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dvd combo drive wont reconize dvds

Discussion in 'DVDR' started by Bridgy, Dec 25, 2004.

  1. Bridgy

    Bridgy Member

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    Hi My atapi dvd dual drive will no longer reconise dvds and i am unable to view or burn copies. It appears that the DVD Driver is missing but i have not been unable to reinstall it by the usual methods. I am running windows XP.

    Can some one please help
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2004
  2. rroettger

    rroettger Regular member

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    Did you uninstall the drive and then reboot. XP should see the drive and install it.
     
  3. Bridgy

    Bridgy Member

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    Yeah i have tried all that and still had no success
     
  4. rroettger

    rroettger Regular member

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    unistall the ide channel the drive is on?
     
  5. Bridgy

    Bridgy Member

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    Thanks sounds like a top idea but can you explain how i might do it
     
  6. Ieron

    Ieron Guest

  7. rroettger

    rroettger Regular member

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    Device manager, select channel, right clik on properties, select drive tab and hit uninstall.
     
  8. Bridgy

    Bridgy Member

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    yeah i tried that i actually uninstalled all the channels and the restarted the computer with out luck. I then tried to rollback the drivers but still no joy everytime i put a dvd into the the combo drive it reads as a blank disk
     
  9. rroettger

    rroettger Regular member

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    What is the burner model # and how old is it. Have youe checked for firmware updates.
     
  10. ScubaPete

    ScubaPete Senior member

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    Bridgy,

    Has it ever worked ?

    Pete


     
  11. Bridgy

    Bridgy Member

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    Scuba pete yes it has worked until recently.

    The computer that the burner came in is only 12 months old

    All my software is set up to automatically update if thier are updates availiable

     
  12. ScubaPete

    ScubaPete Senior member

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    OK, then let's go through all the basics, OK ?

    There are some things we should check as they have a direct influence over how our drive behaves -

    1. Let's check for up-to-date Firmware for your burner.

    "OK, so what is this "Firmware" garbage?" Fair question. Firmware is a "tutor" who's job it is to eliminate any "bugs" found in your drive and to "introduce" your burner to all the different kinds of media to your burner is likely to run into and to tell your burner a little bit about it. What type of media it is and at what speed to burn it. As new media is introduced OR, as the Mfgrs of your burner find new ways to use it, new firmware updates OR "Flash upgrades" come out to "school" your burner, keeping it up-to-date. It's good to keep your burner up-to-date as it "tweaks" your burner and keeps it operating at peak performance.

    Of major Importance – When dealing firmware, you must match your burner's exact model with the proper Firmware. Trying to "Flash" your burner with something "Close" won't do it. It must be the exact firmware for your drive. ("Flashing" is what the installation is referred to when you put the firmware into your drive.) Trying to "Flash" your drive with some other drive's firmware can ruin your drive.

    At the bottom of the page look for "What's my firmware? - Try this little tool I found," Download this tool and check out your Firmware's health (up-to-date wise). You can probably get a current upgrade there also –

    http://flashman.rpc-1.com/

    Firmware page -

    http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_all.php

    Always check your burner's Mfgr's "Support" section to see if some newer Firmware is there -

    Firmware, You can't burn without it -



    Now we need to see if we have a working ASPI Layer.

    "Yea right, and ASPI stands for Another Stupid Piece of Insanity, right ?" No, not quite, it stands for "Advanced SCSI Programming Interface". "Well that tells me nothing, what's it do ?" That's a much easier question to answer. It is kind of a "translator" allowing your software to talk your hardware in a manner that your hardware will understand. Let's imagine an Earthman trying to talk to a rock. Now, think of a sledgehammer as being the interface. With the interface in play, the Earthman can tell the rock to disperse into gravel no matter what planet the rock is from, OK ? Good, let's see if we have a sledgehammer –

    2. Check for your ASPI Layer. If one isn't present, we'll need to get one and reinstall it, then reboot our PC to allow it to "settle in".

    ASPI Checker -
    http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/su...oduct/EZ-SCSI_5.0&filekey=aspichk.exe&sess=no

    Force 1.8 ASPI Layer -

    http://forceaspi18.w.interia.pl/

    Finally, we need to check your DMA. "Ooohh, no you're not ! Only my husband or my Doctor checks my "D", "M" . . whatever . . ." No, no, it's OK, DMA stands for "Direct Memory Access" transfer mode OR as we say in the computer field, it's a really, fast way to move stuff. Many PC's today are using UDMA or "Ultra Direct Memory Access transfer mode, or as we like to call it, a really super-duper fast way to move stuff as opposed to the PIO mode. The PIO or Programmed I/O mode, is a technique whereby the system CPU and support hardware directly control the transfer of data between the system and the hard disk since shortly after the beginning of PC's up until the mid-1990's. So we want DMA (fast) more than we PIO (slow).

    3. Let's check your Drive's transfer mode. It should be DMA-4, not PIO.
    Windows XP downgrades the Ultra DMA transfer mode after receiving six CRC errors and drops it down to the much slower PIO mode.

    To enable DMA mode using the Device Manager
    1. Go to "My Computer, ""System Tools," "View System Information," then System Properties, "Hardware," Then Open Device Manager
    2. Double-click IDE ATA//ATAPI Controllers to display the list of controllers and channels.
    3. Right-click the icon for the channel to which your burner is connected and select Properties. Now click the Advanced Settings tab.
    4. In the Current Transfer Mode drop-down box, select DMA if available if the current setting says, "PIO Only."
    If the drop-down box already says, "DMA if Available" but the current transfer mode is PIO, then the user must "toggle" the settings. That is, change the selection from "DMA if available" to PIO only, and click "OK".
    Then repeat the steps above to change the selection to "DMA if available".

    OPTION: Right-click the burner and select "Uninstall" and then "OK" all prompts until the PC reboots. Upon rebooting, the PC should "find" your burner and reinstall it setting it by "Default" to DMA.

    Lastly, when did you last defrag your Hard Drive (HD) ? If you have to stop and think about the last time you did it, then it's way, way overdue. Here we go, (Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. When it opens, choose your HD, analyses it to see where we stand then if you need it (you probably will) choose Defragment.).

    After you finish doing it now you might want to think about having "Scheduled Tasks" in your Control Panel do it for you on a daily basis.

    A fragmented HD not only drastically slows down your system but it can cause all number of things to happen inside your PC, a messed up burn being one of them.

    Once we've done that, our DVD burner should operate at peak efficiency :D)

    Cheers,

    Pete

    Now let's see if everything will work together the way we want it to, OK ?

    Give it a test run and let us know how you make out -
     
    Last edited: Dec 26, 2004
  13. Bridgy

    Bridgy Member

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    Thanks pete i am printing you instructions of as i type and will work my way threw them.
     
  14. ScubaPete

    ScubaPete Senior member

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    Good, Remember to report back when you're done -


     

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