Firmware???

[Denvers Dawgs]

I'm not new to backing up dvds or to computers, but I am confused about firmware. What is it? What does it do? And is any available for a HP300i?

I hear that it can make a dvd burner, burn dual layers, and stuff like that, so it made me curious to find out more about the topic. Thanx for any info you can give.....

[hech54]

You're best bet is to not worry about firmware.
"If it ain't broke....don't fix it"
There are people OBSESSED with firmware here....both factory firmware(from your drive's manufacturer) and hacked firmware(from some guy named Bob).....BOTH if done incorrectly can leave you with a high speed burning electric paper weight.

[tweedledee]

I second the last post. Don't bother.

[stphilli]

I agree that if your drive is working properly, you should not worry about new firmware for it. As far as what firmware is and what it does, all you really need to know is that it is a type of program (at a very low level) that is stored on a chip in your drive. This program tells the hardware (in this case the dvd burner) how to work. Your drive already comes with firmware on it when you buy it. As hech54 said, some people will upgrade, or flash, their firmware with newer revisions from the manufacturer to improve performance or gain an added feature or support for more brands of media. Other people will flash their firmware with firmware that an individual or group of people made to bypass the region setting on the drive (make it region free) and to add support for different brands of media. Anytime you flash your drive you run the risk of destroying the drive. If something happens halfway through the flash, the drive doesnt have the firmware, so it doesn't know how to function. This sometimes makes it so that it doesnt know how to receive another flash and there is no way to repair it. This is why you should never flash the drive with new firmware unless it isn't functioning properly.

[Doggiedaddy]

IMHO
It is just like anything else, 99 percent of firmware upgrades problems,
hacked or OEM, are caused by the same thing as most of life's problems. People not knowing what the hell they are doing. I use hacked firmware on most of my burners and they work very well.

As an example the DVR-105's were locked @ 1x and once the firmware was hacked and beta'ed Pioneer came out with a OEM firmware to do the same. Why pay programmers when you can get a few good BOBs to do it for you.

JM2C

[Denvers Dawgs]

Thanx for the info....