I recently bought Philips DVD-R and it seems that I have gone through the whole cake box and my dvd drive doesn't recognize them. Are these supposed to be good discs or do you recommend a different brand? Also, how can I find if my dvd drive firmware needs updated? I just ordered a new dvd drive because I thought maybe mine was dying because it wouldn't recognize any of these discs. Thank you.
Here is a good thread for info about your drive, you are not the only one having the same problem you describe. http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=106648 Here is the firmware index home page, I'm not really sure what model number you have, I googled your model you supplied and came up with an LG-4081b, is this correct or did I get it wrong? If you have Nero, select your drive and it will tell you what your firmware is. As far as the Philips disk, they suck, none of my 3 DVD burners like these disks, mine are made by CMC Magnetics corp, and I have a personal hatred for anything made by CMC-Mag. BTW, Best Buy , and Office Depot are having sales on Verbatim 16X DVD disks this week, $12.99 for 50at Office Max. Can't go wrong witht he good stuff.
A106, the latest firmware for your drive. Get it here http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1757 As for disks, follow BilvetNc's adivce and you will be fine. Only use Verbatim, Taiyo Yuden, Sony (made in japan - chances are they will be Taiyo Yuden) and Ritek. Happy Burning!
Okay, I downloaded the firmware update. I also went to the store and bought good Sony discs. My dvd drive will not recognize these either. I am trying through Nero. It never used to have a problem only with cheap discs. Do you think I need a new DVD drive. Is Lite-On a good brand? If I put that in my computer, is it going to mess up any of my programs such as DVD Decrypter, DVD Shrink, and Nero? Thanks for all of your help.
Hmmm. Anyway, LiteOn is a great brand. Putting a new one in won't mess up your system/programs. Go to hardware manager and uninstall your drive then reboot and let windows do it's "thing".
You downloaded the firmware, but did you run it and updated to the latest firmware? Firmware plays a very important role when it comes to DVD burning (i.e. media compatibility).
When I ran the update, it said current version A106, new version A106, install. Which I did. Then when it was done, it said to be reboot. I did that. Even if I stick an actual movie DVD in the drive, it doesn't recognize it. So I am believing that my drive is whooped. Maybe they only handle burning about 200 movies?
By running the update, do you mean there was something else I was supposed to do? Sorry, maybe my blonde roots are showing...hehe!
You did install the update correctly if it asked for a reboot. After reading the posts over on CDFreaks, you are not the only one having problems with this particular unit,You seem to have tried everything you could possibly do in this situation to remedy the burning/disk recon problem. You did very well in choosing a lite-on brand burner, you'll be happy with it. As far as the old one, I hear it makes a great cup holder for your CPU tower 'cuz it sounds like it has expired. (R.I.P. a moment of silence)
That's odd, no signs of reading the disc (any dvd movie) at all even after updating your firmware? Hmmm... this is strange indeed. Well, my old SONY DRU710 (rebadge LiteOn SOHW 1633S) is 3 years old and she still burns like new (knock-on-wood!), so far she has burned more than 1,500 backups and still cranking sharply.
Yeah, after researching the link you gave me...I see I am not the only having problems. I did however, uninstall the driver, and reboot. It installed the driver again and it still does not recognize a dvd. So, my new drive should be here tomorrow. Hopefully, that will resolve the issue. I will let you know. Thank you so much for your help.
Now, I think I am in trouble. I purchased the lite-on dvdrw model lh-18a1p-185. I plugged it in. My computer does not recognize it. It did not come with software. I called the company that I purchased it from and they said it is oem and software does not come with it. Do you know where I can get the software, drivers, or whatever is needed so this will work on my computer? I got on the lite-on website, and they do not offer the software for this although they brag about what a great product it is. You can only download the manual on their website. Help?!
Make sure it's set to MASTER See this... http://home.comcast.net/~bbmayo/Jumper Settings for your Drive.pdf
Thank you so much. That was the answer. After two hours of cursing the darn thing, it was something as simple as the slave/master clip. You are a life saver. This burner burnt 9 movies in one hour compared to the old one taking one hour to burn one movie! THanks!
