Probably something really simple

[nick6196]

I tried to install Linux last week and it wrecked my Windows disk so I have had to reinstall Windows XP from scratch. I was using Imgburn before this with no problems--it's the best burner I've ever used. This morning, I came across this problem with the buffers emptying in a matter of seconds as soon as writing begins (see log file below). I suspect there is some critical bit of software or some setting that I haven't put back correctly on my new Windows installation yet but I just need a pointer in the right direction. Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

Nick

 

I 08:41:36 ImgBurn Version 2.4.2.0 started!

I 08:41:36 Microsoft Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600 : Service Pack 3)

I 08:41:36 Total Physical Memory: 1,572,212 KB - Available: 1,159,368 KB

I 08:41:36 Initialising SPTI...

I 08:41:36 Searching for SCSI / ATAPI devices...

I 08:41:36 Found 2 DVD

[LIGHTNING UK!]

It's probably just a DMA issue. Uninstall the controllers in device manager as per the FAQ and reboot.

[nick6196]

Unfortunately this didn't fix it. I tried it once and it didn't work then I updated my system drivers and tried it again and it still didn't work. My secondary IDE channel is in DMA mode 2--I think it should be in DMA mode 5.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Is that an optical drive? Are you using a decent 80 wire cable? (not a 40 wire one)

 

What type of connection is the 'source' hdd using? i.e. PATA / SATA / USB

 

Do you defrag it ever?

[nick6196]

Good questions! You've just made me realise what it probably is. The source drive is in an external USB enclosure and I'll bet the USB port is not performing optimally since I reinstalled Windows. I will look into that, thanks.

 

As for the other questions, yes it's a good optical drive DVD+/-RW 18x with 80 wire cable and the hard drive is not defragmented.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Most newer optical drives should indeed be above DMA mode 2 but just make sure yours is one of them.

 

If you've totally wiped out the controllers from within device manager (which in turn will take out the channels), that's pretty much all you can do. Windows should reinstall everything and DMA will be reset to its optimal level.

[nick6196]

I reinstalled the USB port driver and then tried burning a DVD again and everything worked perfectly. It looks as though my system prefers to use DMA mode 2 for the optical drives but as long as it is all working fine it's not a problem.

 

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.