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8600 dvd burner - Page 3

post #41 of 98
4/6/04 at 4:12am
SOMMS,

Thanks for the links but how do I know if I order from Dell that I will get an NEC drive?

Also... if I order from NewEgg how will I be able to use this drive in my laptop if it doesn't have the faceplace and lock mechanism already installed? Must I remove them from my old drive and mount them on the new one?

Thanks,
A.F.

Incidentally: If anyone can find a firmware for the GCA-4040N LG drive... I would be very happy
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post #42 of 98
4/6/04 at 10:15am
As usual somms, another useful USB bootable utility to make it a no brainer flash...thanks YET again!
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post #43 of 98
4/6/04 at 10:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ofelas
As usual somms, another useful USB bootable utility to make it a no brainer flash...thanks YET again!
You're Welcome! Also, Kudos to IANOU for pointing out that this firmware upgrade was available at the beginning of this thread.
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post #44 of 98
4/6/04 at 11:18am
Absolutely, didn't mean to leave anyone out...thanks IANOU.

Probably shouldn't use any Dell firmware flash/upgrade file available in the future for the NEC_5100A now, huh?

I guess I'll still need software to utilize the RPC1 capabilities of this drive?
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post #45 of 98
4/6/04 at 11:40am
hm, maybe i should mail dell about the many wrong burns on my lg, and ask for a nec
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post #46 of 98
4/6/04 at 11:42am
Folks - please post working/non-working brands/specs of DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-R+ and DVD-RW+ blank discs with the flashed 5500A.

Thx.
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post #47 of 98
4/6/04 at 1:02pm
Well, I was crossing my fingers to have the NEC, as I just received my 8600 yesterday....

But a Hitachi GCA-4040N it is. Not a big deal though, at least I still received the "old" 8600.

Plus, my desktop burner is a DVD+R/RW anyhow, so those are the discs that I keep on hand.
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post #48 of 98
4/6/04 at 2:40pm
Additionally.. you will find that +R media is often more abundant and even cheaper in most retail stores.

BUT... I still would like to know what the part numbers are for both a D-Bay expansion enclosure and the NEC DVD+RW drive from Dell.

Thanks,
A.F.
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post #49 of 98
4/6/04 at 2:44pm
Just received my NEC DVD+R drive and flashed it immediately. Now it supports -R! Will do some tests with some Memorex DVD-R 4x and get back to you.
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post #50 of 98
4/6/04 at 3:01pm
Ok so the drive made this 'really' curious 'waaaaa' nice when it started writing the lead-in. Is this normal for the drive? This is in comparison to my old non DVD+R drive so maybe this is normal. It was kind of a 'reading-really-fast' type sound. Oh well...

It's burning a DVD-R as we speak...- will report back with any CRC errors etc etc...


*UPDATE*

It made the 'strange sound' again at around 55% of the way through the disc. This was accompanied by a 'faster spinning' so I imagine the disc has now sped up to 4x judging by how much more quickly it's burning...

I guess that sound is normal!

**UPDATE**

Just got done burning....- now it's verifying. Made that curious sound again as it started verifying (verifying that the sound is normal ) and will report back with one final update very soon. W00t for updates!

***UPDATE***

Just finished burning and verifying with my piece of crap Memorex 4x -R media.

Data Verification Failed

Total files = 230, indentical = 226, different = 0, inaccessible = 4, skipped = 0.

Slightly frustrating I've had problems with this media before so I'm sure it's the media. Oh welll....
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post #51 of 98
4/6/04 at 3:05pm
As shown on my invoice -

P1516 - D/Bay Modular housing

T1420 - NEC 4x DVD/RW+
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post #52 of 98
4/6/04 at 6:53pm
I reburned the same data on Memorex DVD-R 4x on my TDK external burner, and the data was perfect. However, no matter how many times I reburn it on the NEC, I get data errors when I verify it. I burned the same data on a Memorex DVD+RW 4x on the NEC, and the data is perfectly fine. I'm now trying different burning software. I was using Nero 6.0.3.0 and am switching to Sonic RecordNow 6.5 to try with that. I'm going to waste a lot of DVDs I can tell....

**UPDATE**

Still no luck. Data was 'screwed' using DVD-R Memorex. GRRRR!!!!!!!
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post #53 of 98
4/6/04 at 7:28pm
You could try BETTER dvd-rs like TDK or Ritek -R's
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post #54 of 98
4/6/04 at 7:47pm
WilliamG - I guess you're test burning the Memorex DVD-R blanks AFTER flashing the 5100a to a 5500a?
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post #55 of 98
4/6/04 at 7:49pm
Yes. I doubt the drive would even READ blank DVD-R beforehand...
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post #56 of 98
4/6/04 at 7:56pm
Ok so SOMETHING is fishy. I did a CDCheck with the first disc I burned, and it finds an error on a file using the NEC drive. HOWEVER, when I do a test using the TDK external DVD writer, there is NO error and the file can be read fine! I can copy the file to my hard drive perfectly using the TDK drive, but I can't using the NEC.

What's that about?

Basically, what that says to me is that the drive burns my DVD-R discs perfectly, but has trouble reading them..

Ugh
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post #57 of 98
4/6/04 at 11:12pm
I flashed my NEC drive .. I backed up a DVD (Minority Report) to a FujiFilm DVD-R using DVD X Copy Express .. It plays fine in both my XPS laptop and on my home DVD player ..

Later on when I have more time I'll try a normal data DVD to see how that goes.
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post #58 of 98
4/7/04 at 1:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamG
Ok so SOMETHING is fishy. I did a CDCheck with the first disc I burned, and it finds an error on a file using the NEC drive. HOWEVER, when I do a test using the TDK external DVD writer, there is NO error and the file can be read fine! I can copy the file to my hard drive perfectly using the TDK drive, but I can't using the NEC.

What's that about?

Basically, what that says to me is that the drive burns my DVD-R discs perfectly, but has trouble reading them..

Ugh
try a different media brand. i stay loyal to tdk or samsung. i'll flash and post which dvd-r's i've burned.
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post #59 of 98
4/7/04 at 1:37am
I hate to be a Nay Sayer in this thread but could all these problems indicate that although flashing the firmware adds some functionality that the basic hardware configuration just isn't "prepared" to handle DVD-R burning ?

I would "think" that the difference between a 5100 and a 5500 is more than just firmware... but I know that anything is also possible.

A.F.
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post #60 of 98
4/7/04 at 2:26am
well so far i see that its not burning coasters but burning one using the nec drive seems to cause inability to read those specific -R discs
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