DVD disc problems

[dblue]

i bought DVD-r 16x 4.7GB/120min hp invent Red disc's and they wont burn. my dvd burner can only burn at 8x is this the problem? why would they make DVDs that only burn at 16x?

[redwudz]

They will probably burn at 8X, but your burner doesn't recognize them. Get some different discs or look into a firmware upgrade for the burner.

[hech54]

Not all DVD blanks are created equal.
Not all DVD burners are created equal.

[Bjs]

1: locate updated firmware , flash drive's bios .

If bios update say's nothing about increased burning speed , then this may not be worth doing .

2: Your burner may only support 8x burn as fastest setting .

You can buy 16x unit's cheap ... but consider this .

a: Burn as fast as you can if you DONT care if file's not there tomorrow .

b: Rule : 4x burn provide's better fixation of file's burnt to media , therefore file's on media will be available for the long term ...

3: If unable to burn to them succesfully , take them back for exchange .

Some dvd media is plain bad from the start .

Here in au , never ever touch "australia post's dvd-r media"
It's rubbish , and never burn's successfully .

I think they use magmedia as the supplier .. complete junk .

Stick with good known brand's .. tdk dvd-r is one of the most successfull brand's to use .

4: dvd-r is compliant for all player's , + media is not

Plus media is more reliable for those making console backup's .

[dblue]

1: locate updated firmware , flash drive's bios .

If bios update say's nothing about increased burning speed , then this may not be worth doing . .

They will probably burn at 8X, but your burner doesn't recognize them. Get some different discs or look into a firmware upgrade for the burner.

i looked into firmware flash my drive, but im not shore what brand my burner is. here is a pic of the back of my burner


i looked at this http://forum.rpc-1.com/dl_all.php#G but what should i download for my burner? ive never done this before so im nervous i might mess up my burner by installing the wrong thing

[jman98]

Do you have Nero? If so, use the Nero Info Tool to find out what your firmware is. Then you will know if you have the latest and greatest or not. I had a somewhat similar problem with a different DVD drive and I had to do a firmware update to burn the discs.
If you don't have Nero and are one of those Roxio users, you should be able to download a 30 day demo copy of Nero at http://www.nero.com and that will at least let you use the Info Tool. It's part of the Nero Toolkit, so if you only see a reference to Nero Toolkit, that's it. Maybe somebody else knows another way to find out your firmware, but that's the only way I know. Yes, if you are not careful it is possible to toast your drive. It shouldn't happen, but it can if you aren't careful.

You might want to look at http://www.nomorecoasters.com
and read about how all DVD media is NOT created equal. Personally, I won't use anything any more unless Verbatim makes it.

[redwudz]

You apparently have a NEC ND-3500A. If that's correct, this page has the proper firmware. http://forum.rpc-1.com/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1904. As mentioned, you need to know your present firmware version if you want to upgrade the firmware.

BUT the NEC ND-3500A is a 16X burner

Format: DVD±RW, Enclosure Type: Internal, Interface Type: E-IDE, Read Speed: 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD), Write Speed: 48x (CD) / 16x (DVD-R) / 16x (DVD+R) / 4x (DVD+R DL)

Your media may be the problem then. Upgrading the firmware might not help you, but look around at some of the firmware sites and see what they say.

Here's a link to the NEC site for firmware, which would be my first choice: http://support.necsam.com/Optical/downloads/FlashFirmware/

Good luck.

[dblue]

Do you have Nero? If so, use the Nero Info Tool to find out what your firmware is. Then you will know if you have the latest and greatest or not. I had a somewhat similar problem with a different DVD drive and I had to do a firmware update to burn the discs.
If you don't have Nero and are one of those Roxio users, you should be able to download a 30 day demo copy of Nero at http://www.nero.com and that will at least let you use the Info Tool. It's part of the Nero Toolkit, so if you only see a reference to Nero Toolkit, that's it. Maybe somebody else knows another way to find out your firmware, but that's the only way I know. Yes, if you are not careful it is possible to toast your drive. It shouldn't happen, but it can if you aren't careful.

You might want to look at http://www.nomorecoasters.com
and read about how all DVD media is NOT created equal. Personally, I won't use anything any more unless Verbatim makes it.

yes i have nero. were is the tool and how do i use it?

[redwudz]

It's part of the Nero Toolkit. Run it, then select your dvd burner in the top window. Then look to the upper right of the page, you will see the Firmware version of the drive.

If you don't have Nero Info Tool, you can get it here: http://ww2.nero.com/nero6/eng/Info_Tool.html

[dblue]

It's part of the Nero Toolkit. Run it, then select your dvd burner in the top window. Then look to the upper right of the page, you will see the Firmware version of the drive.

If you don't have Nero Info Tool, you can get it here: http://ww2.nero.com/nero6/eng/Info_Tool.html

ok heres my drive info. what should i download?

[Skith]

The latest official firmware from NEC is 2.1A

you can dl on the following page:

http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1904
you will see the following, you want the underlined file .

NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG - 2.16, 2.18, 2.19, 2.1A

the filename is: NECND350_v21A.exe

[dblue]

The latest official firmware from NEC is 2.1A

you can dl on the following page:

http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1904
you will see the following, you want the underlined file .

NEC DVD_RW ND-3500AG - 2.16, 2.18, 2.19, 2.1A

the filename is: NECND350_v21A.exe

it worked! thanks Skith for going into detail and thanks everyone else for your info/help