DVD +R coasters. and I don't know why

[lotech]

New here and not sure what section to put this in. I have trawled the forums but don't see a solution to my exact circumstances.
I have been managing to burn DVD-R discs but only at 2x with the, recent, new NEC nd3500a - any faster speed results in coasters - using 4x media.
Using DVD+R discs has proved unsuccessful (code Ritek R03, 4x media) to date, with the burn using Nero 6 stopping about 13% into things. When using the DVD+R, the only speed options given are 4x and 2.4x and it is the 2.4x that I have been selecting.
Both the CD RW/ DVD player and the NEC DVD RW drives are on the same cable, presently master/slave although I have tried them the other way around with same result.
I have also been reading references to DMA and don't know if this is an issue, however, in Device Manager on my system I cannot find any any reference to DMA selection. Except - there is a 'check' box against the existing combo drive when configured as 'master' but this disappears if configured as 'slave'. From reading various links, indications are that somehow I should be able to tell from either check box 'options' or 'if available' whether DMA is or is not enabled?
I'm acquiring new cables lest this is an issue, but hopefully someone can enlighten me in the meantime as to how to get better results from the NEC drive.
As said, I haven't seen this exact problem dealt with on the forum but sorry if this has already been covered.
regards
Dan


System:
O/s Win 98se
Advent 3062 (can't see this on the 'Advent' website)
Gigabyte GA-71XE
AMD Athlon 700
128mb RAM
Maxtor 9 30 gb HDD
ATI All-in-wonder 128
Sound Blaster AudioPCI 128 Legacy
Toshiba combo CD RW/DVD player
NEC ND 3500A DVD RW (new)

[Skith]

First: What firmware are you using witht the Nec 3500 drive? It is possible that your drive has an older firmware that does not support the media you are using. Look here for firmwares. *Note, there are also hacked firmwares a bit further down on that page (labeled as such). Using a hacked firmware will void your warranty. Hacked firmwares usually support overspeeding various media, remove region limitations, and remove riplock (the speed limit placed on ripping pressed DVD discs). Lots of info about hacked firmwares can be found here at videohelp, as well as at http://club.cdfreaks.com. The NEC original 2.18 would be your best bet, if warranty is important. Important: Before changing firmwares
be sure to uninstall any packet writing software (Nero INCD, etc.), also remove any IDE Bus master drivers/accellerators (see Third step).

Second thing, get more RAM, 128 is not enough for higher speed DVD burning, most regard 256 as a minimum, 512 would be best. Check out www.newegg.com - Crucial and corsair good brands. Avoid no-name brands (amd systems can be picky).


Third: Remove IDE busmaster/accelerator drivers.
Do you know what chipset your motherboard uses? Have you installed any IDE Bus Master drivers (like those that might come with VIA Hyperion motherboard driver package)?

I am afraid I am a bit out of touch with 98SE. In XP, if you go into "Device Manager" and remove the IDE controllers then reboot, windows installs the default MS drivers, which causes the DMA mode setting to be changed. I am unsure how safe this would be with 98SE.

[steve2713]

Your described problems are almost always because of the drive(s) being in PIO mode, there's alot of other threads here on the subject.

[lotech]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Skith - the NEC 2.18 is the firmware installed and I'm not too up on the hacked firmware so would prefer to avoid. I'll try out your other suggestions re bus drivers, just haven't been sure what this meant up till now as, on the various thread/sites on the subject, the screenshots showing 'device manager' differed from what is seen on my system like 'advanced settings''settings'/ and 'dma' check box/no check box.
Anyway. I'll give this a try.
Steve - I have been trawling through the other threads but maybe just haven't made the connection yet. Thanks also.
Dan