NEC ND-3500a firmware?

[dbminter]

Well, this section is called Drives & Media. So, I thought I'd post it here.

 

 

Has anyone tried any of the firmware for the NEC ND-3500a beyond the official release version from NEC, 2.1A? I was wondering, if anyone had, what firmware was it and if it worked. I found something called LD Version 1.4 (Liggy & Dee NEC ND-3500 firmware) with some swapped write strategies, etc. Wondered if anyone had had any better reads/writes with any unofficial firmware before I tried it.

 

 

Thanks!

[chewy]

considering Dee recently said the NEC 3500 still reigns supreme burning dvd-r media, I would use her latest!

2TB

http://liggydee.cdfreaks.com/page/3500/

[dbminter]

Installed the latest from the link and it seems fine. You sure that 2TB is the latest? 2TG looks like it is. It's not only the larger value but, the date listed on the 2TB like is February 2005, and TG is July 2005. That list appears to be entirely hapharzardly made, not in order according to age.

[dbminter]

Looks like 2.TG is the same as 2.TB except for some homemade write strategies. So, they technically have the same "date."

[lfcrule1972]

I used the modded fw on my NEC4550 from the same source - db worked fine for me, reverted to stock fw for the disc tests tho....

[dbminter]

Haven't had a problem with the 2.TB. Installed 2.TG last night, though haven't had a chance to test a burn yet.

[????]

I am running 2.TG for months now and it's running good with Ricoh 8x @ 16x and TY 8x @ 12x. As you might know (I am sure you do), it all depends on the media you are using, but 2.TG is definitely recommended on my end.

Edited March 6, 2006 by ????

[dbminter]

Ritek 16x sounds good. I've been using RITEKF1 for less important, temporary, etc. backups and some genuine Sony 8x DVD-R's I picked up last year as my long term storage right now.

[????]

No, NOT Ritek! I was referring to RICOH JPN-R02-03 (8x) media. I don't know how Riteks will perform with 2.TG but since the 3500 is a great drive I wouldn't be surprised if Riteks will go well too, although I just don't trust that dye in the long turn.

 

Edit: If you take media scans serious - which I don't - you might check this thread on cdfreaks.com for some scanning results.

Edited March 6, 2006 by ????

[polopony]

just friggin dandy tried the 2.TG firmware downloaded it flashed it all went ok but now my drive 3500 reports all DVD's as unsupported disks and the cd freaks site wont let me log in with my user name or password says invalid username or password and I cant flash back to 2.1A with the firmware page called up with IMGburn wonderfull

[dbminter]

I don't take scans results seriously. No one has YET to tell me what to look for in them, so, all those graphs and values don't mean anything to me. As for Ritek vs. Ricoh, it's all the same. Both come from Ricoh, and, Ricoh has been more than willing, in the past, to use returned discs rebranded.

 

 

polo;

 

when it says unsupported, what is saying unsupported? Explorer? ImgBurn? Plus, have you tried rewritables? I've yet to try a burn, but, I can get a DVD-RW that was previously burned to read under 2.TG.

[????]

I don't take scans results seriously. No one has YET to tell me what to look for in them, so, all those graphs and values don't mean anything to me. As for Ritek vs. Ricoh, it's all the same. Both come from Ricoh, and, Ricoh has been more than willing, in the past, to use returned discs rebranded.

 

Well, it isn't that difficult to understand, PIE shouldn't exceed a value of 280, PIF's shouldn't exceed 4 per block. Beta and Jitter values should be stable (-5,0% ~ +10%) in order to avoid a skipping and freezing disc.

You are sure that you had a Ricoh dye as a Ritek labeled media? Well, I don't buy Ritek, but this sounds unusual to me since both are competitors and share the same markets. Anyways as long as it works out for you there is no need to discuss about media dyes.

 

 

...tried the 2.TG firmware downloaded it flashed it all went ok but now my drive 3500 reports all DVD's as unsupported disks...

 

I am sorry to hear that, I never had such a problem and I flashed my drive pretty often. I guess you haven't flashed with a disc inside or with AnyDVD active (the latter shouldn't be a problem)? That might happen pretty often when you're flashing in a hurry or something like this.

Your drive is still recognized in BIOS/Windows? Does it still support CD-Rs? Which media type are you using? Maybe its write strategy got replaced by another one?

What you could try as one of the last options is using Binflash to dump the old firmware and flash a new binary file.

Use this tool with care, but if the drive is really dead there is not that much left to loose, unfortunately. If you can't log-in at cdfreaks and would like to seek assistance without a new registration, simply use BugMeNot. A useful resource for different tasks.

 

I hope you get your drive working again.

Edited March 7, 2006 by ????

[polopony]

polo;

 

when it says unsupported, what is saying unsupported? Explorer? ImgBurn? Plus, have you tried rewritables? I've yet to try a burn, but, I can get a DVD-RW that was previously burned to read under 2.TG.

 

it wouldn't read any discs I've burned (DVD5 Yudens and Verbs ) and wouldn't read a factory DVD with Power DVD , this morning 2 days later it reads and plays everything . I didn't do anything but walk away from it all pissed off and the computer is always on under normal circumstances except for the reboot for the flash , this is too strange. When I have time I'll log back into CDfreaks if they let me and see if I can restore original firmware 2.1a with L&D' s flash utility

[lfcrule1972]

It was a bit fussy to reflash the old FW when I did that for my NEC for the disc tests, as polo rightly points out official fw can't be installed now as it doesn't recognise the NEC drives - thanks to chewy I got mine sorted.

[dbminter]

Do they make a universal firmware reading/flashing utility? I know I have Flashfix on hand to flash the LiteOn/JLMS 166s DVD-ROM to unofficial firmware. Will basically send any firmware file to the drive, even if it's another drive's.

[dbminter]

it wouldn't read any discs I've burned (DVD5 Yudens and Verbs ) and wouldn't read a factory DVD with Power DVD , this morning 2 days later it reads and plays everything . I didn't do anything but walk away from it all pissed off and the computer is always on under normal circumstances except for the reboot for the flash , this is too strange.

I remember back when my NEC 3500a only had 1 problem: Verifies would fail, but, they would read fine in the LiteOn 166s and play fine in stand alones. Then, without changing brands of DVD-R, even using discs from the same stack, the problem just went away and hasn't returned yet.

[polopony]

My neice just forwarded this to me from Scotland

 

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way

computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer

expo(COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the

auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the

computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000

miles to the gallon."

 

In response to Bill's comment, General Motors issued a press release

stating:

 

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars

with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

 

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

 

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a

new car.

 

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would

have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the

car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some

reason you would simply accept this.

 

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your

car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to

reinstall the engine.

 

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,

five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five

percent of the roads.

 

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be

replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation"

warning

light.

 

7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.

 

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and

refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle,

turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna

 

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to

drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same

manner as the old car.

 

10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

 

Please share this with your friends who love - but sometimes hate - their

computer!

[dbminter]

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

 

 

Funny they say this, because, for decades, car manufacturers have already implemented this. It's called the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT! That bloody light can mean just about ANYTHING to the point where it is useless.

[polopony]

Update, with the suggestion of 3000 I used Binflash and was able to flash the 3500 back to the original 2.1 and alls well again now if they NEC would release firmware 2R8 I'd be able to do some scans and see what thats all about

[dbminter]

Are you suggesting NEC has this 2R8 firmware already made and is hoarding, withholding it from the general public?

[polopony]

from what I read yeah its available but not to general public supposed release is this month . DvdinfoPro has it and NicW is working on his software for support .You can request it from Zebra for beta testing at www.cdrinfo.com/forum/fb.asp?m=103794

 

from the forum

 

"As Zebra may have already told you, we were contacted by NEC to include scanning for their 3500 drive in DVDInfoPro.

 

Here is a screen shot of the NEC PI/PIF scanning routine I am working on. I am trying hard to get this ready by the next release which should be around 17th March. The routine needs a new firmware which is unreleased at this time, I expect NEC to release this soon.

 

Please liase with Zebra for beta testing of this routine, I am have been very busy working on other versions that you may or may not have heard about yet.

 

cheers

NicW "