NEW DVD-Burner creating tons of COASTERS!!! 1

[Bachinat0r]

I need some input on this one. i got a new samsung h552b dvd burner for x-mas. it was purchase from new egg and came bundled with some newegg stamped blank media. six blank media total. out of the 6 dvd's, 3 came out coaster. i was pissed. i have had a TDK Velo cd burner for years and never a coaster. so i decided to purchase some blank media at the closest store. blaming the whole incident on the bum media. the only thing i could find at the store around x-mas time was Memorex dvd-r. after trying 3 of those and all 3 turning out coasters, i had to walk away from my computer fearing that i might blow it up. so i decided to check out the media compatibility list from samsung's website. that day at work, i picked up a couple of TDK DVD-R's, which is on the compatibility list, to try at home. wouldn't you know that the first one came out a coaster. i am thinking my dvd burner is bad and need some insight. below are the different things i have tried throughout this whole process.

-update the version of nero that came with the burner.
-update the firmware for the burner.
-disable screen saver and all power options.
-disable antivirus.
-tried media from different manufacturor (i am trying to find some DVD+R media to try just for fun).

thanks for your help in advance!

 

[firewolfrl]

Try changing the IDE cable to the DVD-burner to the ATA33 type cable. I had a lot of coasters till I did that. I was using the ATA66/100 type and I was having buffer errors and the burner would only burn DVD's halfway.
Hey I was there and thought my burner was defective too...

The interesting thing was I could burn CD's
hey good luck

After the cable switch my burner works great and NO coasters or errors

 

[cdogg]

There should be no reason to convert the IDE cable to a 40-pin cable. Any working 80-pin cable supports all UDMA modes and provides better shielding against interference which can cause data corruption. Firewolfrl, I realize it worked in your situation but you could have just had a bad 80-pin cable to begin with. For most cases, it is not recommended even if it seems like the drive is working.

nspatch,
I highly doubt the drive is bad. What version of Windows are you using? If it's XP, check the properties of the IDE controller that the drive is on. Under advanced settings, make sure the drive is using UDMA mode 2 (ATA/33), which is the highest it supports. The other mode it could be "stuck" in is PIO Mode 4. PIO causes CPU usage to skyrocket and should be avoided. If that's the case, make sure the settings are set to Auto in both the BIOS and OS.

Some info:

http://www.wown.com/kbase/WindowsTips/Windows2000/UserTips/Hardware/DMAUDMAandCDdrives.html

http://www.tsli.com/faq-ide.html#106

Perhaps you are using a 40-pin cable and need to upgrade to an 80-pin cable. I would try that first. Your burner supports buffer underrun protection, so it shouldn't be making coasters unless something's physically wrong with the cable.


Still having trouble? Post back with answers to:

[maroon]Are you getting an error message? If so, what? Or is the burn process finishing, but the DVD is just not playable?
Have you tried making different kinds of DVD's (Data and Video)?[tab]

What about CD burning, does that work?[/maroon]


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[paparazi]

firewolfrl
What are you trying to copy?
What are your system specs/OS and update version and how do you have the DVDwriter connected (in what configuration)
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[Bachinat0r]

thanks for the reply guys! i didn't try switching out cable. i really don't feel the need to even try b/c i took the velo cd burner off the same ide cable and position. there are no problems reading dvd's (installed and playing sims 2 just fine).

i sometimes receive error messages during the burn process and sometimes i don't. if i get an error message this is what i get.

"encountered error during burn process, generated log"

when i check the log, the last 2 lines in the log are: burner not ready
media ejected

when i don't get an error message. the program seems to still be burning the disk but there are no activity lights on the burner.

i have tried burning different type of disks. burning a mp3 dvd seems to give me a failure rate of around 45%. trying to copy a dvd or create a new dvd movie gives me a failure rate of 100% so far.

here are my system specs, although i don't think they would pose a problem.

xp pro
athlon xp 2500+
1 gig pc 2700 (kington)
radeon 9800 pro
2 wd 10,000rpm raptor in a raid 0
sound blaster audigy zs2

 

[cdogg]

Number one thing I didn't see in your last post - [navy]the mode at which the drive is running[/navy]. This is critical to the burn process. Your drive must be in UDMA mode.

Reading DVD's and installing software are not as bandwidth intensive as burning. So don't rely on your previous CD burner's performance as a reason not to switch the cable. For one, they are extremely cheap. Plus, your DVD burner is receiving data from the hard drive to burn a DVD at a much faster rate than any CD burner, especially when it hits burn speeds over 4x. Therefore, interference plays a critical role here (that's where 80-pin can make a difference).

At the very least, check to see whether you have a 40-pin or 80-pin cable - it would help to know.

Also, you didn't mention whether CD burning was tested. So far, nothing indicates that it must be the drive or media used...


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[Bachinat0r]

whoops. i forgot to mention about the drive mode. it is udma. both ide channels.

on the subject of the ide cables. once the 80 wire cables came out, i have never used anything but those.

cd burning seems to be fine. i have only attempted burning 1 cd and it came out fine.

 

[cdogg]

OK, I'm going to lean on one of two things:

1) The cd-writing software (Nero) is corrupted or not properly set, perhaps relating to burn speed

2) The type of file or the format you are selecting when you burn to DVD


As an easy and quick test, pick a file or group of files over 100MB in size. Make a basic Data DVD (Joliet format). See if this completes.

If it does and you can read the files on disc, then you know the problem is 2. If it still doesn't complete, try a slower burn speed on the next disc. If I were you, I'd be using a Re-writable CD to save on the coasters until you get this figured out.

Another suggestion would also be to try different cd-writing software besides Nero.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[micker377]

When "experimenting" with a new burner, I use re-writable disks. Not full speed, but saves on "coaster collection" until I get everything sorted out.

 

[cdogg]

Yep, sorry I meant to say Re-writable "DVD" not CD.
Thanks micker...

 

[Bachinat0r]

thanks for all the input everyone! i am doing a return RMA with the samsung burner and plan to purchase either a LG or Sony dvd burner.

 

[cdogg]

Sorry to hear that you've given up...

While you're back in the market, you might want to take a look at the newer NEC DVD 16x dual-layer burners. They've had some of the highest ratings in overall speed, especially for dual-layer burning.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[Bachinat0r]

i haven't really given up. i have been leaning towards the drive being bad. i even called samsung and their techs seem to think the same thing. so i am just sending it back. it was a nice x-mas gift but it wasn't the one i was looking at anyway. i plan on either purchasing a Sony 710a or a LG 4160B. i haven't decided yet.

you are right about the dual layer write speeds for the NEC. it's fast! however dual layer media is more than 5x the cost of single layer media. so the speed difference doesn't matter to me.

 

[garebo]

I've had a NEC 1000 for quite a while now and never a prob, just thought i would mention that if you see a great deal on a NEC, i wouldnt hesitate.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[micker377]

cdogg,
I wasn't correcting you, our posts came out at the same time. (Help is getting faster all the time! Sure is better than when all we had was BBS's)

 

[cdogg]

micker,
No prob. But I did notice my post was Jan 12th, and yours on the 13th. I'm not concerned with it...


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[micker377]

cdogg, that brings up a question: what time zone is tek-tips in? Here in California (PST), I can be typing for hours and it's already the next day on the site.

 

[cdogg]

I believe it is Central time (out of Michigan). But your time zone doesn't matter since the date of your post is always Central time.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[firewolfrl]

sorry it took so long to answer:
first to Cdogg:
The fix that I used by switching cables WORKED GREAT FOR ME....lol...80 pin is my preference but the drive errored all the time and had cosiderable cpu usage(UDMA WAS ENABLED)(DMA IN WINDOWS TOO). and I did use brand new out of the package 80 pin cables....(I can't imagine 4 of them being bad at the same time)
it just was bad luck that my burner doesn't like the 80 pin cables....lol

Now to paparazi:
I have 7 Ide harddrives and a DVD, CDRW, and DVD-burner on a Gigabyte board....RAID is enabled and I am using an extra controller card (the MB supports up to 8 drives)
cpu is a 2400 AMD and one gig of DDR dual channel RAM
I am running XP pro SP2, Nero, CloneCD5, CloneDVD2, and Cdrwin 3.9H
And now I have an absolutly stable system (how rare is that....)
I can burn DVD and CDR without high CPU usage and my system has stayed stable.
I think it is just a quirk with the drive....but I am happy that my problem is solved and there are no side effects.
just because 40 pin is old cable doesn't mean that it is totally obsolete....use what works and don't complain that it does work.
hey good luck with the RMA and hope that removes the problem.

laters

 

[garebo]

Good to see you found the fix. So many times its something small and easy to fix. But who would have thought to change from a superior 80 pin to a standard 40 pin? Now that i see the fix i remember doing that once with a cd burner, changing the 80 pin to 40 pin, but i totally forgot about it. Another good piece of info to try and remember.

Good advice + great people = tek-tips