Can't Burn DVDs Anymore With Nero

[Skital]

I don't know when this problem started, but Nero's max burn speed for DVDs is not at 2.4x and I get an error rigiht after I try to burn any kind of DVD-R (with or without DVD Shrink being involved). Usually my max speed is 8X.

I'm using an NEC ND-2500A drive. I selected CD to test if CD-Rs still burned and it burned fine. This problem seemed to occur right after I bought a different type (sort of) of DVD-R. I had been buying the Silver inkjet printable Prodiscs, but switched to the White inkjet printable Prodiscs. Suddenly 2.4x became my max speed and I get errors everytime I try to burn a dvd.

I have uninstalled and reinstalled Nero several times. I don't think it's the media that's the problem though. Even when there is no disc present Nero still only has a 2.4x max speed that is selectable.

What is the deal here? I've never had a problem like this before. I've been wanting to back up a lot of stuff on my hard drive so I can reformat, but now I can't even do that and it sucks.

Any help would be great. Thanks

[winifreid]

You should do some other tests to isolate the problem. Try bunring with DVD Decrypter. Will DVDs read at max speed? It is possible that your drive has changed from ata to pio. Also, do you have updated firmware for your drive. When new media comes out, drives will burn them with a default media stratigy which usually is not good and slow. You may need to update your firmware.

[MysticE]

This problem seemed to occur right after I bought a different type (sort of) of DVD-R.

Sounds like a media problem to me. I would go back to what worked before tinkering with re-installs.

[Skital]

You should do some other tests to isolate the problem. Try bunring with DVD Decrypter. Will DVDs read at max speed? It is possible that your drive has changed from ata to pio. Also, do you have updated firmware for your drive. When new media comes out, drives will burn them with a default media stratigy which usually is not good and slow. You may need to update your firmware.

Thanks for the reply. How do I tell if my drive went from "ATA" to "PIO" (and how do I change it back if it did?)?

I don't know about the firmware, because I've never had to mess with that before.

Also, I don't play dvds with this drive. It's mostly used just for burning. I have a seperate drive for playing DVDs. However, I do occassionally use my dvd burner for region 2 dvds.

I'll look into getting a firmware update. Thanks

[Skital]

This problem seemed to occur right after I bought a different type (sort of) of DVD-R.

Sounds like a media problem to me. I would go back to what worked before tinkering with re-installs.

I'll see if I can find some of that other media to see if it still works. I get the feeling it won't for some reason though. I mean, why would the software still say the max speed is 2.4x even when there is no media in the drive? It used to go upto 8x. This is why I thought it probably wasn't the media.

I'll try to find an old disc of the other type and maybe a firmware update. This problem is getting very frustrating. That's for sure.

Thanks

[winifreid]

Look here:
http://herrie.org/
and here:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=86
for info about firmware. I recommended that you test the read/rip speed to see if it had changed to pio mode since the problem affects both read and write speeds. If yo can still read at max speeds, then it is not a pio problem.

[redwudz]

To check DMA/PIO mode within Windows:

Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager>IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.

From there, right click on one of the channels and choose 'Properties>Advanced Settings'. All drives should be DMA mode. The 'Current Transfer Mode' for Hard drives is usually DMA 4-6 and DVD burners DMA 2-4, DVD ROMs usually DMA 2. If you see any in PIO mode, that can slow things down.

Changing them back may be easy or complicated. First see if you can change them in that window. If not, I usually uninstall that channel and let the OS reinstall it. This will usually take a reboot.

If still no luck, get back to us.

[Skital]

Thanks. It's set to DMA.

BTW, I forgot to mention but the error I keep getting right when I try to burn is something like "Cannot Start Disc-At-Once".

[Skital]

Thanks for the help everyone. I found one of my old silvertop Prodiscs and it burned fine at 4x (although for some reason 8x is no longer selectable, but I don't use that speed anyway).

It's weird though. I never thought these new discs wouldn't work on my burner since I was keeping the same brand just with a different type of printable top.

Is there a chance that a firmware update will allow these Prodiscs to work?

BTW, I'm using firware 1.06, but the newest one on NEC's site is "1.0A" and on another site for several of the NEC ND2500A firmware updates it says "1.0A (NEW)". So, is 1.0A the "new" firmware update? I though updates usually go foward with their numbers, not backwards.

Thanks again.

[ROF]

The latest firmware for your drive is 1.09a

I'd say your firmware is extremely outdated and with this update your new discs should burn just fine and also you will be able to burn at 8x.