delete the bad suggestion.

[2Dogs]

@goldie

to rule out more obvious stuff, do make sure that your pc can still read other discs that you know are good.

I once had a DVD burner start not recognising discs, and I resolved the problem simply by removing the burner (after first powering down the pc) rebooting without it and then re-installing it, when windows recognised it again and all was restored.

If you do follow Steve's suggestion of installing updated firmware, your pc will do all that anyway - you'll see a pop up message form the system tray at the bottom right of your screen (usually) that will indicate Windows has found a new device etc etc.

Good luck!