upgrading to a DL burner

[bevills1]

Could it be BIOS DMA/UDMA settings are incorrect? You might check there to be sure BIOS settings are correct.

[budz]

yep thats right that cap is with my 40 core cable in the machine...............but as in an earlier post, i always install the pioneer with the 80 core cable!

I find that hard to believe since you stated after installing the PIONEER drive it still was in DMA 2 MODE. Buy another new 80 conductor ide cable then post a cap of it to show us it's in DMA 2 or 4 mode. That's the only way you're going to know for sure if the PIONEER drive is faulty or not. I highly suspect it's that the 80 cable you used isn't a 80 conductor ide cable. :P

[bevills1]

Completely agree with budz last suggestion. Once I encountered 2 consecutive bad IDE cables, and it's likely to be efiste2's problem IMO.

[efiste2]

im hope u right chaps, thanks for all your efforts

[[_chef_]]

This burner cannot ever work properly if it doesn't run in UDMA4 mode.
This were tested and found to be true countless times.

If your mobo doesn't support UDMA4 for opticals then you NEED an extra controller.

UDMA2 and less will not work!

[efiste2]

fixed the problem, i bought yet another burner this time from a retail store in a pictured box, rather than a no frills OEM box, and it workes fine, even with a 40 core cable at UDMA 2, but i have put an 80 core in cable to utilise the burner properly and both drives are running UDMA4 , so i guess the problem was with buying OEM or brown box units, will i tbe somthing to do with drivers not being installed etc etc
ONCE AGAIN CHAPS, thanks so much for the advice, even if you didnt solve the problem directly, you certaonly have taught me a lot about IDE drives and so on, SO THANKS AGAIN!!!

[RabidDog]

Good job drives are $20 instead of $200 these days!

[budz]

fixed the problem, i bought yet another burner this time from a retail store in a pictured box, rather than a no frills OEM box, and it workes fine, even with a 40 core cable at UDMA 2, but i have put an 80 core in cable to utilise the burner properly and both drives are running UDMA4 , so i guess the problem was with buying OEM or brown box units, will i tbe somthing to do with drivers not being installed etc etc
ONCE AGAIN CHAPS, thanks so much for the advice, even if you didnt solve the problem directly, you certaonly have taught me a lot about IDE drives and so on, SO THANKS AGAIN!!!

Good you got the new drive in UDMA 4 MODE.
You just had a defective OEM drive. It has nothing to do with OEM vs RETAIL. RETAIL drives just come in a fancy box w/a picture on it and with OEM software. Once I returned a defective LG RETAIL drive so quality control isn't the greatest either way.

[efiste2]

i must have had TWO faulty drives mate, the original sony and the pioneer.............once again cheers all for the help and sticking with me

[Seeker47]

The OP has said his drive is in DMA MODE but he doesn't mention if it's in UDMA 4 MODE. Therefore until we find out if it is or not a firmware upgrade isn't necessary at the moment. PIONEER 111 & 112 drives have to be in UDMA 4 MODE to operate correctly which is done by using a 80 conductor ide cable. :P

I've run into a very similar problem, except that instead of a severe result like spontaneous reboots, I just get an apparent drive letter assignment, but attempts to use the drive produce only a "Device Not Ready" error.

Up through the Pioneer 109 model, I can hook the burner up however I like: inside the case, any of several models of external USB enclosures, even one of those enclosure-less USB adaptors. I skipped over the Pioneer 110 (and so don't know what the story was with that one), going directly to the 111D. Doesn't work, any which way. Checked the jumpers. And then I read about this cable business. This computer is over 3 years old, so I called their Tech Support, who couldn't tell me whether or not there was any motherboard support for 80-wire cables. The manual says that its IDE controllers support PIO-4, but does not specify the UDMA level. This is one of those double-shoebox-size computers, where a lot of what's inside is smaller to fit, with very tight spacing. If I can find an 80-wire IDE cable to fit it, I may try that. It is unlikely that the burner is bad, but I can try another one, just to be sure.

The easiest thing might be to just leave the older model Pioneer burner in there. It already does DL, and I don't burn anything at faster than 8x, anyway -- except for CDs. What really surprises me is that the external USB enclosures being sold now -- and I have a few different ones, recently purchased -- haven't gone over to the 80-wire configuration, if this is now a requirement for your better burner models. If anyone is successfully using such an enclosure that has 80-wire IDE cable inside, together with a 111 or 112 model burner, could you i.d. it for us ?

[Seeker47]

Still waiting to hear about which of the better enclosures definitely have the 80-wire IDE cable inside, and are suitable for later-model Pioneer burners.. (Someone was selling Pioneer 112Ds inside Creative I/O enclosures on Ebay, for whatever that may be worth . . . . ) If no answer here, guess it will be time to pay CDFREAKS a visit.

[budz]

Still waiting to hear about which of the better enclosures definitely have the 80-wire IDE cable inside, and are suitable for later-model Pioneer burners.. (Someone was selling Pioneer 112Ds inside Creative I/O enclosures on Ebay, for whatever that may be worth . . . . ) If no answer here, guess it will be time to pay CDFREAKS a visit.

Cdfreaks.com has a big ass thread on enclosures for dvd burners. Some dvd burners work better with the prolific chipset enclosures rather than the oxford chipsets. Really would depend on what dvd burner you'll be using.

Here you go take a look at the enclosure thread:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=119149

[Seeker47]

Still waiting to hear about which of the better enclosures definitely have the 80-wire IDE cable inside, and are suitable for later-model Pioneer burners.. (Someone was selling Pioneer 112Ds inside Creative I/O enclosures on Ebay, for whatever that may be worth . . . . ) If no answer here, guess it will be time to pay CDFREAKS a visit.

Cdfreaks.com has a big ass thread on enclosures for dvd burners. Some dvd burners work better with the prolific chipset enclosures rather than the oxford chipsets. Really would depend on what dvd burner you'll be using.

Here you go take a look at the enclosure thread:
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=119149

Thanks, Budz. Yeah, that is a big ass thread, if it's the same one I was skimming earlier. From there, I saw that it's not just a matter of the cable, but also the chipset. Some of those enclosures are said to be noisy, or to have possible vibration issues. So, I'll have to dive deeper into that thread and try to zero in on best choice enclosures for the 111D.

A few online vendors mentioned the cable issue on their product order pages for the burner, but I don't recall seeing a peep about this from Pioneer (or other affected mfr.s). And you would think the subject might come up. No doubt plenty of other buyers have run into this problem before. If not for CDFREAKS, I'd still be in the dark on this.

[budz]

I've read that some order enclosures from dealsonic.com. Also some have emailed them as well to get information before ordering a enclosure. Again it depends on what dvd burner you're going to use with the enclosure. I know for sure that BENQ drives work well with the prolific chipset enclosures which also has/had a firmware update for it.

Yup, it sure is a huge thread but worth reading if you're looking for a enclosure for your PIONEER 111D drive. Or if you wanna be brave and post your question at the PIONEER FORUM at Cdfreaks.com you may get a answer quicker that way. Sooner or later I'll end up having to buy a few enclosures as well since I have so many dvd burners.