PHILIPS DVD+-RW DVD8631

Yes, Yes, Yes....you described the same problems I had.
Since I have requested DELL another drive from another make, ...never got one single problem of any kind.

Good luck

 

Thanks, tieone.

What is the best way to speak with Dell about getting the Nec? Online, phone, email. Hate to get on phone for another 2 hours.

Since the time I wrote my first post, I tried to use Sonic mydvd. Now it won't work. I downloaded a free trial of PhotoDVDmaker. Then I tried to burn a dvd-rw from there, about halfway thru an error msg " err while sending cue sheet" appeared and wouldn't continue to burn. I have no idea what that means.

Also, how do I find out when my Philips dvd-+rw drive was manufactured. I noticed Cougar mentioned it.

 

I always speak with them on there online chat. Calling them takes forever.

 

I must agree with iHoe about the Philips 8631 (FW:CD21). I've had this drive since December, and have NEVER HAD one single problem with it. I've copied over 100 movies (brand new releases) using (1click & AnyDVD). I don't have any problems writing to -R/-RW's or +R/+RW's at all. Before the CD21 FW update, there were problems with -R's/-RW's, but since that FW flash, the problems went away. Besides, who the hell wants to write to -R's anyway. -R & +R are very different formats!! +R are more versatile in more DVD players anyway, and write faster than -R. This I know for a fact!!

I agree with him, the Philips 8631 is a fine drive. And just to let some of you know...I do have a NEC 3530A, but there is problems with programs picking up this drive. Most programs I have pick this drive up at 12x,8x, and 6x. That's it!!! I don't understand why it will not pick up the 16x. Now on the other hand, these very same programs pick the Philips 8631 up as 16x,12x,8x,4x, and 2.4x. I like the Philips adding the 4x in there just in case you wanna select a slower speed to resolve "buffer under run" messages. When I get this issue with the NEC 3530A resolved, I'll be happy. It must be a FW issue, I guess, but who the hell knows.

Both of these drives burn good movies. With stock FW, the Philips 8631 is faster than the NEC. I know!!! Like I said, I've burned over 100 new releases. Most of these were over 90 mins in length. With ALL DVD Burners, use DVD+R's....and forget about -R's.

I give the Philips a 10, and the NEC a 9!!!

 

Hi everyone,

Thought I would check back and let you know my findings. I went online to chat with Dell. So much better than the phone. Less time too. The outcome of my previous post was Dell wanted me to download and install the filmware c21. Well, I went ahead and did it.

It worked. No more errors burning from media center and all my other programs worked. I must of gotten lucky. Thanks for all the advice. This is a great website forum.

 

Hello crafty10,

The only way I know to see when your drive was manufactured, is to open up your computer and pull the DVD burner out of it's slot.

I am not sure if all companies write it on their drives, but I know the Philips DVD8631 has the Manufactor Date written on the drive cover.

I guess any drives manufactured in 2005 will work. (New batch)
I forget when mine was done, it's been replaced with a NEC-3450A since. I bought my Dell Dimension 8400 in Jan 2005.

 

does anyone know where i could try downloading the firmware for the drive? I figured i'd try that before attempting to contact dell.

 

If you have the Philips 8631, and downloaded and installed the CD21 Firmware Update from Dell, ...and noticed it resolved your problems, you didn't just get "lucky". All DVD burners will have FW updates from time to time to resolve newly found issues. That's what the update was for. Besides, this CD21 FW update has been out since January. That shows that some of you need to check for updates once in a while. 90% of computer problems is the USER! The Philips 8631 is a fine drive!! There's nothing wrong with it. It works great with Sonic MYDVD Deluxe Suite 6.0. I recommend using it instead of Nero. It uses DLA (Drive Letter Access). I don't think Nero does.

 

Im tired of people saying that it was our fault about the philips not working. Im very good with computers and have never had this problem. I tried lots of things to get this drive to work including the new firmware, I even tried the drive in linux still nothing, But magically when i get the NEC drive it works. I did nothing to my computer just installed it and i was set to go. And it wasnt the software as i tried sonic, nero, some other dvdcopy program and K3B (linux). Those who have the philips drive and it works for them then great have fun making DVD's and what not. Im not trying to be rude but just making a point that it was the philips drive and not us users.

 

Star09 does have a point. Most problems are with the user because they install all this stuff, and then don't know how to properly remove it from the system.
When you started having problems, did you Reinstall Windows? Did you remove the Philips 8631 under the device manager, and reboot -- therefore letting Windows pick up the device and reinstall the drivers?? This usually works. The latter is basically what you did when you installed the NEC. Had you done this with the other drive, it probably wouldn've worked. I had to do this to my LG, and then it worked great afterwords.

 

Yes I did do those things.

 

I was having problem after problem burning DVDs with my DVD8631. [bold]This is what solved it[/bold]. I [bold]upgraded the firmware AND downloaded the following ASPI[/bold].


http://www.afterdawn.com/software/cdr_software/cdr_tools/frcaspi.cfm


[bold]IT WORKED FOR ME![/bold] Give it a try!

 

Dell has released a new firmware update. Make sure that you have any drive emulators disabled, before applying the firmware.

http://support.dell.com/support/dow...egory=0&os=WW1&osl=en&deviceid=8127&devlib=32

 

I gave up on the DVD8631. I had Dell send me a NEC 3530A.

 

just got my new dell pc with Philips DVD8631 burner & started to learn to burn dvds. Is it always so noisy when burning? The Sonic software hangs when burning after 30 mins - isnt it strange? Am about to report to Dell but want to know yr views.

 

Burners do make some noise, you can usually hear the disc spinning up and you may hear some speed changes. My brother's new Dell has the same burner and seems to be working OK. He has burned about 100 DVDs with it so far.

Any program that hangs up while burning is not much use. Is it actually completing the burn?

30 minutes is a long time for the actual burn process. Even at 2.4X the burn process should be completed in under 30 minutes. I'm not referring to pre-burn processing, just the actual time the disc is being written to. you may want to mention the type and brand of media you are using.

If I were you I would download DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink. Both free, both excellent tools to have. Lots of guides available and there are many experenced people here who use these programs.

You can tell by the number of responses to this thread that this burner has some issues. I find burners so cheap nowdays that I would seriously consider just replacing it soon.

 

I have Pioneer drives, they always sound like jet engines. flip your Plexy is a Rolls.

 

I have a Dell 8400 with a Philips dvd8631 burner. The thing works flawlessly. I just started burning dvd's resently (made about 20) and have never experienced a problem. I am also new to this site and after spending a little time here I have learned that the media I use (Memorex) is junk and yet no problems.Evey dvd I've made works in every dvd player I've tryed (with the exception of the dvd player in my truck). I got my Dell in February 2005 and started burning dvd's just resently. The only change I've made was a firmware upgrade to GD30. And so far i've burned using both Sonic and CloneDVD2. I just wanted to say this because we usually only here the bad stuff