illegal disk!!

[jimijames]

Hi, I'm new to dvd writing and have just bought an NEC ND1300a.
It writes cds ok, but when I try to write a dvd it says 'illegal disk'.
The disks I am using are Datawrite Classic.

Can anyone help a poor newbie?

Thanks.

[coyote]

Are you sure that you are using the right format for your burner. A plus r won't work in a minus r drive and vice versa

[g_shocker182]

You might have the wrong format DVD. Your burner might be +R and your blank DVD a -R.

[g_shocker182]

Oops, posted too late.

[Dubber]

The drive he has is dual format.

Just get a DVD blank that is on compartibility list for the drive.
As you are a newbie, you don't wanna flash it with hacked firmware, do you?

Check these out:

http://www.nec.co.uk/ND1300A.asp

http://www.nec.co.uk/ND-1300%20Media%20-%20locked.pdf

[coyote]

zallright shocker....you snooze...you lose

[jimijames]

[quote="Dubber"]The drive he has is dual format.

Just get a DVD blank that is on compartibility list for the drive.
As you are a newbie, you don't wanna flash it with hacked firmware, do you?

[/quote


Is it because the Datawrite disks are not right for the writer?

What is firmware, and would it make the disks work?

thanks

[tyders]

Hi, I'm new to dvd writing and have just bought an NEC ND1300a.
It writes cds ok, but when I try to write a dvd it says 'illegal disk'.
The disks I am using are Datawrite Classic.

Can anyone help a poor newbie?

Thanks.

HI mate,

I had exactly the same problem last week. Basically Datawrite dvds are made by Princo and as such the NEC 1300 will not recognise it. You can download firmware 106 from the NEC website as this will update your burner. This means you need to create a boot disk, re-boot in MS Dos, and run the .exe from the firmware download.

The download is on this url,
http://www.necd.de/softwareoverview2.php?id=557.

Only do this when you have unistalled ALL f your burning software otherwise you WILL destroy your burner.

I havnt done this but my frined has and it went fine. I however have bought 'Burn Star' dvd-rs off ebay for £55.00 for 100!!! and they are compatible.

Basically you can use, Ritek, Pioneer, burn star, verbatim and memorex. They are all expensive except the burnstar.

The NEC 1300 also uses Plus and Minus media as is a multi drive.

Good luck!

[MachineMan]

I have a Cendyne (NEC ND1300A) drive with firmware 1.05. It burns my generic cheap-ass DVD-R 1x Princo disks with no problem. You should download "DVDinfo" software and check the media code then check the compatability list. DVDinfo will also tell you what firmware your drive is.

[defense]

am I missing something or is it possible that the original poster is trying to copy a DVD on the fly? If so, he is getting an "illegal" disk message because it's "illegal" to copy a disk with CESS protection.

[jimijames]

Thanks Tyders, but the link does not work.
This seems complicated to me as well, I'm worried about breaking the burner. Very confused and p'd off. I just tried to do another one and this time it said the disk was write protected.
I don't know where to start to be honest.


Thanks MachineMan, is there another way to find out which firmware it has, because DVDInfo is not free and you need CC.

What is the media code, and how do I find out if it is OME(whatever that means). At the moment I don't even know which disks, if any, will work with this drive.

Please help.

[defense]

I just tried to do another one and this time it said the disk was write protected.
I don't know where to start to be honest.

As I said in my last post..this must be your problem. You are trying to copy a commercial DVD which is "illegal." You will need to remove the CSS protection on those commercial disks. If your disk is a DVD-9 you are going to be in for a lot of research as well. You might want to read the FAQ's of DVD BACKUP on this forum.

For starters, go to the tools section and D/L "DVD DECRYPTER." Select a folder on your hard drive and rip the movie there. Once it's there you can burn it as long as it isn't a DVD-9.

The reason you aren't having issues with CD's is because at this time cd's don't have any form of protection. However, I read an article that the RIAA may start protecting cd's, thus preventing 1-1 backups.

Hope this helps.

[jimijames]

I just tried to do another one and this time it said the disk was write protected.
I don't know where to start to be honest.

As I said in my last post..this must be your problem. You are trying to copy a commercial DVD which is "illegal." You will need to remove the CSS protection on those commercial disks. If your disk is a DVD-9 you are going to be in for a lot of research as well. You might want to read the FAQ's of DVD BACKUP on this forum.

For starters, go to the tools section and D/L "DVD DECRYPTER." Select a folder on your hard drive and rip the movie there. Once it's there you can burn it as long as it isn't a DVD-9.

The reason you aren't having issues with CD's is because at this time cd's don't have any form of protection. However, I read an article that the RIAA may start protecting cd's, thus preventing 1-1 backups.

Hope this helps.

Hi Defence, I'm not trying to copy on the fly. I ripped the dvd with dvd decrytp, and then used DVD2one to re save it. Now I want to burn it to disk.

[Barnabas]

Hi, I'm new to dvd writing and have just bought an NEC ND1300a.
It writes cds ok, but when I try to write a dvd it says 'illegal disk'.
The disks I am using are Datawrite Classic.

Can anyone help a poor newbie?

Thanks.

Hi,

That simply means that your DVD burner lacks the particular disk ID in it's firmware table of the disk you are trying to burn to. When you insert a blank disk in any DVD burner, the burner will read info from the blank disk and compare it to the info in it's firmware table. It it can not identify the disk, then you get the "Illegal media" error.

You probably have firmware 105, which is fairly old. 106 firmware came out on the 18th but was pulled due to install problems. 106 *might* make it possible to use that brand of disk.

[MachineMan]

Here is link, I had the same firmware question a while back.

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=168474&highlight=

However eventually I did get DVDinfo to work it was free.

[Barnabas]

Nero Burning Rom can tell you the firmware version
http://www.nero.com/en/index.html#download

Select "Choose Recorder" and the firmware version of your burner will be shown as well as some other great info about your drive.

[jimijames]

Just had a look with Nero in 'choose recorder'. Says firmware 1.05.

But it also says max burn speed x2. But when I bought the drive it said x4.

Anyway, how do I check the compatability of disks for firmware 1.05, and how do I upgrade to firmware 1.06.

Many thanks for all your help..x

Oh, and what is a 'media code'?

[Barnabas]

Just had a look with Nero in 'choose recorder'. Says firmware 1.05.

But it also says max burn speed x2. But when I bought the drive it said x4.

Anyway, how do I check the compatability of disks for firmware 1.05, and how do I upgrade to firmware 1.06.

Many thanks for all your help..x

Oh, and what is a 'media code'?

First, for it to burn a disk at 4x, you have to have disks that are 4x capable. The burner will read that info off of the blank disk, if it's not a 4x disk, you won't be able to burn at 4x. Sometimes, the burning software won't allow 4x burning of 4x disks.

Go here for disks that have been tested by users on your burner:
https://www.videohelp.com/dvdwriters.php?DVDnameid=52&Search=Search&list=0

106 was pulled due to install problems, so you will have to wait until NEC fixes that firmware and will let you download it again or use hacked firmware. To upgrade the firmware, you just run the new firmware update program.

The media code is simply the info embedded on the blank disk that your burner reads. It contains info like who made the disk, max burning speed etc. If that disk id is NOT in the firmware, you can't burn the disk.

Unfortunately, while the NEC is a decent drive, it lacks the firmware to be able to burn most newer DVD-R media. Most of the less costly brands of disks are not going to be able to be seen by your drive.

Unless hacked firmware will make your datawrite disks burn in your burner, you will need to stick with media that's on the list or get a Pioneer or Sony burner, both of which update the firmware MUCH more often than NEC does.

Many times, there are MANY, MANY different versions of one make of disk, so just because 1 person reported that a specific brand of media worked on the NEC, that doesn't mean that you will get the same exact disk they had that worked for them. I

If you can still return your burner, I would do so and get a Pioneer or Sony. You will make your life MUCH easier if you want to be able to burn more brands of media. The NEC is a poor choice if you want to burn inexpensive media.

[jimijames]

Barnabas, thanks for the reply.

I think I'll keep the drive, and try to update the firmware. The new NEC FW is out now, so I might have a go at that. I have been looking at a site called the firmware page and its very helpful. They have some good hacked firmware I think, better, they say, than the NEC one.
So if I can get the info I need, I might try that firmware.

What do you think?

Jimi.

[Lar]

Are you talking about these forums?

Good place for info and assistance in firmware flashing issues.

here is the link for your specific model...read all the instructions carefully...and you should be alright.
http://forum.firmware-flash.com/viewtopic.php?t=15766[/url]

[jimijames]

Are you talking about these forums?

Good place for info and assistance in firmware flashing issues.

here is the link for your specific model...read all the instructions carefully...and you should be alright.
http://forum.firmware-flash.com/viewtopic.php?t=15766[/url]

Yes, that is the site. I have now managed to update wiht the NEC fw 1.06, and it has helped a bit.
I don't know which update to use from the firmware site, RPC1, RPC2, Auto...etc. don't know what they mean.