"Unspecified Error" when trying to burn project

[sjg@aaaeastpenn.com]

Nature of the problem - "Unspecified Error" when trying to burn project, as soon as I try to burn project when it tries to render I get "unspecified error" and I have to click ok then it brings me back to the burn menu. Cant burn image to hdd first either, program WONT render project.

Properties of your source files - jpg files from digital camera

Output format - DVD

PAL or NTSC - America, I think NTSC

Error Codes (if any) - "Unspecified error"

[sjj1805]

Has MovieFactory ever worked or is this the first time you have used it.
If its the first time then possibly a faulty installation and perhaps a re-installation may cure the problem.

If it is not the first time and you have made DVD's with it before then possibly one or more of the JPG's has some corruption. Try creating a small test project to HDD using just a handfull of other JPG files to see if the problem repeats itself. If it does not then you have narrowed your search down to the source material.

If the problem remains:
1. Double check your output settings
2. Spend a few minutes and think what might have changed on your computer since the last time you were able to create a DVD - any new software/hardware installed OR removed?

[sjg@aaaeastpenn.com]

Has MovieFactory ever worked or is this the first time you have used it.
If its the first time then possibly a faulty installation and perhaps a re-installation may cure the problem.

If it is not the first time and you have made DVD's with it before then possibly one or more of the JPG's has some corruption. Try creating a small test project to HDD using just a handfull of other JPG files to see if the problem repeats itself. If it does not then you have narrowed your search down to the source material.

If the problem remains:
1. Double check your output settings
2. Spend a few minutes and think what might have changed on your computer since the last time you were able to create a DVD - any new software/hardware installed OR removed?

I had just replaced the user's computer and it worked on the old one. I installed it on the new one and I can't even burn the old projects that worked on the old pc before I removed the software. I even completely reinstalled the operating system on the new pc from scratch and only installed the ulead product after the windows drivers and it still gives me "unspecified error" as soon as the rendering starts. I even installed the two software patches for ulead.

[sjg@aaaeastpenn.com]

Any more tips?

[GregK]

I can't say for certain (SJJ probably knows more about this technically than I do), but I also have DMF6 and once in a very rare while I also get an "Unspecified Error" message but I always manage to get through the "burning" process completely (the message will only ever show up upon completion of the project/ISO), and I always run off an ISO file to do my disc burn afterwards. I can't say for certain, but it could be a combination of a couple of things....as SJJ pointed out, it could partially have to do with your project/output settings, and I think it might also partially have to do with your input files (in my case I'm always working with video files of one sort or another I create a project with, like AVI files, etc.). In your case, I'm guessing it's a combination of what SJJ pointed out and what I mentioned about your input files.

Can you give us more specific details as to the properties of those files you're inputting (sp?) into DMF, and what your specific project output settings are? That might help....either SJJ might then recognize something he didn't before, or I might see something familiar.

Something else I notice once in awhile is that if a project of mine (the actual project file/DWZ file) has become fragmented, or if the input file I'm using has become fragmented, it's more likely to have a possible problem or error.....or simply run slowly....than when I defragment my drive. I use Defragmenter Analysis (I'm on WinXP) to check and see if any of my project or input file are greatly fragmented....if they do happen to be, I defragment to help avoid any possible problems or errors. Quite often I've found that if I've had a project error or problem, defragmenting takes care of that....depending, of course, on what the actual problem might be. Try checking your system Defragmenter and just run an analysis (if your system has such a feature) and see if any of your input or project files....or even any of the DMF program files themselves are fragmented by much (I'd say over 100 mb or so, give or take). If they are, defragment your drive and then immediately go back into the project and try it again.

[sjg@aaaeastpenn.com]

I can't say for certain (SJJ probably knows more about this technically than I do), but I also have DMF6 and once in a very rare while I also get an "Unspecified Error" message but I always manage to get through the "burning" process completely (the message will only ever show up upon completion of the project/ISO), and I always run off an ISO file to do my disc burn afterwards. I can't say for certain, but it could be a combination of a couple of things....as SJJ pointed out, it could partially have to do with your project/output settings, and I think it might also partially have to do with your input files (in my case I'm always working with video files of one sort or another I create a project with, like AVI files, etc.). In your case, I'm guessing it's a combination of what SJJ pointed out and what I mentioned about your input files.

Can you give us more specific details as to the properties of those files you're inputting (sp?) into DMF, and what your specific project output settings are? That might help....either SJJ might then recognize something he didn't before, or I might see something familiar.

I can design a project on the computer that doesn't work and then install the software on another PC and burn the project successfully. To me, that eliminates the input files. Also, both PCs are using the default NTSC DVD project settings.

I don't understand why on a brand new PC this software does not work. I've tried a second brand new PC and reinstalled the OS on both of them (just for troubleshooting purposes, I removed the software once I realized it didn't work on them).

These new PCs will NOT render the project. I even purchased a graphics card thinking it was the onboard video preventing the projects from rendering. I think its crazy that you have to pay for support. This is a legitimate problem, it may be hardware related but the PC matches the required specifications.

[GregK]

What operating systems does each computer use? I'm wondering if there's a compatibility issue with one of the OS's (and we all know which one has been giving people problems since its release).

[sjj1805]

OK a quick recap on what we have so far.
1. Brand New computer.
2. New Installation of Windows XP Service Pack 2.
3. You can create a project on this machine but you cannot burn it, whether that is on a disc or even to the hard drive itself.
4. You can however transport that same project over to another machine and it will burn the project.

My suspicions at this stage are possibly a faulty hard drive.
I had a problem about 18 months ago when I installed a brand new hard drive from a famous High Street Computer Store and it turned out to be faulty. Took a couple of weeks of hair pulling before I finally nailed it down to the new hard drive and had to exchange it for another.

Firstly try removing the hard drive from the computer including the leads connecting the hard drive to the motherboard. Re-install the cables and the hard drive. It is possible they may not have seated correctly and although appear to be working (most of the time) a faulty connection can cause all sorts of weird problems. (In fact I discovered on one of my desktop computers I had a faulty IDE slot - I had to purchase a PCI / IDE card to get around the problem.)

If that doesn't cure it, next try running chkdsk using the R option. It is normal for most users to run chkdsk using the F option (Fix) however using the R option goes deeper and checks for bad blocks/sectors on the hard drive. Be aware that using this option requires a reboot and will take several hours (depending upon the size of the hard drive) so it is best done overnight.

[GregK]

CHKDSK question:

I always run it at night before going to bed (it used to take about 4 hours to run, but now it only seems to take 2 hours or so), and I always check off both boxes seen here:



You say I should only check off one or the other? Please explain, as I always run CHKDSK once a month just to be sure there's no problems on my drive.[/img]

[sjj1805]

The way I do it is to click the Windows START button | Run | CMD
this brings up a DOS like shell.
Then type the following and press [enter]
chkdsk c: /r

The above line checks the "C" drive, to check other drives repeat using the appropriate drive letter. for example to check drive z
chkdsk z: /r

You will be greeted with a message saying something about the drive being in use and do you want to schedule a check next time windows starts.
Say "yes" and then reboot the computer.

[GregK]

Okay, I guess that's how you do it via a DOS prompt....but what about the screen capture I posted, which is accessible through Explorer by right-clicking on the drive, selecting Properties, and then the Tools tab? I'm assuming.....based on your description in your earlier reply....that doing it the way I usually do it and checking both boxes will do the same thing as you just described.

Please clarify, just for technicalities' sake.

[sjj1805]

It looks like ticking the second box is probably the same - but as I don't do it that way it is just a guess. I can only tell you how I do it.

You can click here for further information.

[GregK]

Thanks....I'll look into that Google result further.....but since I usually check off both boxes, I'd assume that doing so takes care of both things. All I know is I've never had a problem afterwards when checking both....and I just let it run when I turn in for the night. My desktop is as it should be in the morning.

[dos64]

Hi

I also have the problem described here with some/all of my projects going through Ulead DV Moviefactory 6 (UDM6). I have tried everything (I guess) to get rid of the problem, but without any luck.
1) First I reinstalled my PC from scratch and installed UDM6 as the very first program after installing Windows XP.
2) I tried to move both my UDM6 project and my UDM6 MPEG input files to different phyical harddiscs. And made a check and a defragment on all harddiscs used.
3) I installed the UDM6 program on my portable PC which was also newly formatted.

The only effect it could achieve was after installing the available patches from the Ulead home page. After installing the patches I got the error message : "Internal error in the DVD engine". When trying without the patches I got the error message : "unspecified error".
Perhaps I should mention that I am not trying to burn my project(s)directly. I am merely trying to generate DVD fold廨s on my different harddiscs.
I also think the error messages presented to the users are somehow very weak. I am a SW developer myself, and if I presented such error messages to the users of my modules, I would soon be out of buisness. To me it looks likes the people behind all this don't know too much of what is actually going on here. Or they need a course in MMI design. It shouldn't be that demanding for them to point out from where the cause of the problem(s) arises, instead og these error messages leaving the user(s) with only frustrations.
Hopefully the errors we have seen in UDM6 will be solved in UDM7. But I don't think I dare to invest in UDM7, with the problms I have had with the old UDM3 and now also UDM6 in mind.
Instead of putting a lot of efforts in the HD development, I think the Ulead people should have concentrated on having a stable product running on the old formats. And only when this was achieved they should have focused on the HD market.
Perhaps there are someone out there, who had the problems described here in UDM6 having already tried UDM7. If you could provide some feedback on your experiences with UDM7 related to these kind of problems, it would be great for me. Then I could get a pointer whether or not I should have a try with UDM7 or I should simply look around for another program. For the moment I don't feel like downloading a free trial of UDM7 myself and try it out.

[richalt2]

I ran into this Unspecified Error problem also. I was successfully burning Blu-ray with MovieFactory6, and then the next day it started to happen 100% of the time. The error pops up after I hit Burn, and seemingly around the point where the video file would start compressing or audio track merging.

I remembered I had installed another video application, CyberLink PowerDVD 8. This caused me to think perhaps a different video codec had been installed, and perhaps replaced or was being selected in place of a codec from MF.
You can see your codec list under:
Start -> Control Panel -> SOunds&Audio Devices, Hardware tab,
scroll down to Video Codec, select it, Properties,
then the Properties tab of the Properties window,
shows the list of video codecs.

I don't know how to tell which one will be used for a given video processing.
What I did was to re-install the MF6 HD Pack.
(expecting it would reinstall its preferred codec, according to my theory).

Whether I was right or wrong, now MF6 is working fine!!
Since so little information can be seen in the above window, I didn't go back to repeat this entire process to try to confirm or correlate a codec appearing there to the failure.

Rich