Help!! Pioneer A05 errors while trying to burn

[Evil Twin]

I'm hoping someone can help me here!!

I have a Pioneer A05 (firmware 1.00) running on a WinXP Pro.
I have had this burner for under a year and have burned roughly 300 dvd discs with it.
I currently and having trouble getting a successful burn.
Each time the disc will burn only 24mb and then stop with an error.
I am using Ritek media (have been all along with no problems)
I have tried different movies as well as different burning methods and software. Software I have tried are RecordNow Max, CloneDVD, Easy CD/DVD Creator, and DVDDecrypter all with the same results.
DVD-Rs will only burn 24mb and create a coaster, DVD-RW shows that it burns full and is successful but when I try to play it, it will not play and then I check the info on the disc it shows up as being blank ???

I pulled the burner from my pc and took it over to a friend of mine's house to try it over there. Same problems.
I then borrowed his burner (different brand NOT a Pioneer drive) put it in my pc and this time I did get a successful burn.

So my questions are:
Is my burner dead???? Did I kill it ?? (If so, what could I have done wrong?? So I don't do it again!!) Have others had this problem with this drive?? Should I stay away from Pioneer drives in the future??

Thanks for your time, and in advace for your help/advice.

[daredevil]

if it's always under warranty, take it back to your reseller. If not you have a nice dvd-player. I think it's dead.

[Hardcoreruss]

I second the above, sounds knackered.

[proxyx99]

Check Pioneer website for newer firmware. Think about upgrading 1 notch higher. Check disk write simulation feature. Verify your ASPI layer with ASPICHK util. Reposition the drive in the IDE channel (is it master or slave?). Couple ideas.

If your friends PC does exactly the same most likely the drive is toast. You may contact Pioneer support. Firmware upgrade may be a solution (?). This is not a good news.

[buzzmadman]

What media are you using? I have the same problem with my pioneer 105 but only when using Ritek GO4, GO3 and PRINCO work fine (firmware 1.33)

[Evil Twin]

Thanks for the posts guys, it did give me some ideas to check into.

Here is what I tried:
Updated the firmware a notch to 1.21, checked the ASPI layer (OK), repositioned the IDE channel from Master to Slave, put an empty bay between the drives for better airflow.

DVD-Rs are Ritek G03, DVD-RW are Princo.

Still have no successfull burn.

I hired a Fat Lady to come over and sing.

Thanks for the ideas though, I plan on using this drive to rip/Shrink/Clone and a new one for burning only.

[proxyx99]

You forgot to belly-dance and that is unforgivable. Good luck with your new drive. There is no question that this technology is still limping. Hope next one will be better. My Pioneer A04 died after 15 months (Pioneer had replaced it though when confronted with facts). I've got A05 and count days be4 it also dies.

[jimmalenko]

I plan on using this drive to rip/Shrink/Clone and a new one for burning only.

Have you got the firmware upgrade to unlock the ripping speed ? it probably won't be worth using this drive as a dedicated ripping drive if you have the 2X speed restriction.

[Evil Twin]

@jimmalenko

Update the firmware for the ripping speed???
I'm confused here, will it be a different upgrade from the firmware I already upgraded to?
How do I find out what I actually upgraded then??
Any suggestions on where to find this ripping speed firmware upgrade?

Thanks again for your time.

[jimmalenko]

There are firmware upgrades that can remove the 2X ripping restriction. Try http://www.rpc1.org. I was simply asking if you had one of these installed.