The most common reason for this error is that your computer has a drive that can only read discs but cannot write (burn) them, or there is no disc burner installed at all. Other possible causes include loose or disconnected SATA cables, missing or outdated drivers, or the disc burner being disabled in the BIOS settings. This problem can also happen if you are trying to burn a disc over Remote Desktop or on a virtual machine that does not have access to the physical disc burner. Each of these situations prevents Windows from finding the necessary hardware to burn your disc. In this article, we will discuss different ways to solve this error.
1. Ensure Your Drive Has Writing Capability
Before trying other solutions, begin by confirming that your CD or DVD drive is capable of burning discs. If your drive is strictly a ROM (read-only memory) device, it cannot write data, so none of the steps below will work. If the drive’s name contains the abbreviation RW (Read-Write), it supports disc burning with isoburn.exe.
2. Run the Hardware & Devices Troubleshooter (Windows 10 Only)
Certain Windows 10 glitches may cause your computer to lose recognition of the optical drive’s writing functionality, particularly after waking from hibernation. Restarting your computer may fix the issue, but running the built-in Hardware & Devices troubleshooter is more thorough and can apply deeper fixes automatically.
3. Restart Explorer.exe
If the previous method did not resolve the issue and you have confirmed that your drive supports writing, restarting Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) may help. This step addresses potential temporary glitches in File Explorer, which can interfere with device recognition.
4. Reinstall the DVD Writer Driver
Driver issues can often prevent proper functionality of DVD writers. Uninstalling and allowing Windows to reinstall the DVD writer driver can resolve any inconsistencies or corruption.
5. Using a Third-Party Tool
Please note that isoburn.exe cannot burn an ISO disk image directly to a USB flash drive, as it is designed exclusively for optical discs. If you need to create a bootable USB drive or burn an ISO to a USB flash drive, a specialized third-party tool is required. Reliable options include Rufus and ImageBurn.
