Medium Not Present - on an iHAS324+Verbatim

[sacddownsample]

After a bad experience with an ultraslim drive, I have decided to try a highly recommended iHAS324 revision B and Verbatim DLs (made in Singapore). I have updated the drive immediately after getting it with the manufacturer's tool and enabled all of the advanced settings in ImgBurn for iHAS.

 

However, now I'm getting the dreaded "Medium Not Present" error. It can read CDs and recognizes blank DVDs, but not DVD+R DLs.

 

Here's the log:

I 21:36:40 ImgBurn Version 2.5.8.0 started!
I 21:36:40 Microsoft Windows 8 Professional x64 Edition (6.2, Build 9200)
I 21:36:40 Total Physical Memory: 10,441,656 KiB  -  Available: 7,772,384 KiB
I 21:36:40 Initialising SPTI...
I 21:36:40 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...
I 21:36:40 -> Drive 1 - Info: ATAPI iHAS324   B AL1B (E:) (SATA)
I 21:36:40 Found 1 DVD±RW/RAM!

What am I doing wrong here? Should I try different firmware? This is a genuine used iHAS324B - it even says so on the device.

[dbminter]

Without trying other types of DVD+R DL, it's hard to say.  You'd have to try some other brand and see if it can recognize those.  If it can recognize one kind and not the other, the drive does not like that particular brand of disc.  Are these Verbatim DVD+R DL Life Series or DataLife Plus series?  Life Series are CMC junk, so I can understand those not being recognized.

 

 

Plus, you can't rule out, it being a used a drive, that it isn't simply a drive that has reached the end of its life.

[sacddownsample]

Without trying other types of DVD+R DL, it's hard to say.  You'd have to try some other brand and see if it can recognize those.  If it can recognize one kind and not the other, the drive does not like that particular brand of disc.  Are these Verbatim DVD+R DL Life Series or DataLife Plus series?  Life Series are CMC junk, so I can understand those not being recognized.

 

 

Plus, you can't rule out, it being a used a drive, that it isn't simply a drive that has reached the end of its life.

 

Kinda hard to say what disc this is when the drive is refusing to read it I've popped it into my laptop and the Disc ID is MKM-001-00. More specifically, it's this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B018VO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

As suggested elsewhere on the forums, I've disassembled the drive and cleaned the laser/insides with alcohol (too poor for a drive cleaner disc). I've tried ejecting/re-inserting the disc a few times, and one time I got a "No Reference Position Found." the thread where I've found it claimed that it might have been an issue with how the drives are hooked up. I have a slim tower with one 15-pin SATA power connector with three drive plugs and three SATA data cables running into the motherboard. That shouldn't be causing an issue, right?

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Send it back and buy a new (not used) drive.

 

There’s no reason to buy a used one really.

[sacddownsample]

Glad to meet you Lightning, been using your program for years and it's always been a joy!

 

You know what's quacking crazy? I've thought that it was a bit weird how this laptop drive that I've used to check the disc type had recognized the MKM-001-00 was ready to write without a hickup. I always believed it was a simple DVD writer at best and it doesn't mention DL anywhere on the front plate - but this listing does. For laughs, I've decided to burn an image on it and LO AND BEHOLD IT BURNED AND VERIFIED! Turns out something I've needed had been literally under my nose for the last six years, beaten and abused alongside the rest of the laptop. Now I'll probably return iHAS.

 

What do we learn? iHAS might not be infallible. Verbatim is still the champion

[dbminter]

You could have told whether they were DataLifePlus or Life Series by looking on the packaging label.  No need to insert a disc.