Can't read Vista installation DVD through OS, only works when boot

[Jpok]

I have an original Vista Ultimate DVD, academic edition. I'm trying to vLite it, but I can't copy the files off of the disc! The DVD is completely invisible to all Windows programs, even vLite, when I'm inside Windows (using XP SP2). If I try to access the installation DVD from inside Explorer, it says that there's no disc in the drive. I've tried using Nero to just make a copy of the DVD, and even Nero thinks there's no disc in the drive. I've even tried to copy the disc from inside Knoppix, but Knoppix thinks that there's no disc in the drive, too.

BUT, if I restart the computer, then the regular Vista setup begins. The problem is that I don't want to use the regular Vista setup, I want to vLite it first.

Can someone please tell me how I can vLite such a disk?

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question. I thought for sure that it'd be a common problem, so I spent an hour searching the forums for the solution, and unfortunately I've found nothing.

Thank you very much!

[Jpok]

Sorry, finally I figured it out. It has nothing to do with the DVD. It has to do with the DVD reader firmware. I use NEC 3550A DVD burners. 2 of them have 1.Y6 modified firmwares (Liggy and Dee's, if I remember correctly), and I have an external burner that has an older 1.Y5 firmware. I hooked up the external burner, threw in the Vista disc, and then Windows was able to read it - and I was able to make a vLited version.

Well, it was either the firmware, or the fact that the drive was connected externally through firewire. It sounds strange, but while searching for a solution to my problem I found that other people have been unable to install Vista because of their DVD reader, and just by switching their DVD reader from a Master position to a Slave position with the jumpers, they were able to successfully install the OS.

Hope this posting can help somebody else in the future.

Thanks, nuhi, for such a great program!

[nuhi]

Interesting, thx for the info.