I think my DVD burner is failing!

[drfsupercenter]

Alright, I don't know how one would go about testing this...
but I think my DVD burner is dying or something.

I have two DVD burners now (my old CD-RW drive broke entirely so I replaced it with a $25 Samsung drive, the same kind I had before) (So both drives are Samsung TSSTcorp ones...) The new one works fine, but the old drive is being really slow.

I tried to burn a DVD at 8x a few minutes ago, and it refused to go over 1x. And in ProcessExplorer, I could see "Hardware interrupts" taking up about 90% of my CPU. That has never happened before. I also noticed it yesterday when redeeming a Digital Copy of The Dark Knight.

Any ideas? Is the drive broken? Or is it just a Windows issue?

[PurpleDemon]

Just Curious,

Have you checked to see if your DMA is on?

Maybe a log?

[doctorhardware]

Try changing the drive to another IDE cable to see if it is related to the IDE channel or possible IDE cable issue.

[rago88]

Last time I had a problem with my dvd player burning at a slooooooow speed and my performance chart in the red,[almost 100%],
it wasn't my burner that was dying..
my heat sink cooling fan stopped working and with almost 100% processor power being sucked up and prob overheating, the burner couldn't keep up...
open up and make sure the processor/heat fan is still running..

[gonwk]

Hi Doc,

Any luck with your Burner problem. Did Rago's pointer helped!?!?

G!

[rago88]

Yes..
I would like to know also..

btw: my problem went on for couple days before I caught it.
was scared to death when I found it that I didn't burn out something on the Motherboard, which I didn't..

[doctorhardware]

I would also like to know if you got it working.

[dazuk1972]

Alright, I don't know how one would go about testing this...
but I think my DVD burner is dying or something.

I have two DVD burners now (my old CD-RW drive broke entirely so I replaced it with a $25 Samsung drive, the same kind I had before) (So both drives are Samsung TSSTcorp ones...) The new one works fine, but the old drive is being really slow.

I tried to burn a DVD at 8x a few minutes ago, and it refused to go over 1x. And in ProcessExplorer, I could see "Hardware interrupts" taking up about 90% of my CPU. That has never happened before. I also noticed it yesterday when redeeming a Digital Copy of The Dark Knight.

Any ideas? Is the drive broken? Or is it just a Windows issue?

First, don't mention about what you're copying with pre-recorded titles because it's against Rule 19 and threads with stuff like that can get closed by a moderator and you can get violated. I made the same error myself a few times.

About your problem. Try a different brand of disc because some can mess-up, mostly is they are cheaply made. Don't use your PC while burning because PC use while burning can cause errors that crashes the burning. If that fails you need to update your DVD burner Firmware. Be very very careful that you download and install the correct one because if you don't you can mess-up your Drivers. An easy way to find out what Firmware that works for you, do this test. Burn some data onto a CD-RW and you'll see a code listed as the burning is going. MAke a note of that code. Go to the web site that matches the people that made your DVD burner and then type Firmware (followed by the code) in their Search Engine to find the correct Firmware. If you have further problems, ask them. It's best to ask them because all the time they made the DVD burner they can help you better.

I know how you fell, I've had the same happen to me. This is a common problem where a DVD burner can die out after a while. Firmware helps to restore it.

[gonwk]

... An easy way to find out what Firmware that works for you, do this test. Burn some data onto a CD-RW and you'll see a code listed as the burning is going. MAke a note of that code. ...

Hi dazuk,

Where so you see that "Code" while you are burning some data onto a CD-RW.

BTW ... does it have to be a CD-RW or can it be even a CD-R?

Thanks ... and MERRY XMAS!

G!

[drfsupercenter]

First, don't mention about what you're copying with pre-recorded titles because it's against Rule 19 and threads with stuff like that can get closed by a moderator and you can get violated. I made the same error myself a few times.

That's not against Rule 19.

I said Digital Copy, that's the thing that comes as a special feature on new movies. You put in a code and it lets you download it in iTunes or Windows Media. Perfectly legal.

Anyway, I think the issue was that the DMA was turned off. I opened a certain DVD program and it informed me that the DMA had been turned off, and asked if I wanted to turn it back on. I said yes and restarted, and it seems to work OK now.

Thanks for the suggestions, though.

[PurpleDemon]

Glad you got worked out.

Merry Christmas DRF