Hi can anyone help? I have a Nec DVD RW ND1300a writer,lastest firmware from Nec had been installed 3-4 months ago,( I had problems copying/burning on to generic 4X DVD-R discs, that was solved)I recently used a Benq 8x DVD-R, suddenly my generic 4x DVD-R printables no longer work, the message " Power calibration error" pops up when I try to burn/copy discs. If I use the 8X Benq DVD-R or Memorex 4xDVD-R (Brand names) it works. what can be the cause of this?
you havent been browsing the right threads my friend otherwise you would of found this gem from the man himself SCUBAPETE. Enjoy the read andmerr (author: scubapete AD addict) First off, we need you to change your media, Memorex is an excellent example as media goes, figures as high as 50% coasters have been reported (One member bought a stack of 50 and got 23 good burns.), not what I would call an impressive record. There are 4 different companies that manufacture Memorex BTW and product quality varies widely as you might imagine. Easy to see now why the quality of a big-named company can’t be trusted - “ Who’s making your Memorex tonight ?” Is it just Memorex ? No ! I just used Memorex as an example., Princo, Fuji, Orange Pack, Great AZO and most "store" discs aren’t all that suitable as a DVD backup media – that’s why we are specific in the type of media we are recommending. 1. * Cheap media freezes, skips, pixelats and may refuse to be recognized :-( Besides "Freezing", "skips" and pixelations, many times you’ll get a “Cyclic Redundancy error” or an "I/O error". This message can mean that your discs are scratched or dirty, it can also mean that your burner won’t accept your “cheap” media :-( Another problem which “pops up” is a “*Power Calibration Error”. This can stop you right in your tracks and most often is caused by, Yep, you guessed it, inexpensive media. *A “Power Calibration Error” can also be attributed to the Optical Components of a DVD Writer, though this isn’t usually the case. Trying to shut down your software and ejecting your DVD then restarting your program and re-inserting the same media recently cleaned has been known to help. Inexpensive media or even average media is great for text, Data, Spreadsheets, .Jpg and .Gif pictures and is good even for MP3 music BUT for DVD backups - BLAaaaaaT! It SUCKTH in an extremely Big-th way ! What we are suggesting is to download this DVD Identifier to find out who manufactured your DVD and if it's a decent quality. http://dvd.identifier.cdfreaks.com/ Once you have your disc identified, click the "More information" icon and see what information you're given. if you're not sure of the quality, come on back and we'll check it out for you - 2. A good grade, Hi-quality media is needed for DVD reproduction ! RiData, Sony, TDK, "Branded" Ritek G04's or "Branded" Verbatim Data Life, Verbatim DataLife plus, Taiyo Yuden's and generally, almost any discs manufactured by Mitsubishi are excellent bets. Among the better discs we're looking for, any media boasting "Advanced Metal AZO" - BUT it must say "METAL" AZO !, this indicates a superior dye and dye application on a good composite disc, while they are sometimes a bit "pricey" they are just the type of media we're looking for to do our DVD backups, Prices online from Meritline.com have gotten Ritek G04 starting at about a $ .45 (USD) a disc - Question - If you make coasters out of 3 cheap or even average discs and good copies from 3 RiData, Ritek, TDK, Sony or Verbatim discs - which ones then will you say are too expensive ? The 3 “Cheapo’s with no movie backup OR, the 3 recommended discs with a perfect backup on each disc ? Bear in mind, Memorex, Orange Pack, Princo, Fuji, Great AZO and others are quite good for your MP3 music, picture archives, Spread sheets, Data and your text backups and archives, they just don’t work well for DVD backups. Even DataSafe G04’s made by Ritek have been reported as an inferior quality media and are evoking that “Oh no, I shouldn’t have gotten those.” Remember, for DVD backups, purchasing inexpensive media or even average media is a gamble, some people win, the majority of people lose, varying amounts varying amounts, true but, they still lose :-( Using good grade media can guarantee you one thing to an absolute certainty; it surely cannot hurt. BTW, In an effort to clear the air, when I speak of "Cheap" or "Inexpensive" media, I'm not referring to the price you pay at the counter - I'm referring to the type of composite some manufactures use, their method of dye application and the lack of OR the poor quality control used during manufacturing. when I say "Branded" that means that when you pick up a disc in your hand, it says "Ritek" or "RiData" on the disc itself. The monetary cost of the media we recommend many times is cheaper than that you are buying now.
hi check this out from the nero website! 9. I get a 'Power calibration error' or 'Calibration area (almost) full' error message. Why? Power Calibration is controlled by the recorder. Before any write operation, all recorders must do a 15 step power test to determine the optimum power for writing to the CD; this is called "Optimum Power Calibration"(OPC). During the write, it continues to do this test to get the best write throughout the whole CD; this is called "Running Optimum Power Calibration" (ROPC). This whole process is controlled by the recorder, though initiated by programs such as Nero. There is an area on the inner part of the CD for the test and test data info to be stored. You can use this area up to 999 times. If you receive the "Power calibration error" or "Power calibration area is (amost) full" error message, the cause will be either poor media, poor power, or a defective recorder. Please try the following solutions: Update the firmware of your recorder. Please check the manufacturer's website for the latest version. Try another brand of CD-R or CD-RW media. Try different power connectors, and for recorders, do not share power with other devices. It needs its own power connector. If the error occurs with an external recorder, the power source in the chassis could be the cause. As a test, try to take the recorder out of the external chassis and connect it internal. Try different configurations, such as taking the CD-ROM to the primary IDE bus as slave and have only the recorder connected to the secondary IDE bus as master. Send the recorder in for service.
i had this problem about a yr a go some media would work some would not i kept thinking it was duff media i got a new power supply and problem solved
i had the same problem about a week ago bought some ritek discs and some no name brand ones the riteks worked fine but the cheap ones came up with the dreaded 'power calibration error' on further inspection alot of the discs actually had visual blemishes on the discs! luckily the company i dealt with were pretty good and sent a courier who brought me 100 brand new riteks and took those useless discs off my hands if its a choice between a little more money and getting cheap discs ALWAYS pay the money
