LG ( Hitachi?) GSA-4040B DVD Writer

[Storka]

I got a TDK dvd+rw and it burnt fine... until i tried to format it or rewrite over. pos piece of crap gets data field error or something.
Edit:
This is the error log i get when ever i try burning on the dvd.


12:20:34 PM DVD-Video files reallocation started

12:20:40 PM Caching of files started

12:20:40 PM Caching of files completed

12:20:40 PM Burn process started at 2.4x (3,312 KB/s)

12:20:40 PM Start formatting disc before burning

12:20:40 PM Formatting disc failed

12:20:40 PM Invalid field in parameter

12:20:40 PM Could not perform start of Disc-at-once

12:20:40 PM Burn process failed at 2.4x (3,312 KB/s)

Dunno if a full copy of the log will help, lemme know

[stan]

to Storka
I had the same problem with Verbatim and Memorex and Nero60011. But when I upgraded to 60019 it seems to work fine now. By the way even before upgrading when I workd with DVD Authoring tools the drive worked fine with erasing and burning to DVD_RW. Hope this helps

[Storka]

yeah i managed to work it out after painful and costly trial and error, bloody nero, but oh well havent had any probs for the past 2 weeks so im happy

[adnan512]

LG GSA-4040B

I also bought LG GSA 4040B DVD writer and e3works 25pack DVD-R 4x media from Futureshop last month and it only wirtes at 2x. It takes me 20minutes to burn the dvd at 2x speed. I have upgraded the firmware to A301 still writes at 2x.

I have not tried any other media in this drive yet. Can anyone tell me what DVD-R 4x media is compatible with this writer? I did not have good experience with memorex in the past so I dont want to use memorex.

Has anyone used the DVD-R 4x (generic media) with plain white label on it.. It is usually sold in the Flea market. How is that media in LG writer...?


Thanks all in advanced.

[Eldoodarino]

If the white labelling isn't on the surface but sandwiched between the layers then it's Princo brand DVD-R. I am currently going through a 50 pack of this 4x media & have yet to have a problem. Note that my drive also does not burn faster than 2x on any media I've tried (Ritek/ Verbatim/ Memorex / Maxell / Princo). I am using firmware A300.

[daq]

I am not as lucky as most of you guys.

This burner only works with Maxell TDK that I bought from FutureShop.

I bought Princo 1x white and GOld 4x the drive could NEVER read the disc INFO, indicated that 'no disc'.

Today I bought 25pcs Mitsumi DVD-R 4x from FutureShop, it also tells 'no disk' when I put it in.

FW=A301

BTW, I flashed back to A300 and A301 either way I am still not 'seeing' these discs.

Help!

[adnan512]

LG GSA 4040B speed compatibility

daq,

I have only used DVD-R so far. Below is my experience with LG GSA 4040B I hope it is helps.

I bought my LG GSA 4040B from futureshop 2 months ago and still waiting for my $100 rebate. Initially, I had bought e3works 25 spindle from futureshop which gave me only 2x. I was kind of upset for quite a few days because I paid so much money and I was not getting 4x write speed. I finally went on LG website and updated the firmware to A301.

Anyways, the media I have found to be compatible with LG GSA 4040b so far is....

5 pack Maxell DVD-R 2x from walmart/future shop. Walmart has it cheaper than futuereshop. I like the media...

e3works from futuer shop only gives 2x. I dont like the media...

I bought a spindle of 25 Princo DVD-R 4x from Computer fest and it writes at 4x. I like the media..

I also bought a 25 spindle of Riteck DVD-R 4x from Computer fest and it only gives me 2x. I dont like the media

Star Media 4x DVD-R only gives me 2x. I dont like the media....

Maxell just came out with 5pack DVD-R 4x, I bought it at waltmart and it gives me 4x. I like the media..

I have also tried sony holiday 6 pack DVD-R 4x, it does give me 4X. very good media..

Finally, I have found Maxell and Sony brand to be speed compatible and because of high quality they work great with no errors or pauses on my DVD-Rs when playing in a DVD player.
I think I would spend a few extra bucks and buy Maxell or Sony.

[daq]

Thanks Dude.
Futureshop has this Mistumi 25pcs spindle for 39.99 and it averaged 1.60 each. I am really pissed that my burner does not see these disc. (mine is OEM). I doubt this might be a faulty one because it is OEM. However, I used maxell both dvd-+rw and -r with exactly speed they rated. And it burnt CD-r rw at great speeds too.
Let me know if anybody here have Mistumi works. I notice it has EXACT same packing label as 'Pine' brand named.

[adnan512]

DVD pause when playing in home DVD player

DVD pauses when playing in DVD player!

Some people are having DVD pause problem when playing burned DVDs in their home DVD players. I was having same problem so I went on the Internet to find the solution but everyone had different opinion. One user forum said use Instant Copy and your worries will be gone…I still had the pause problem. Other user forum said make an image file and then burn it on DVD and that did not solve the problem.

Finally, through my personal experience and info from different user forum I have been able to play my burned DVDs without any pauses on home DVD player.

1. If you are using cheap DVD media like PRINCO, RITECK, STAR MEDIA, E3WORKS etc, compress DVD video and bring it down to around 3.5GB or so. If the original DVD size is around 3.5GB reduce it to 2.99GB. This has something to do with the outer edges of the DVD Media. You don’t want to write data all the way to outer edges of DVD. It is better to use DVD +-RW before your final burn. Then again if you are using Maxell DVD+-RW you wont have any problem with outer edges. I use DVD Shrink 2.x, which works great for me. Plus, you wont really notice the difference in quality with 5%, 10%, 15% compression. This should pretty much solve the DVD pause problem.

2. If you are using Maxell/Sony DVD media then you don’t even have to worry about too much compression. Just compress the DVD files enough to fit on the DVD media and burn it. I have not had any pause problem with Maxell or Sony media.

Hope this helps everyone who is having pause problem.
Feel free to share you opinion and add to this……

Thanks for reading my post..

[petee_c]

Originally posted by jisbister
I'm hopeful somebody here can help me! I bought the LG GSA-4040b. Haven't tried burning any DVDs yet, because the unit won't even play DVDs properly. I uninstalled the PowerDVD and Roxio that came pre-installed on my machine from Dell, installed ALL software that came with the 4040b, installed the internal drive, XP computer recognized the driver. Problem is, any DVD I try to play skips and there is a crackle underlying all sound. (I am not using a special sound card so I don't expect fabulous sound, but the DVD player that came with my computer plays all same DVDs with no crackle). Anybody have any suggestions? I'm ready to return the burner and forget DVD burning....

Make sure that your BIOS is set to detect (at least AUTO) the 'new'drive. It may not be configured properly at the BIOS level. Make sure the Master/Slave settings are correct.

P

[Paladine]

I have read this thread through, and find some of what is said kind of interesting and disturbing.

I too have a LG-4040B drive. And well it burns all media as stated on the media box (2X or 2.5X or 4X). No problems, just installed the drive with no firmware patches. And no issues.

I have done 15 backups to Memorex and SONY DVD+R media. No issues at all. Used Nero 6 to do the Burning and DVD Shrink 1.3 to 3.1 to Capture.

The issues with this drive seem to be about luck of the draw, system setup and expectations. I mean really, if I have ripping a DVD and Burning it, I am really not going to be doing anything else on my system. So CPU Usage is not a concern. And 2 to 4X difference...big deal. Time for me to watch some of the copies I have made. Just my take on things.

Now, not being an optics expert, but is their not suttle differences in the formulation of DVD-R and DVD+R which can affect the burn times? Example: Sony DVD-R I can only burn at 2X and Sony DVD+R I can burn at 4x. Just a thought.

And unless you a ripping and burning like a mad man, would not a better quality media be preferred for such a "precious" backup/copy??

Oh in regards to time, even on my lowly p3 933 with 768MB RAM I can rip, reauthor, and burn in under an hour!

Again, just my take on things.

[Storka]

Well I guess it's just the thought of paying for the 4X and not getting it that annoys people the most, I got a 25 pack of Laser 4X media and they only write at 2X but I guess i'll keep looking.

[Scortadict]

i got the same burner and i tried 3 brand of dvd. the first one i tried was the attera media, they are scrap only burn at 2x and the end of the movie block on the burner and on my panasoic dvd player. the second one i tried is the mitsumi dvd-r and they work ok(small glitch at the end with my dvd player) and they only burn a 2x with firmware A302. i tried the memorex dvd+r yesterday and it burned at 4x with firmware A302 but i didnt try the movie in the dvd player.

here some information i found on the firmware A302

New firmware Ver A302 for only GSA-4040B(4X DVD-Writer)

Improvement Point:Enhanced recording Speed of some DVD-R media

¡Ø Media Brand & Manufacturer ID
MEMOREX 4x CMCMAG.AF1
PRINCO 4x PRINCO
VERBATIM 4X MCC01 RG20
ULTRON 4x RITEKG04
SPEER 4x RITEKG04
FRODYE PRINCO
ULTRON RITEKG03
TRAXDATA RITEKG04
OCTRON - RITEKG03

[laser]

im interested in this dvdrom recording lg gsa-4040B

Work fine with al brands cd?

Works fine with shrink and nero?



The new firmware work ? o destroy the dvdrom?

COns:

Its rpc2 , but i dont know this unit work with region free program?
o the new firmware is multiregion unit?
Sorry my englis is poor

Help!

Thanks!

[Aquila]

It sounds like your burner(s) aren't getting the data streams fast enough. Keep an eye on your buffer level and see if it's dropping constantly. Have you checked your IDE settings (ie master/slave jumpers) and updated your motherboard's BIOS lately?

My 4040b works fine on the A302 firmware, but can still be choosy on what media it uses.