usb external device buffer problems w/nero and decrypter

[trancer70]

Ok - here's the specs : PIII 700 MHZ, 384 MB ram, 40 GB HD, NEC ND3500AG DVDRW connect via external IDE to USB 2.0 enclosure and pcmcia USB 2.0 cardbus.

When I try and burn DVD's with nero or decrypter - I notice the device buffer dropping off a lot (as if DMA wasnt enabled if it was a IDE device) but since its USB 2.0, DMA obviously isnt there. For eg. when I burn at 2x, the buffer usually stays at around 94% but every few mins takes a dive to zero and climbs up again. This has caused a problem sometimes when viewing the movie on a standalone player. It gets worse at 4x - the buffer jumps up and down during the whole burn. Now when I read (or decrypt) from a DVD, the seems to be no speed issues at all. The notebook only has one usb 1.1 port but I use a pc card that has usb 2.0 ports on it, plus the drivers for the card are installed and does list the enhanced host controller with usb 2.0 mass storage device in device manager.

I am trying to figure out what is causing the device buffer to drop off like that - I was thinking there might be a problem with the USB 2.0 speed and maybe its only working at usb 1.1 transfer rates but I'm not sure even how to go about testing that speed. Anyone run into a similar problem or have a suggestion?

[VideoRoy]

I have a similar setup and just move my IDE Sony burner to an external USB / Firewire enclosure. So far I only have burned one disk but it was at 1x.

I was thinking I may have a problem at higher speed and was going to use the Nero Infotool and Speed test to see what my performance was.

Maybe this would work for you to test performance.

[trancer70]

Originally posted by VideoRoy
I have a similar setup and just move my IDE Sony burner to an external USB / Firewire enclosure. So far I only have burned one disk but it was at 1x.

I was thinking I may have a problem at higher speed and was going to use the Nero Infotool and Speed test to see what my performance was.

Maybe this would work for you to test performance.

I have nero info tool but that doesnt tell me anything I dont know unless I'm missing something - where can i get a speed test tool?

[VideoRoy]

My was installed with my version of Nero but I remember long ago you used to be able to download it for free from Nero. Here is the excerpt:

Nero CD-DVD Speed 3

De-facto standard benchmarking tool for CD and DVD drives
Basic and advanced drive/media tests
Graphical display of results, test protocols and easy import/export function
Create special test discs (data and audio)


Standard tests contain following tests and measurements:

Transfer rate test
DAE speed/quality test
Seek/Access times
CPU usage
Burst rate
Spin-up/spin-down times
Load/eject times


Detailed tests contain following tests and measurements:

Advanced DAE test (detailed analysis)
Overburning test
CD quality test
ScanDisc function (file test and surface scan)
Media ATIP information
Reading mode detection (CAV, CLV, P-CAV, Z-CLV)
Support for UltraSpeed CD-RW
Support for CD Extra/Mixed Mode/Video CD

[VideoRoy]

I just did a google for "nero cd speed test" and found many sites with the free utility.

[trancer70]

test results

ok after running nero speed test the max speed only went up to 4.51x and its supposed to be a 16x dvd burner - also cpu usage at 1x was 21% and at 2x it jumped to a staggering 92% and 4x gave a n/a - so now does this mean that my processor cant handle burning anything over 1x or could there be an issue with usb 2.0 transfer speed ?

[charlypuss]

Hi guys, I only use a laptop with external burner (LG) on USB2. It might be an idea to try a different media because most of the problems with externals are due to Bad connections/cable or media. My Burner is rated at 12X, but I only ever burn at 8X using Ritek or Sony media. Todate no problems. With regard to the buffer indicator jumping up and down, mine does the same when burning, but is stable when reading / decrypting... but no burning problems.