Replace Pioneer 109 with what?

[joanne]

I bought a new computer in February including a Pioneer 109 DVDRW.
It has never worked properly and even though I can have it replaced under the warranty, I am wondering if I should try a different brand.
The problem with it is that it doesn't 'refresh' after reading a CD or DVD. When you put in another one it tries to read the previous CD or DVD and the only way to get it to read the next one is to reboot the computer (very time consuming!). It has managed to copy DVD's OK but fails with scratched originals. Any suggestions???

[budz]

Get a BENQ 1620 drive which has bitsetting out of the box for DVD+R media. No hacked firmware for bitsetting compared to other brands like NEC.

[lordsmurf]

That's not likely a drive problem. That's a problem with the OS or the IDE cables. A new drive won't help that.

[budz]

That's not likely a drive problem. That's a problem with the OS or the IDE cables. A new drive won't help that.

joanne wrote

It has managed to copy DVD's OK but fails with scratched originals. Any suggestions???

Joanne is saying it fails to read discs that are scratched originals so therefore the PIONEER 109 isn't able to read them correctly. Therefore it could be the drive simply can not read scratched discs, it's not a OS or IDE CABLE problem yet until she can test the drive in another pc.

To Joanne: Try putting that PIONEER 109 drive in another computer to see if it works or if it does the samething. If it does work then from there one can assume it could be a OS or a IDE CABLE problem or a software conflict. Process of elimination/testing the drive in another pc is the way to figure out if the drive is defective or not.

[thor300]

Thats for sure not a drive problem, its an OS fuckup. Uninstall Daemontools if you have it, or at least rightclick on the virual drive(s) and select Eject (could help).
As for the reading scratched disks, the 109 is amazing as soon as you upgrade the firmware to 1.40 (or 1.50). Mine came with 1.05 and it sucked. Now the 109 can even read disks written with my old (red)NEC, and now THATS what i call bad disks. Not scratched or anything, but very bad burns.
Edited: Typooo!

[joanne]

Don't have Daemontools.
Have already upgraded firmware 1.40.

[thor300]

Just assume that if a restart helps then the problemis in the OS.
There is a workaround to your problem however, still a little timeconsuming but fast compared to restart. You need to open explorer after removing the disk, then access the DVD drive, press F5 if needed, then insert a disk and press F5 to refresh. Worked for me when i had a similar problem with a pc, but i had daemontools installed on that one, that was the source of the problem. Any other programs you installed that has something to do with CD/DVD drives?

[thor300]

From your posts in that other thread of yours i am quite sure you have something ******* up communication with the burner, and OS error is still very likely, maybe another program running that is also accessing the drive or the IDE in any way. It could still also be IDE cabling as smurfie mentioned, but i dont think program/OS is more likely.
For your reading problems i would first try those disks in another DVD-ROM or writer and try to rip them there. If that works your drive is a poor reader and you should get a new one. Anyway its under warranty so no problem, but they will not change it if its working so first be sure it really is bad.
Edit: "but i dont think program/OS is more likely", i ment program/OS IS more likely

[Sifaga]

latest firmawre for the 109 is 1.50 https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=974&Search=Search&list=2#comments

it may help you

my 109 now rips upto 12X, very happy with that

[joanne]

Thanks for all the advice.
I will take the computer back and see what outcome results after that!
Joanne

[thor300]

sifaga,
I cant see a difference between 1.40 and 1.50 in ripping speed. However, with Buffalo fw8.40 (what i use now) i can get 14.5x and more on unencrypted regionfre DVD-ROMs. Probably get the same with fw1.50, i dont know, i just know that the rip-speeds are slow no matter what, also with 1.50, when dealing with encrypted disks, or did you get 12x on a protected disk??

[Poppa_Meth]

I had the same problem and traced it to Blindwrite. Uninstalled that and it worked just fine. Clone CD, alcohol, and daemon tools never have caused issues for me.

[Sifaga]

hey thor,

ive only had my 109 for a week now

ive only tried one dvd (store bought) on the 1.50 firmware and it started at 6x then got till 12x, thats faster than what i was getting on 1.40, i will try more later.

i will keep that buffalo fw8.40 handy for later

[joanne]

Why isn't the 1.50 firmware available from the Pioneer website?

[lordsmurf]

Why isn't the 1.50 firmware available from the Pioneer website?

Not officially released yet. This 1.50 seems to be a leak, happened several times now with the 109 firmwares.

[thor300]

I heard 1.50 was available from Pioneer Taiwan, but was removed quite fast. Maybe Pioneer Taiwan was that leak

[spiderman2k1]

One trick is to use toothpaste put it on the desk where the scratch is. Then push away the scratch from the inside to out.

You can also go to Best Buy or Circuit City and by a Disc Doctor to remove scraths.

[Poppa_Meth]

Disc Doctor doesn't remove scratches, it removes a layer of plastic from the disc. I'd never recommend using one. I like a product called Permaspin. Its like a liquid wax you apply to the disc and when you buff it in it fills the scratches.

[RottenFoxBreath]

what joannes problem is,is a windows xp bug,its a refresh problem,and easily sorted with refreshing the my computer screen,and refreeshing on the desktop as well,then reinsterting the disc again.
thats what help i got from the microsoft knowledgebase,and its worked for me and many.
a new drive wont fix it,as i tried it with my 108 and back to the 109 again,and also using a friends NEC drive.

[thor300]

rottenfox,
that doesnt sound like a permanent fix. You have to do that every time?

[thor300]

Looks like rottenfox was wrong, that is not really a bug in WinXP but a bug caused by: "This problem may occur if a background service or program is interfering with the AutoPlay function". So, still one need to find the cause, and blindwrite is so far the best suggestion.
According to M$ it should have been fixed with SP2, which joanne already have.

[Poppa_Meth]

search Microsoft downloads for a program called autofix. Its fixes various issues with autoplay policies. Can't hurt.