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I'm trying to create a Windows 7 System Image to DVD-R and very few minutes (about 7) it keeps getting me to insert another new disc, but even though there's no error given I think it's not actually making progress because:

  1. The progress bar gets to about 40% then seems to drop back to 10% when I put the next disc in
  2. When Windows asks me to put a disc in, it specifies a label to use. The text provided for the label has a 1 at the end, which presumably is a disc number.
  3. I was warned by Windows it would be about 23GB of data, but I've been through about 8 discs now (which hold something like 4.7GB each), so it should have completed already.

For each new unformatted disc I put in, Windows asks me if I want to format it, which I confirm. The behaviour seems to match this comment in a Microsoft forum I found: "I also had the same problem with DVD Rs and after obtaining a supply of RW DVD's and formatting them all I tried again. It worked!!!!!"

It sounds like I just turned 8 of my discs into Christmas decorations.

There doesn't seem to be any indication from Windows that I should use DVD-RW discs, so I don't see why DVD-R's shouldn't work. Has anyone else got a System Image to work to DVD-R's? Is there something I'm missing that could get this process working?

Update: It worked when I used DVD-RW's. It took 2 discs, and before inserting the 2nd disc it specified to label it with something like "Windows 7 System Image 15/2/2012 2". This is a significant difference because when I used DVD-R's the label specified was always "Windows 7 System Image 15/2/2012 1" for every disc I put in. ie it kept burning disc 1 over and over without progressing further. Of course, it didn't specifically state that the number 1 at the end was a disc number, so it seemed somewhat sensible to assume it wasn't a disc number since it didn't go up by one each time I put a new disc in... grr!

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Try a DVD+R..... –  Moab Feb 14 '12 at 5:07
@Moab, I'm guessing you mean DVD-RW? I've bought some, so will try it shortly. –  Highly Irregular Feb 15 '12 at 0:17
Nope, I always use DVD+R...newegg.com/Product/… –  Moab Feb 15 '12 at 3:46
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up vote 0 down vote accepted

It's probably going to be difficult to find out what causes the process to work for DVD-R's sometimes but not always, so the best advice is probably this:

  1. If you're short on time and get a chance to plan in advance, it might be best to just use DVD-RW's to save on rework should the process fail.
  2. If you try using DVD-R's and the 2nd disc displays a prompt telling you to label the disc with "Windows 7 System Image 1", then it's trying to burn disc 1 again and you might as well stop wasting your discs. You'll probably need to get some DVD-RW's and try again, unless someone else finds a solution to the problem. The prompt giving the label for the 2nd disc should read "Windows 7 System Image 2", not "Windows 7 System Image 1"
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