Hi I'm wondering if corrupt files or setting in XP could be the cause? Has anyone tried a clean install of XP to try and fix the problem? i ask cause i've ruled out media and software, i'm going to get a lens cleaner but if that fails i'm out of options... if i had a desktop pc i could of course just buy a new burner but i have laptop so it's not so easy....

Yes, I would definitely try it! I've never had this problem with my CD writer (fortunately) but I had this one similar problem with my CD writer in the past - it just wouldn't read SOME CDs. On a hunch, I removed the CD writer from the Device Manager and let the system (Windows ME) set it up again when I rebooted, most of the previous problems simply disappeared ever since.

It may be unrelated but worth a shot if no one on this thread ever tried reinstalling the OS as a probable fix for power calibration errors.

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J de Silva
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If people are still having problems, they might want to have a look at this thread: Power Calibration Error in Nero Fix it works for some not for others.

Rob

well, a clean installation of windows xp did nothing to solve the problem, so i sent my laptop for service (it was still under guarantee) ... still waiting to get it back and have it confirmed it was a hardware problem with the drive.... i'll try the tip in the other thread though, if for no other reason than to have nero start up quicker! i'm very impatient and it's very slow!!

media media media.. Guys, change your cd's! I had the same problem with a client, a very big recording studio in Johannesburg (Galo Records). I had recently sold them a DVD-RW+- for backing up, but discovered it wasnt burning without error. I tweaked and tweaked, but nothing. I tried everything! I kept getting the 'power calibration error' with Nero 6 after a while. I visited this site, and found an entry explaining what power calibration is. It stated -->MEDIA. I changed the disks i was using, and what do u know.. In my opinion a dirty laser could possibly cause the fault, but first try changing your disk types!! New burners can be expensive as to new disks..
I hope this will give some of you a shortcut, and save u alot of frustration...

of course a certain % of power calibration errors are caused by incompatible/cheap media, but it's clear that there are many possible causes of this error and media is only one of them... i ruled it out long ago

I had the same problem recently and found that the simplest, cheapest and (so far) best solution is to:

1. Eject the disk
2. Make sure the disk looks ok (no dust, gunge, scratches etc)
3. Make sure the tray is clean
4. Try again... If this fails then repeat 1-3 and...
5. Blow into the slot on the front of the burner - this seems to be enough to rid the lens of dust and usually allows burning to proceed normally. It's not really the ideal way of cleaning the lens as it can introduce moisture (ie spit!) but as a quick fix it works fine.

Of course this will only help if your are using reasonably good quality media of a type that your drive will "play" with ;-)

"Power calibration" - When burning a CD the drive tries to write a test signal to the disk to set the calibration of the laser. If it cannot write a readable signal, this is called a "power calibration error". The error message usually means that there is something wrong with the media. After much trial and error, I determined that the none of my 48x media (100pc no-name spindle) worked with my Lite-On burner but 40x media from Verbatim, Sony, and Maxell did work. TKD media did not work at any speed on my system. Hope this helps.
HOLLA!!"

Thank's for this post johnnyzazza

I have experienced the Power Calibration several times the two past days. I have an HP burner (HP PC too) and use Nero 5 something on Windowes XP. I have burned about 150 CD's the past 4 months, and I have always used Memorex, Sony or Imation blanks. They have worked just fine for me.

Two days ago I bought a spindel of 50 TDK blanks, and after I had burned two TDK CD'S, the Power Calibration 1st appeard on the 3rd disk. It continud on the 4th. Then I reboot, and was able to burn another two TDK disks, but then the Power Calibration message appeard once again on the 3rd CD. Weird stuff I thought. I installed my verison of Nero one more time, but that didn't help. Then I thought some files were missing, cause I had run Ad-aware several times the past week, and I had deleted much spywarestuff etc.

Then I came over this board and read johnnyzazzas post. Today I bought a spindel of 100 Memorex CD's, and I burned about 12 CD's without getting the Power Calibration message. No problems burning them at all. I also noticed that the whole burning process went much more smoothly with Memorex CD's then with the TDK's I did manage to burn. The process went faster at the same speed (12x) etc. The TDK's did stamp a long time on the lead-in, compared to the Memorex CD's.

I have not done any cleaning as many others here suggested, only changed the type of the blanks. I'm not telling that this is the solution on everyones elses Power Calibration problem here, only my own experience with the same error message. But before you 'tear' your PC apart, try to change the type of your blanks ;-)

Good luck everyone!

I have been buring cd's and dvd's with nero 5 and 6 for months on multiple systems at home and at work, and this was the first time I have experienced this problem. I only use name brand media (TDK, Phillips, Fujifilm) And tried multiple brands of blanks, none would burn on my home DVD dual format burner. After reading thru this thread I decided to first try cleaning the lens with a MAxell DVD Lens Cleaner disc I picked up at the store.

This fixed the burn problem on my DVD burner so I also tried it in my PS2 which hadn't been reading game discs or DVD's for months without a major hassle. Once I finally got the PS2 to read the disc and was able to run the cleaning sequence I am now able to play games and DVD's right off the bat,

Anyone having this problem I suggest getting one of these discs ($12 US) and trying it first.

I got this problem everyone is talking about 1month ago. I dropped my spindel of cheap (of course) dvdr-media on the floor so first I thought that that caused the problem. After some tests I found out I was mistaking. I failed with 10dvdr in a row before trying to burn in 2x instead of 4x with a successfull result. Yes, sure, this was better than not burning at all but you want your resently purchased computer to work smothly, without any kinds of complikations, with other words - nothing less than perfect Just a minute ago I found the solution here, I tried the "power...fix" and it worked to burn 4x dvdr for the first time in quite long (if you ask me). I've never had any problems with regular cdr regardless of brand. So maybe, another reason for this problem is buffer underrun? I knew it wasn't any dirt causing this since I got it this monday and was for the first time ever used today. Fortunately I have a year left on my guarantee so I just send in whatever part that as making me
Before ( that will say more than 1month agp) I used the same media and the same software without any problems.

Edit! THe frustration is back on track! I thought I made it when I got "successfully burned in 4x" but no. It's the same problem I had when I tried to burn in 2x - it's very laggy ( enough to make it absolutely impossible to wach). Back to problem solution. Then I have new media (wich I very much doubt since I did the first 10 without any problem) to clean the laser (wich I also very much doubt because I've only used it twice) and to update or change firmware, as my remaining options.