Burning discs

Question

I have a lenovo ideapad 330S with windows 11 installed. I tried to save files to disc. I also have a external dvd drive that i use to burn discs. When attempting this message says unable to format disc. I bought blank discs dvd+r so i know discs are good. What can i do to format these discs to use them?

Answer 1

Hi John Macco

I understand that you want to troubleshoot this device now.

Try to use the CD/DVD drive on another Windows computer.

If it works on another computer, it means that the system is faulty or the hardware and software of the device are incompatible with your computer. The repair on the system can try to overwrite the installation to repair it

（Disclaimer: Let's try to override the installation system, this will refresh your Windows files and operating system and will not delete files or applications. However, we still recommend backing up your computer in advance if it contains important data.

Once you have completed your backup, follow the steps in the guide below:

Windows 11 Download Download Windows 11 (microsoft.com)

Open the above link and select “Download Now” under “Create a Windows 11 Installation” and open this tool. After running the program, follow the instructions and select Windows 11 (Windows 11 for Professional or Home systems, Windows 11 Home Edition for Chinese Home Edition) and then select the iso file and the image file will start to download. After you have downloaded the image, go to the folder where you downloaded it, right click on the downloaded image file and select open windows explorer.

After you open it, find and run the setup program, and then it will start to override the system installation. ）

Try to use another normal CD/DVD drive on this computer to see if it works properly

Or you can reinstall the system. If the CD/DVD drive still does not work properly after reinstalling the system, the CD/DVD drive is faulty or the hardware and software are incompatible with your computer.

（Disclaimer: At this point, we have exhausted all troubleshooting and I recommend that we try to perform a clean install to get your computer back into a working condition. Please ensure that you backup any important data, including Documents, Pictures, Videos, and more. After that, you can find instructions on how to install Windows 10/11 in the following article by MVP Andre: How to: Perform a Custom Installation of Windows 11 and Windows 10 - Microsoft Community ）

Contact me if you need anything else.

Best wishes

Merek - MSFT Community Support Specialist | Microsoft

Answer 2

Merek- Thank you for your reply. The cd/dvd drive was working fine burning discs. I tried numerous discs but that didn't help. Is there a way to troubleshoot the cd/dvd drive?

Answer 3

Hi John Macco

Welcome to the Microsoft Community

Understanding your problem you are getting “Windows cannot complete the formatting” while burning the file.

You can try the following solutions

1... Uninstall reinstall and update the driver:

On the desktop, press Windows Key + X and select Device Manager.

In the Device Manager, locate the CD\DVD drive

Right-click on the DVD drive and select Uninstall

I noticed that you have purchased a Lenovo branded one, you can go to the Lenovo website to download the latest drivers for your product.

2... Check if the CD-ROM drive is working properly. Sometimes, the CD-ROM drive may have a hardware failure that prevents it from formatting the disc. You can try to connect the CD-ROM drive to another computer to see if it is able to format discs to rule out the possibility of hardware failure.

3. Try using third-party burning software. Sometimes, the disc formatting tool that comes with Windows may have problems. You can try using a third-party CD burning software.

4 Replace the CD-ROM. If all of the above methods fail to solve the problem, then it is likely that the CD-ROM you purchased has a quality problem itself. It is recommended that you try formatting another disc to see if it works.

Contact me if you need anything else.

Best wishes

Merek - MSFT Community Support Specialist | Microsoft