The overwhelming majority of those free burning programs contain pup's .
Gizmos freeware is an excellent site that tells you what programs have them because some programs are exceptionally sneaky at getting them on your system and don't show a pups notice before downloading.
Portable is definitely the way to go with these programs , Eset Online scanner with the (find unwanted programs) box checked under (advanced settings) finds even the sneakiest pups.
Golden rule when installing a free program: Always go for the custom installation. If you watch each step carefully before clicking next, you can avoid installing any PUPs. Click Decline or Skip or Not accept when you are offered any other utility when installing your free program. But to do that you must install in Custom mode. Standard mode will install everything without your consent.
The custom install mode is available on many free programs but not all , there are some programs that offer it and even though you uncheck everything there will still be a pup or pups installed but thats rare .
Freemake is an example of a program that will install numerous pups with "no option" to avoid them. Eset online scanner found a ton last time i used it.
This is why I use the PORTABLE version of CDBurnerXP and many other programs...NO PUPS if it does not install!
Did you try the Recording tab in DVD Properties? Maybe you should select your DVD there (if you have two or more installed) and then it should allow you to burn files from Windows Explorer. A similar setting has to be in Windows Media Player if you want to burn music CDs from there.
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