Can a few people suggest what DVD burner to buy???

[lacywest]

Check with some of your computer geek friends ... they might have an extra cable laying around

Or visit one of the compuer repair shops in your area

... they should have extra ones laying around to ... I have extra ones laying around in my apartment.

[Evhmoon]

Check with some of your computer geek friends ... they might have an extra cable laying around

Or visit one of the compuer repair shops in your area

... they should have extra ones laying around to ... I have extra ones laying around in my apartment.

ive got an extra cable around but i dunno how to tell if its this "80" one i keep reading about. I am gonna head over to a store adn check one out in a bit

[MOVIEGEEK]

Make sure the IDE and power connectors are inserted correctly(inc motherboard),also try cable select(CS).
I doubt a new cable will help if you had a DVD writer previously,you might have to use the Dell recovery disc.

[lacywest]

Check with some of your computer geek friends ... they might have an extra cable laying around

Or visit one of the compuer repair shops in your area

... they should have extra ones laying around to ... I have extra ones laying around in my apartment.

ive got an extra cable around but i dunno how to tell if its this "80" one i keep reading about. I am gonna head over to a store adn check one out in a bit

If you have two [2] to compare with ... the 80 has finer ... 'more' thinner ... wire than the older kind.

[sumibas]

i have a nec3500 I would go for it. 64 at newegg.com. if you prefere Pioneer the retail version is on sale for 89 $ at best buy after rebate. 30 $ rebate from pioneer

[johncat]

Thanks everyone for your previous replies. I have heard of bad things when trying to put an internal drive into an external unit such as slower speeds, incompatability, manufacturer not supporting etc. Any input on Sonys new 710? It appears to be an external USB with same specs as NEC drive, but I dont seem to see much information on it. Thoughts??

[BSR]

dell pc's IDE Cable is a cable select one which wouldn't be compatible with the 108 drive set on master.

Can't the 108 drive be jumpered for "cable select"? Then the cable would decide weather it's the master or slave drive? Drive on the end is master, drive in the middle is slave.

how to tell if its this "80" one i keep reading about.

The 80 has 80 wires, the 40 only has 40 wires.
You have to count the wires(or just recognize the higher density), because both are 40 pins on the header(connectors). The extra wires are connected to ground to prevent crosstalk and help signal integrity at higher speeds.

[Evhmoon]

i treid your suggestions about making the pioneer the SLAVE.. that didnt help.. in fact when i booted up after htat. i got two errors now these two:

SECONDARY DRIVE 1 NOT FOUND
SECONDARY DRIVE 0 NOT FOUND

I then put it back the way it says.. (pioneer burner set on MASTER)
still got the two error msgs.. I am gonna go to compusa shortly and try to get one of these 80 ones.. see if that works.. would it help if i posted pix of my set up??

[Skith]

You only need a "Cable Select" IDE cable if you want to use said feature. A cable with said feature will also work with devices set to master/slave. Here are some tips:

If two devices are connected to an IDE cable with CABLE SELECT jumper's enabled: BOTH should be set to CABLE SELECT.

If two devices are connected to an IDE cable and CABLE SELECT is not used: One device should be set to MASTER, the other to SLAVE. The device set as MASTER should be connected to the end of the cable, the SLAVE should be connected to the middle connector.

If only one device is connected to an IDE cable and cable select is not used: Set the drive as MASTER and connect it to the end of the IDE cable (not the middle connector).

Some device/chipset combinations do not work well with CABLE SELECT, which is why many people prefer to jumper their drives with the appropriate MASTER or SLAVE setting.

Make sure the IDE channel(s) are enabled in BIOS (press DEL, F1, F11, F8, or what ever appropriate key for your system, at boot). You should also check to see whether your BIOS recognizes the attatched drives. You will have to check your computer's documentation, on where to look in the system BIOS.

Do not use (if at all possible) IDE cables over 18" in length.

Avoid round IDE cables, especially for optical drives.

Good Luck!

[Evhmoon]

PROBLEM SOLVED.....and EVEN BETTER. i ended up taking my good TDK burner i got last year and putting it on the top bay.......as a SLAVE.. then the new pioneer as the MASTER in my bottom bay.....took a few diff configs.. got it working.. didnt need to buy any other cable..

THANKS ALL!!!

[budz]

check out the PIONEER FORUM at cdfreaks.com regarding the PIONEER 108A drive. there is lots of postings of problems using a 40 vs 80 wire cable with the drive. it's recommended to use the drive in the MASTER mode rather than SLAVE.
http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=87