Hello, I have a Mad Dog 16XDVD9 drive that I bought a few years ago. I have used it with DVD Shrink for many years with few problems, until recently. I just bought some single layer Memorex 16X dvd-r media only to find out that it doesn't work in my drive. In another thread, http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/496637#3004020 I was told my firmware needed to be updated. Someone sent me a link to a firmware page. I looked at the page and it looked complicated and I was afraid of screwing up my drive. Is there an easier way to update my firmware? What would you recommend?
I was also told to do this: Since this drive is a rebadged NEC 3500AG,you may be able to go over to cdfreaks.com and find a way to crossflash it to the ligitimate NEC 3500AG firmware. Try cdfreaks.com/dvd-rw drives/NEC. I have little to no experience with dvd drives. Is the crossflash process hard?
Before you consider cross-flashing your drive which seems a bit complicated for you,try use a better media,like Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden discs(Made in Japan medias),the memorex you're using could be coded as Ritek or Prodisc or the worst CMC Mag.And if you don't want to get a headache about cross-flashing or updating your firmware,you can go with 8X rated speed medias as they will surely be more compatible on your drive,unlike 16X ones which require updating your drive's firmware. Vincent.
Yup, I was also thinking of trying a different media brand. People told me to use Ritek 8X media, and I was getting ready to do that. Do you think that media will work alright? I have used Ritek without a problem for my dual layer media before. It seems like no one is carrying 8X media, all that I have seen is 16X. Thanks for your help!
If it's hard to find verbatim or any TY media which is rated 8X,then you can give the Ritek 8X a try,but just don't load yourself with that media,buy the least quantity to be sure if it works. You can look forward to update your drive's firmware,it's not so risky as cross-flashing.Just make sure you download the latest firmware from your drive's official website and before you install it,close all unnecessary programs and the more important thing,make sure you don't turn off your pc during the update.Normally the updating process won't take long,it takes only more or less one minute to do the process.After that,i believe you will be able to burn 16X rated medias(good ones),BUT as a good thumb rule for burning,always burn at half the rated speed,it applies mostly to 16X medias,for 8X medias,if you're using top notch medias,you can exceptionally burn them at full speed,i.e,8X. Vincent.
http://www.mdmm.com/support/docs/MegaSTOR_FW_Upgrade.pdf I found the above step by step tutorial to updating the firmware. This is just what I was looking for!
Glad you found it,just follow the tutorial step by step and you'll see it as easy as a child's play. Vincent.
