It will help, as Orac says, if you can let us know what make and model recorder that you have.
My (domestic- not PC) Toshiba has a hard drive- invaluable for editing, which is a doddle compared with PC programmes, prior to putting stuff on to a DVD disk. Also, it has a setting that allows it to "record to fit", meaning that it compresses material, allowing longer than the normal LP 4 hours, with a small amount of quality loss, although I haven't noticed it.