DVD-RW will not erase

[barthrh]

I can't erase a DVD-RW. It's not that old, but has a few scratches on it. I burned it with iDVD, but now want to erase it.

Both Disk Utility and Toast fail. DU just greys out the erase. Toast tries, but says that another resource has the disk. This is just after inserting it (with no auto-play).

Any guesses? And yes, I am certain that it's a RW!

 

[Makosuke]

You might try erasing a brand-new DVD-RW to narrow down the issue; if that doesn't work it must be a software (or perhaps even drive) problem, but if it does then it's just a bum disc. For what it's worth I have seen that happen, sometimes quickly, to -RW discs; something happens to the dye and they just refuse to erase. Interestingly most software seems to be able to tell before trying, so that may be what you're seeing.

 

[ShermDog]

What version of OSX are you using? I had a similar problem several months ago. I was trying to erase a DVD-RW disc using OS 10.2, but Disc Utility just grayed out the option of erasing. But, when I upgraded to 10.3, I was able to erase the same disc using Disc Utility. Now I'm using Tiger, and I still have no problems writing or erasing to the same DVD-RW.

 

[barthrh]

I'm using 10.4.1. Good call on the second disk. I'm also going to try to erase it in a PC (ugh) and see if that gets it.