CDRW drives
19 August 2003, 09:15 AM
#1
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Need a cheap one to run on a fairly old PC (Gateway 500Mhz) with win2k.
Any suggestions? Seen one at Insight for 30 quid + VAT but I don't want to pay that much if I can help it. And yes, I am a tight git
Ta muchly
Mark
Any suggestions? Seen one at Insight for 30 quid + VAT but I don't want to pay that much if I can help it. And yes, I am a tight git
Ta muchly
Mark
19 August 2003, 09:25 AM
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**** you don't want much do you!!!!
here http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...rice&order=ASC they start at £22.40 + Vat.
here http://www.refreshcomputers.com/acat...ml&CatalogBody you can get the highly acclaimed Liteon 52x for £33 (retail boxed including one CDRW & one CDR)
When they are only £25 upwards your kidding youself not to buy one. Most new drives will have Burnproof or Buffer Under Run technology which as you are using a slow PC I would say is a must.
Stu...
here http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...rice&order=ASC they start at £22.40 + Vat.
here http://www.refreshcomputers.com/acat...ml&CatalogBody you can get the highly acclaimed Liteon 52x for £33 (retail boxed including one CDRW & one CDR)
When they are only £25 upwards your kidding youself not to buy one. Most new drives will have Burnproof or Buffer Under Run technology which as you are using a slow PC I would say is a must.
Stu...
19 August 2003, 09:36 AM
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Think I'd better explain the short arms, deep pockets bit.
Trying to do a mate a favour. His PC, the Gateway, has got a CDRW that has given up the ghost. Win2k sometimes 'saw' it as a CDRW and sometimes as a removable device. The PC's BIOS then failed to recognise the drive at all. Bu66ered drive me thinks (unless anyone knows different).
Anyhoo, this chap's a bit strapped for cash...
So, cheers guys, I'll check those links out
Mark
Trying to do a mate a favour. His PC, the Gateway, has got a CDRW that has given up the ghost. Win2k sometimes 'saw' it as a CDRW and sometimes as a removable device. The PC's BIOS then failed to recognise the drive at all. Bu66ered drive me thinks (unless anyone knows different).
Anyhoo, this chap's a bit strapped for cash...
So, cheers guys, I'll check those links out
Mark
19 August 2003, 09:55 AM
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OK so his burner will be worth more than his PC, but hey he'll make some nice CD's!!
On a serious note, have you tried flashing the firmware on his drive?? My 40x liteon went not unlike you describe, I flashed the firmware and all was well, even took the opportunity to flash it up to a 48x!! All after I had spent my £33 on a shiny new 52x of course!!!
On a serious note, have you tried flashing the firmware on his drive?? My 40x liteon went not unlike you describe, I flashed the firmware and all was well, even took the opportunity to flash it up to a 48x!! All after I had spent my £33 on a shiny new 52x of course!!!
19 August 2003, 12:00 PM
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Stu_WRX: What do you mean, flash it up to 48x? I have the LTR-40125S (40X 12X 48X) drive - are you saying it's physically capable of 48x writing? How did you find that one out? Lite-on's site has a number of firmware downloads for that drive which incorporate support for additional media types, but nothing that mentions a speed increase.
Ta
Andy.
Ta
Andy.
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19 August 2003, 12:33 PM
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Seem to have a fundamental problem flashing the CDRW. BIOS will not detect the piece of junk on either channel, master or slave.
Patience has expired. Time to fix it with a new 'un and damn the expense
Mark
Patience has expired. Time to fix it with a new 'un and damn the expense
Mark
19 August 2003, 12:47 PM
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AndyC_772 - Yep. I have the same drive as you and it is possible to flash the drive with bios from the 48/12/48 drive. I downloaded the required tools, but decided that an extra couple of seconds really wasn't worth risking the drive for.
If you want the info to do it, drop me a mail as I have the link at home.
If you want the info to do it, drop me a mail as I have the link at home.
19 August 2003, 10:27 PM
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Andy
Don't think it's the cable. The PC I tried the CDRW in (not the Gateway) already has a CDROM that works just fine. I swapped the drives, made the CDRW the master etc, no joy. I also tried the CDRW as slave on the primary IDE, nope. More bizarre was later when I tried the CDRW on cable select with the CDROM as master. The CDRW suddenly appeared in win2k. I tried flashing the firmware as previously advised but that repeatedly failed even when I had loaded the necessary ASPI drivers. Anyway, after several reboots the CDRW vanished.
Frustrating ain't the word
Mark
Don't think it's the cable. The PC I tried the CDRW in (not the Gateway) already has a CDROM that works just fine. I swapped the drives, made the CDRW the master etc, no joy. I also tried the CDRW as slave on the primary IDE, nope. More bizarre was later when I tried the CDRW on cable select with the CDROM as master. The CDRW suddenly appeared in win2k. I tried flashing the firmware as previously advised but that repeatedly failed even when I had loaded the necessary ASPI drivers. Anyway, after several reboots the CDRW vanished.
Frustrating ain't the word
Mark
19 August 2003, 10:41 PM
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Mark: OK, not the cable then. It's always worth checking, though, IDC type connectors aren't especially reliable. I'm a professional electronic engineer, and I hate them.
Stu: Thanks for the tip, I always thought the drives looked suspiciously similar, but flashing firmware from the wrong drive is usually a way to end up with a boat anchor. Interesting to see in this case that it works; the 48X firmware seems to work quite differently to the 40X, in that it keeps the disc spinning at constant speed (CAV) and writes at a continuously increasing speed, rather than zone-CLV which it used to do.
Stu: Thanks for the tip, I always thought the drives looked suspiciously similar, but flashing firmware from the wrong drive is usually a way to end up with a boat anchor. Interesting to see in this case that it works; the 48X firmware seems to work quite differently to the 40X, in that it keeps the disc spinning at constant speed (CAV) and writes at a continuously increasing speed, rather than zone-CLV which it used to do.
20 August 2003, 08:13 AM
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Andy
Yes there was lots of discussion about it on the net and in fact there is a forum dedicated to it. It's not just 40 - 48 there are upgrades for many liteon and rebranded liteon drives. The firmware isn't wholly a 48x drive firmware it's a modified file.
Stu..
Yes there was lots of discussion about it on the net and in fact there is a forum dedicated to it. It's not just 40 - 48 there are upgrades for many liteon and rebranded liteon drives. The firmware isn't wholly a 48x drive firmware it's a modified file.
Stu..
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