Q: I copied some photos from my camera's memory card to a newly created folder on my two-year-old Surface Pro tablet PC, using a USB card reader. I could see the photos after I transferred them, but when I restarted the PC the photos were gone. I haven't gotten any "low memory" warnings. What's wrong?
— Angie LaMere, Bloomington, Minn.
A: I suspect the photos weren't really copied to the Surface Pro tablet.
Try this copy procedure: Connect the memory card to the Surface Pro via the card reader. When the contents of the card are displayed, copy the photos as a group. Then create a new file in a different folder on the Surface.
To do that, open File Explorer and choose "this PC" (see tinyurl.com/y8buvpx2). On the right side of the screen, choose "desktop." Create your new photos folder while inside the "desktop" folder. Then paste your photos into the new folder. When you remove the memory card and close any other programs that are running, your photos folder should be visible on your tablet's desktop screen.
If that doesn't work, download Microsoft's free "USB Troubleshooter" software (see tinyurl.com/yaer7jtd).
Q: The iTunes program on my Windows 10 laptop doesn't recognize the CD burner, even though the CD/DVD drive is recognized by Windows Device Manager. What's wrong?
— Deb Srsen, Minneapolis
A: You may have an older version of iTunes (version 12.7.2.58) that had problems burning music CDs on Windows 10. Apple has now moved on to iTunes version 12.8, so try downloading that (see tinyurl.com/ycfuzl96).
If that doesn’t work, double click on “DVD/CD-ROM drives” in Windows Device Manager. When the model name of the drive appears, right click it and choose “properties.” The resulting menu will tell you whether the drive works properly. If it isn’t, close the properties window, right click the drive model name again and select “update driver.”
Q: I used the public library's conversion equipment to transfer some VCR movies to a disk in the DVD+R format, which will play in my PC and in my TV's DVD player. But when I copied that DVD on my Windows 7 PC (it uses the DVD-RW format), the resulting disk played in my PC but not in the TV's DVD player. The second disk wasn't "finalized." What's wrong?
— Elizabeth Fry, Colorado Springs, Colo.
A: You are mixing two different DVD formats, and creating a disk your DVD player can't use.
The DVD+R format that the library uses is designed to put data on a disk once, then “finalize” or “close” the disk by writing supporting information, such as a table of contents. The DVD-RW format used by your PC’s DVD drive is designed to create data storage disks that can be written on more than once, so they aren’t finalized.
Either format will work on your DVD player — provided that you start with the original movie data, not a DVD copy of it.
The solution: Convert your VCR movies to PC files (see tinyurl.com/mgfuhte). Later you can burn those files to a DVD-RW disk that will work on your TV’s DVD player.———
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Steve Alexander covers technology for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Readers may write to him at Tech Q&A, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. 55488-0002; email: steve.j.alexander@gmail.com. Please include a full name, city and phone number.
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