multi LG Gh22np20 write speed issues

[mistermofo]

hi

wanted to see if any one has come across a problem like mine before

i just bought 3 x Lg Gh22np20 burners and have come up to a very odd problem

the drives are connected to the Pc via the motherboard IDE and a PCI to IDE converter card

the drivers work great if used individually but if i do a multi burn with two of the buners connected in as a Master and a Slave on the same IDE channel it will only burn at 2X no matter what speed i set the burn to. the result is the same using the mother board IDE or the PCI card

if i use all 3 burners the result is the same as two of the drives are in a master/slave combo


if i use 2 burners on seperate Ide channels ie one from the motherboard and one from the PCI card then i can burn at 4x which is the desired result

the odd thing is if i use both IDE channels on the PCI card connecting each drive as a master again i get the same 2x limit, the drives blink one after the other instead of together


the only way i have managed to get all 3 drives to write on a multi burn at the target speed of 4x is to connect
one drive to the Motherboard
one to the PCI card
one via an IDE to USB converter


i have 6 burners in total in my tower and as long as two of the Lg Gh22np20 are NOT conneted to the Same IDE channel in a Slave/master combo i can do 6 disc multi burn with out any issues

but the entire burn procedure gets limited to 2x as soon as i two of the drives are connected in a slave/master combo

all drives are running the newest firmware and all using DMA setting.

i find this very odd because for years now i have had 4 pioneers drives (All different models), an Lg drive and a NEC drive connected in: 2 x master/slave combos (4 pioneer drives) and 2 using USB. and never had any problems at all doing 6 way multi burns

wondered if anyone can shed any light on the subject before i go and buy another PCI card to run the Third LG Gh22np20

This is All pioneers Fault they have pulled out of the European market for some reason so i cant replace any of my dead pioneer drives cause no one has any left

[budz]

Well you wouldn't want any PIONEER drive now since they now use rebadged LITEON drives.

Are you using 80 wire ide cables with the LG drives? Newer model IDE drives require using 80 wire ide cables otherwise they will not work correctly.

Do the PCI IDE CONTROLLER cards use the SILICON IMAGE CHIPSETS or ITE CHIPSET? This will make a difference as well whether or not the IDE DVD burners will work correctly. If it's a RAID enabled card that's another factor to look into because DVD Burners will not work correctly as well. VIA chipset controller cards won't work as well with DVD Burners.

In the past most PCI IDE CONTROLLER cards were made to run only hard drives. Do a google search on ITE & SILICON chipset controller cards.

http://www.syba.com/index.php?controller=Product&action=Info&Id=1037

I used to use a card like the above for my dvd burners. But I no longer use them. I now have many sata dvd burners but I still use my ide dvd burners as well

[Bjs]

40 conductor wire can be reversed ... 80 conductor wire is non-reversible and supports faster transfer buss speeds

Older, now outdated controller cards using via chipsets ... some where problematic ... not all ... newer via controller chipsets are pretty much bullet proofed

====

As for burning to multiple units the rule is they must be same brand / model / firmware revision on separate channels ... not sharing as in master / slave

Add usb / pci card / ide / sata ... multiple interfaces with different data transfer thorough puts ... the whole lot will drop to the slowest drive ... add drive fragmentation and it can drop even lower

The real deal is to use a duplicator card with multiple units ... some models available though this link

[mistermofo]

all cables are 80 wire
and the card is an ITE card

but like i said problem persists whne using the motherboard IDE

and i never had this problem before when i had
4 different model pioneers and two mixed drives

if i just used the pioneers i could multi burn up 8X wih out any problems and have been doing for about 4 years
now

[budz]

TO BJS: I beg to differ on your comment about VIA chipset. VIA chipsets have been problematic for DVD burners unless you use a SILICON IMAGE CHIPSET or ITE 8212 CHIPSET. Dunno where you got your information on that.

Also 80 wire ide cables need to be used for newer IDE DVD burners otherwise they will not work correctly. I think I'm knowledgeable enough since I'm a dvd burner whore!

TO OP: IDE cables are known to fail over time. Buy a new one and see if that solves your problem or not. That's the first place to start. Also make sure your ITE chipset is not a RAID card because that will cause problems as well.

[mistermofo]

All Cable are Fine and have been replaced with new one for elimination

after some messing arround and rearanging i have managed to get the whole lot working as needed

what i have got is

Mother boards IDE : Master [LG Gh22np20] Slave [NEC]
PCI IDE channel 1 : Master [LG Gh22np20] Slave [Pioneer 116D]
USB : [LG Gh22np20]
USB : [LG GSA4163b]

6 way multi burn using a DVD image on a a USB External
result 6 complete burns at 4x

Conclucion is non of the Lg drives can work with each other on the same channel