NiftyNorris

Blutach, cheers mate & thanks! Trevor (Nifty)

Lightning, Thanks for the help once again. I'm having trouble posting a reply with the logs included (maybe because I'm cutting and pasting after saving them as a Word doc??). I'm just sending this post as a test to see if it gets through. I'll send more info as soon as I can .... Cheers for now. Trevor (Nifty)

Dontasciime, I've actually been closing the computer down each time it hangs by holding the power button as nothing else works. (I've tried a few times to close applications and even shut down thru Windows Task Manager but it just doesn't work, the computer just sits, and the burner keeps whirring away, it won't even open when I press the eject button or use the 'eject' button via 'My Computer'). I didn't even think about checking the drives - I'll run both applications and do both drives straight away.. I had trouble replying to Lightning last night, each time I posted the reply, my broswer went straight to a "Page Unavailable" error. Same thing happened 3 times in a row so I gave up and hit the sack as it was late. I'm using dial-up so everything goes slooow. Will try again now as he's asked for some logs etc. Cheers and thanks again, Trevor.

I'm back, Sorry about the delay but I've been busy with family matters, and this burner problem has been taking up a lot of my time. Thanks Dontasciime and Lightning, I've been working through your advice and this is what I've come up with ... Dontasciime, I did a virus check and that came out clean. I then used Spybot & Adaware to check the computer, Spybot found some DSO entries which I selected to 'Immunize', but they just showed up again when I did another scan. What the? I hate it when things like that happen. Maybe my computer is getting clogged up with crap after years of use? Seems to run OK though, it just hangs when I try to do a burn. I checked My Computer/Manage/Services etc and strangely I couldn't find a reference to 'GEARAspiWDM.sys' Not sure why as it's beyond me. I did notice it when I checked 'Filter Driver Load Order ...' in ImgBurn (see Lightning's comment), so I deleted it there. Two other entries showed up under My Computer/ Manage/ etc which concerned me (amongst a whole lot of others that I wouldn't know from a bar of soap). They seem to be related to Roxio, which I had installed on the computer but which are now uninstalled... Roxio UPnp Renderer 9 Roxio Upnp Server 9 I didn't delete them as I don't know how. Not sure if they are a problem. Maybe I should use a registry cleaner or something ??? I tried another burn (following the virus/spyware scan & deleting 'GEARAspiWDM.sys') but essentially the same thing happened. The computer 'hung' after a short time. The green LED on the front of the burner came on for a short time (which I think is new) but that was about it. Thanks for the advice re the better arrangement of my devices, I'll probably do that regardless but I'm a bit daunted by the clean install. I'm becoming aware that my computer probably needs it, it's just that I've never done that before. Think I'll need a stiff Scotch or three. :-) I would like to connect everything in the best order so thanks for describing that to me. I'll make a seperate reply to Lightning as I don't know how long I can make these posts (and I do waflle a bit). Cheers mate, and thanks again for the advice. Have a read of my next post if you're still interested. Sorry to bother you with my problems but I appreciate the help! Trevor (Nifty)

Just some more info ... I've noticed that under the 'Settings' section of ImgBurn, looking at the 'I/O' tab, the Interface setting is set to 'SPTI - Microsoft'. Not sure if this is relevant. Was wondering if it should be 'ASPI - WINASPI32.DLL' A bit further down the same page, there is a tick in the box for 'SPTI - Use 'CdRom' class. Not sure if these settings are OK for my operating system and burner. I'm trying to burn DVDs. Cheers, Nifty.

Sorry guys, but I'm back. I've had problems getting my Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-111D to work on my Windows XP system. I got some good advice here yesterday which I have tried, but I still seem to be no closer to a solution. I'm using: Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHz 768 Mb RAM PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D (as master on IDE 2 with a second, older DVD player as slave) (current firmware update installed yesterday) (I have 2 x 40Gb drives on IDE1) ImgBurn Vers 2.3.2.0 I had a problem yesterday, wherein ImgBurn would recognise a blank disk when inserted to the burner, but would 'hang' the system whenever I attempted to burn an ISO file to the disc. It would only go as far as 'Writing LeadIn...' and that was it. The Progression Bar would show 0% and so I shut it down each time after about 10 minutes (by holding the power button in as the system was unresponsive). I've taken the advice given yesterday (replacing the 40 wire IDE cable to the burner - it's now 80, I cleaned the drive with a 'laser lens cleaner' disc bought from a music shop, and have tried another brand of discs - no success with either Verbatim 16X-R or Sony 16x+R) I live in the country so there's not much choice when it comes to the discs. I've just tried to burn a disc and the same problem occurs - the computer hangs at the same point, while 'Writing LeadIn ...' which effectively makes another coaster - the disc comes out only partially written. Following on from yesterdays discussion, I rechecked the IDE ATA/ATAPI controller settings after swapping the IDE cable, and both HDDs (Primary IDE Channel with an 80wire cable) are set to DMA if available (transfer mode Ultra DMA Mode5). The Pioneer DVD burner shares the other 80 wire cable (the new one) with an older DVD player. The burner is connected as Device 0 and set to 'DMA if available' and current transfer mode of 'Ultra DMA mode 4', while the DVD player is connected as device 1, also set to 'DMA if available' but the Curent transfer mode is 'Ultra DMA mode 2'. All of the devices show as working properly, without any conflicts, and I can play pre-recorded DVDs (movies) on both DVD drives and they look fine. Sorry to bother you guys with all of this, and maybe I should just throw the burner out, but it seems a pity as I'm wondering if it still just my settings. If it is, I'll still be stuck even if I install a new burner. As I've said earlier, I'm pretty green at this (but learning the hard way), but could it be any of the following things ... (have a chuckle if you want, I won't hear you) .. I bought the burner as an OEM so there was no software with it. I have downloaded the appropriate 'firmware' from the manufacturer (Pioneer) and installed it. Seems funny though as I thought that 'firmware' was just another name for the driver, but when I check the driver details (under Device Manager/PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D/Driver) it lists the following: Driver provider: Microsoft Driver date: 1/07/2001 Driver version: 5.1.2535.0 Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Publisher What seemed odd to me was the fact that I installed the current firmware yesterday, and my burner is dated 2006 (on the actual burner itself) but the date showing under driver details is 1/07/2001. That seems too old. The install of the firmware seemed to go OK so I'm not sure what all that means, if anything at all. Also, when I look at the 'Driver details' it gets even more confusing. The following files are listed.. C:\WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\cdrom.sys C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\GEARAspiWDM.sys C:\WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\imapi.sys C:\WINDOWS\System32\DRIVERS\redbook.sys C:\WINDOWS\System32\storprop.dll All of these entries (except the second one ... C:\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\GEARAspiWDM.sys) have a green tick in front of them. The second entry has no green tick (and is probably feeling a bit stupid) Could it be a driver problem? I also wondered if it could be an ASPI layer problem? I did previously have a copy of Roxio and then Nero installed (I know, I'm a tart) but both are uninstalled now. I noticed once that NERO had a version of NERO ASPI active, and I wonder if I've cocked things up by uninstalling it (as opposed to cocking things up by installing NERO. Hehe). I had the impression that Windows XP doesn't use an ASPI layer, but to be honest, I don't really know what I'm even talking about. I've also got DVD Shrink 3.2 currently installed, Windows Media PLayer and Cyberlink Power DVD. As I said, I'm sorry to bother you guys, but you seem to understand what this is all about and so I thought I'd ask. Cheers, Nifty the Coaster King. (I'd love to have an avatar of a busty chick with great big norgs, but it's probably not worth the smack in the back of the head from the missus. :-)

Lightning, Thanks for the help. I think I'm finally getting to the core of this problem ... namely me! I've just opened my computer case to recheck the cables and stuff, (since you mentioned the suss nature of my HDDs using UDMA 5 on a 40-wire cable) and I've found that they are actually on an 80 wire cable! It's just the DVD's that are on a 40 wire cable plugged into IDE2. Sorry about that (sorry also to Blutach and Shamus) because maybe that has been the problem all along, just as you mentioned. I didn't notice the difference between the cables because, to a newbie at least, they kinda look the same - except for the fact that one has obviously got 80 wires running thru it, and the other just 40. ;-) I'll buy an 80 wire cable for the DVDs tomorrow and then check that everything is using UDMA 4 or 5 as suggested. Hopefully all will be OK. If not, I switch to some +R media and see what happens. I cleaned the drive today but I think I'll wait to change the cable before maybe trashing another disc. Hopefully something will work - I've had the burner for a while now and have never had a successful burn yet! Thanks again guys. (Lightning, thanks especially for the obvious work put into all of this!) Cheers, Nifty.

Shamus, Thanks for the help. Will have a second look at that cable if/when the new discs 'coaster-ise' themselves. I presumed that my motherboard could maybe only have a 40 wire cable as it's getting a bit old now. I checked the manual and it does support an 80 wire one, and UltraDMA 66/100 (whatever the heck that is, like I said, I'm swimming out of my depth here). I'll buy one and see what happens. Will need it even if I do end up replacing the burner. One other thing, I've got 2 HDDs on the primary IDE channel. Maybe this is a dumb question, but both are set to 'DMA if available' and the Current Transfer Mode appears as 'Ultra DMA Mode 5'. The drives seem to be working OK, obviously :-), but I wondered if the fact that both DVD drives are using 'Ultra DMA mode 2' is the wrong thing to do (ie having the HDDs on UDMA mode 5 while the DVDs are on mode 2). It's just all confusing tech talk to me, but I wondered if the data coming out of the HDD is too fast for what is going into the burner. Like I said, it's probably a dumb question. There also doesn't seem to be any way to get both IDE channels to operate on the same mode as the only options I can select is 'DMA if available' or 'PIO only'. I can't select the same mode for both. I guess that doesn't matter? Cheers and thanks again (also to Blutach), Nifty.

Blutach, Thanks for the advice. I'll buy some more discs (maybe '+R' this time) and see what happens. If it's still not working, then I'll change the cable. How do I go about cleaning the drive? Cheers, Nifty.

Hi, Sorry to post a question here, but I've been trying to solve this problem on my own and I'm stumped. I've been trying to burn an ISO file to DVD and I just keep getting coasters. This is what I'm using: Pentium 4 CPU 2.40GHz 768 Mb RAM PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D ImgBurn Vers 2.3.2.0 Verbatim 16x-R discs When I put a disc into the drive, ImgBurn initially showed the following message at the bottom of the screen ... Device not ready (incompatible medium installed) I took the disk out, checked that it was OK, and then put it back in. ImgBurn then recognised the blank disc and showed the following info on the right side of screen .... ---------------------------------------------------------- PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D 1.29 (ATA) Current Profile: DVD-R Disc Information: Status: Empty Erasable: No Free Sectors: 2,297,888 Free Space: 4,706,074,624 bytes Free Time: 510:40:38 (MM:SS:FF) Supported Write Speeds: 4x, 6x, 8x, 12x, 16x Pre-recorded Information: Manufacturer ID: MCC 03RG20 Recording Management Area Information: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D Physical Format Information (Last Recorded): Disc ID: 0@P-!-00 Book Type: DVD-R Part Version: 5 Disc Size: 120mm Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified Number of Layers: 1 Track Path: Parallel Track Path (PTP) Linear Density: 0.267 um/bit Track Density: 0.74 um/track First Physical Sector of Data Area: 196,608 Last Physical Sector of Data Area: 0 Last Physical Sector in Layer 0: 0 ---------------------------------------------------------- However, when I try to burn the ISO file to a DVD, (at 4x speed) it only goes as far as "writing leadin" and then the whole computer hangs. I let it run for around 10 minutes, but the screen showed no progression so I closed the computer down (having to use CRT-ALT-DEL). When I start the system up again, and run ImgBurn, the (partially burnt - partially coaster) disc then shows as ... ---------------------------------------------------------- PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D 1.29 (ATA) Current Profile: DVD-ROM Disc Information: Status: Complete Erasable: No Sessions: 1 Sectors: 2,285,854 Size: 4,681,428,992 bytes Time: 508:00:04 (MM:SS:FF) Supported Write Speeds: 4x, 6x, 8x, 12x, 16x TOC Information: Session 1... -> Track 01 (Mode 1, LBA: 0 - 2285853) -> LeadOut (LBA: 2285854) Pre-recorded Information: Manufacturer ID: MCC 03RG20 Recording Management Area Information: PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D Physical Format Information (Last Recorded): Disc ID: 0@P-!-00 Book Type: DVD-R Part Version: 5 Disc Size: 120mm Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified Number of Layers: 1 Track Path: Parallel Track Path (PTP) Linear Density: 0.267 um/bit Track Density: 0.74 um/track First Physical Sector of Data Area: 196,608 Last Physical Sector of Data Area: 2,482,461 Last Physical Sector in Layer 0: 0 ---------------------------------------------------------- At the bottom of the screen, ImgBurn says that the disc is not empty (but it's not full either, so I guess it's another coaster). I've had similar problems trying to burn a disk using both Roxio and Nero (which I had installed prior to finding ImgBurn, although both are uninstalled now - I understand that it's best not to have multiple burning programs on your PC). I also had my virus checker turned off during the burn so I'm presuming that's not part of the problem. What should I do? Here's some more info which may (or maynot) be relevent ... I'm swimming a bit out of my depth here ... I bought the burner (PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-111D) as an OEM, and I've connected it as the master on the IDE 40 wire cable, and moved an older DVD drive to slave. I've downloaded and installed the latest firmware for the burner. Both seem to work OK when I put a movie in them (ie, it'll play the movie OK). When I check 'Device Manager' they both show as 'working properly' with the DVD burner at 'Location 0'and the older drive at 'Location 1'. I've also checked the settings for under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers - both devices under the Secondary IDE channel are set to 'DMA if available' with the current transfer mode as 'Ultra DMA Mode 2'. Beyond that, I'm not sure what to do. The guy at the store told me that the discs would work OK with the burner (I guess they should - I think my set-up is the problem). I've also previously installed Roxio and then Nero (in succession) but they only made coasters as well. Frankly, I was glad to find ImgBurn as Nero was around 400+Mb in size (ridiculous) and I just wanted something small and easy to burn my ISO files, not something that would fill my hard drive. Cheers, and thanks for reading this. As I said I've run out of ideas. :-(