Scott Drinkard

How to Fix "No Supported Disk Burners Found" Error In iTunes



Posted: Sunday, March 20, 2011

by Scott Drinkard
The Computer Guy

Problem: You want to back up your iTunes library and playlists to cd or dvd but when you try, iTunes cheerfully informs you that "no supported disk burners found". You know your CD/DVD burner is working because you can burn media from other applications, but for some reason iTunes can't recognize your burner. This seems to be a problem when you happen to have a specific mix of hardware and software on a PC running a 64bit version of Windows. Oddly, I've run into this same bizarre problem twice now in a short period of time on two of my customers computers. The following is a solution that I've found worked on both machines (one was an HP laptop running Vista 64bit and the other was a Dell desktop running Windows 7 64bit). I hope it will work for you as well.

Warning! This solution requires making modifications to the Windows registry. If done improperly, it can cause serious damage to your operating system. If you are not sure how or are uncomfortable making registry edits, please seek the help of a computer professional. You have been warned.

Start by removing the GEAR drivers (GEAR is the software company that provides the disk burning module for the iTunes software). This must be done manually with the Windows registry editor as follows:

Start the registry editor by selecting Run in the START menu, and type in regedit . Press ENTER.

1. Delete the following key from the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\GearAspiWDM

2. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} key remove the GEARAspiWDM entry in the UpperFilters value. Note that the entries in this value are double byte.

3. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{6D807884-7D21-11CF-801C-08002BE10318} key remove the GEARAspiWDM entry in the UpperFilters value. Note that the entries in this value are double byte.

4. In the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{CE5939AE-EBDE-11D0-B181-0000F8753EC4} key remove the GEARAspiWDM entry in the UpperFilters value.

5. Reboot

6. Delete GearAspi.dll (32bit) from the Windows\SysWOW64 folder

7. Delete GEARAspi64.dll (64bit) from the Windows\System32 folder

8. Delete GearAspiWDM.sys (64bit) from the Windows\System32\Drivers folder

9. If present, delete the Windows\System32\GEARAspi.dll value from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SharedDLLs registry key

10. If present, delete the Windows\SysWOW64\GEARAspi.dll value from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SharedDLLs registry key

11. Delete the Windows\System32\GEARAspi64.dll value from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SharedDLLs registry key

12. Delete the Windows\System32\Drivers\GearAspiWDM.sys value from the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SharedDLLs registry key

13. Reboot

After you finish this procedure, start iTunes. You should be greeted by a message that the software is not completely installed and if you wish to use the cd/dvd burning features of iTunes, you'll have to reinstall iTunes. At this point you can download the latest version of iTunes from their website and reinstall it.

When you start the installation a message will give you the option of repairing your existing installation or removing it completely. Choose to repair it and when the installation is complete, reboot your computer. That's it! At this point you should be able to back up your iTunes to removable media. I hope this solution works as well for you as it has for me. If you have questions or comments, please visit my facebook page at facebook.com/odessacomputerguy.
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Scott Drinkard is a freelance computer repair and networking technician living and working in Odessa, Texas. As the owner of Odessa based "The Computer Guy" Mr. Drinkard has been serving the fine people of West Texas for 12 years. You can read more by Mr. Drinkard by visiting www.odessacomputerguy.net.
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