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    SLOW DVD burn...

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Locke Weltall, Mar 26, 2008.

  1. Locke Weltall

    Locke Weltall Notebook Consultant

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    Regular, 4.7GB 16x DVD+R discs, burn rate @ .9X... Estimated burn time: 50 minutes...

    This is NOT right. Burner was new in November, generic CompUSA brand (which may be the problem...). What can cause this behavior and what can I do to fix it?

    Importing and writing using CD media is also affected.

    P.S. - This is a desktop drive. Apologies if for that reason alone it belongs in the desktop section.
     
    Locke Weltall, Mar 26, 2008
    #1
  2. zoogle

    zoogle Notebook Consultant

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    You say they burn @ 0.9X? Is that the maximum that is showing from your burning software? You may try looking for newer firmware for your drive.
     
    zoogle, Mar 26, 2008
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  3. Sir Travis D

    Sir Travis D Notebook Deity

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    My laptops always burn slowly too.... I think if I do a dvd+-rw it is slower than a dvd-r
     
    Sir Travis D, Mar 26, 2008
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  4. Jstn7477

    Jstn7477 Sam I Am

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    Any newer dvd burner should do at least 4X (that's what my laptop drive does, and my previous HP dv6000 did 8X) If you can't change it in software, it might be bad firmware or a drive crapping out. Maybe check out your ATA controllers in Device Manager and make sure that your drive is doing at least an Ultra DMA 33 transfer rate (ATA mode 2 I think).

    -J.B.
     
    Jstn7477, Mar 26, 2008
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  5. Budding

    Budding Notebook Virtuoso

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    Sounds like your drive is connecting with your PC via PIO. Change it to Ultra DMA or something by going into Device Manager and right clicking on the drive and selecting Properties. If DMA is greyed out, then try updating the firmware of your drive.
     
    Budding, Mar 26, 2008
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  6. andyasselin

    andyasselin Notebook Deity

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    Yes also make sure you dvdrw has 80 pin cable go into device manger check see if run at udma As Budding Says

    80 pin cable have twices amount wires as normal 40 pin cable and need for udma
     
    andyasselin, Mar 26, 2008
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  7. Locke Weltall

    Locke Weltall Notebook Consultant

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    Cool. I'll let you know what happens, hopefully in a few...
     
    Locke Weltall, Mar 26, 2008
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  8. Locke Weltall

    Locke Weltall Notebook Consultant

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    Alright...bad news...I cannot find anything in the Device Manager related to PIO or Ultra DMA.
     
    Locke Weltall, Mar 26, 2008
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  9. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    Have you tried a different burning software?

    Please dont tell me your using the Windows built-in software.
     
    flipfire, Mar 27, 2008
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  10. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The place to look for PIO is under the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.

    Check if one channel has a current transfer rate of either Ultra DMA 2 or PIO. If it is PIO then the easiest fix is to first right click and uninstall the channel and then going to the top of the Device Manager list and (right click) and detect hardware changes.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Mar 27, 2008
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  11. Budding

    Budding Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yes, like John says, in Control Panel, expand IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers, right click on Primary IDE Channel (or Secondary, depending on how everything is hooked up in your machine), click on the Advanced Settings Tab, and make sure none of it says PIO.
     
    Budding, Mar 27, 2008
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  12. Locke Weltall

    Locke Weltall Notebook Consultant

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    Does an OEM like HP ever leave something like the options for PIO vs DMA out of the OS?

    In any case, I checked my motherboard layout and I was plugged into the secondary IDE channel, so I switched it to the first. The problem seems to have gone away, but the really odd thing is that even on the second channel it used to work at normal speeds before the drop to 0.9x.
     
    Locke Weltall, Mar 27, 2008
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  13. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    The OS can switch the transfer rate to PIO under certain conditions (usually difficulty reading a disc). See Microsoft. Unfortunately, it will not automatically switch back to DMA.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Mar 27, 2008
    #13