dead burner??

[powrtoch]

hi everyone,
this is by far the most informative and instructional site I have found on the 'net and have found answers to every puzzle I've encountered in regards to DVD burning, except one. Now I really need some help.
I use DVD shrink 3.2, decrypter (sometimes) and Nero 6.6 for backing up DVD's. My system is a Dell Dimension P4 running Win XP and my burner is an NEC 1100A with what I believe to be the latest firmware version 'GE'.
I've made about 60 backups, with about a 99% success rate and have been more than happy with it. However, starting about a week ago my burner decided not to recognise discs - the old 'power calibration error'. I'd bought a pack of cheap TDK's that I'd never used before, so wasn't too concerned and exchanged them for discs I was familiar with. The problem continues, with every disc coming up with the same error. I re-flashed the drive, uninstalled and re-installed Nero but to no avail. I accept this may happen from time to time, but with every brand of disc? This is killing me. I'ts gotta be the burner, but before I scrap it any advice will be appreciated.

[jmet]

powrtoch, welcome to the forums! Thank you for the great compliments.

I get a 'Power calibration error' or 'Calibration area (almost) full' error message. Why?

Power Calibration is controlled by the recorder.

Before any write operation, all recorders must do a 15 step power test to determine the optimum power for writing to the CD; this is called "Optimum Power Calibration"(OPC). During the write, it continues to do this test to get the best write throughout the whole CD; this is called "Running Optimum Power Calibration" (ROPC).

This whole process is controlled by the recorder, though initiated by programs such as Nero. There is an area on the inner part of the CD for the test and test data info to be stored. You can use this area up to 999 times.

If you receive the "Power calibration error" or "Power calibration area is (almost) full" error message, the cause will be either poor media, poor power, or a defective recorder.

Please try the following solutions:

1. Update the firmware of your recorder. Please check the manufacturer's website for the latest version.

2. Try another brand of media.

3. Try different power connectors, and for recorders, do not share power with other devices. It needs its own power connector. If the error occurs with an external recorder, the power source in the chassis could be the cause. As a test, try to take the recorder out of the external chassis and connect it internal.

4. Try different configurations, such as taking the CD-ROM to the primary IDE bus as slave and have only the recorder connected to the secondary IDE bus as master.

5. Send the recorder in for service.

[setarip]

Your "power calibration error" could be indicative of a failing burner

OR (If you're lucky)

You may simply have to run a DVD/CD cleaning disc on your burner. Maxell makes one that retails for approximately $10US.

Let us know of your success ;>}

[LT. Columbo]

to setarip

you must really like that maxell cleaner, i have never seen you suggest any other!

[jmet]

He has stock in Maxell.

[setarip]

"you must really like that maxell cleaner, i have never seen you suggest any other!"

I tend to stick with what works ;>}

[LT. Columbo]

yes setarip, so do i. a very good practice indeed.

[powrtoch]

Thanks for the advice setarip - I'll give it a go. Thankyou too, jmet, but I know what the power calibration is (thanks to these forums) I just don't believe that out of 50 discs only 2 or 3 would work and then to change brands to one that i KNOW works and have the same problem...? Does anyone know if there is a newer firmware for the NEC 1100A than the one i have?

[cynthia]

10GE seems to be the latest one for you.

Don't know if the patched firmwares available here will work on your burner. http://www.herrie.org/

When NEC releases a firmware update for their own drives, they build in a check based on firmware version in order to determine if a drive is an OEM-version or not. The firmware update can therefore not be applied to OEM-drives.

This check can simply be bypassed by using a custom firmware update utility made by Liggy or The Dangerous Brothers and a plain binary file.

http://etna.rpc1.org/nec/index.html

You find the links to Liggy and The Dangerous Brothers in herries webpage.

[setarip]

"Thanks for the advice setarip - I'll give it a go."

My pleasure ;>}

[powrtoch]

well, I did what you suggested setarip and after cleaning the lens got one burn happening, then no more, but found something odd - a disc that was reported as having a 'power calibration error' using DVD shrink and Nero, burnt without a hitch after creating an ISO file and burning with Decrypter! As I understand it, 'PCE' is controlled by the burner, so why does Decrypter work without a problem when it's using the same burner? Is Power calibration really controlled by the burner, or is it something within Nero?

[blutach]

PCE is a burner/media thing. Maybe you got lucky this time. Maybe also you should stick with DVD Decrypter and see if it continues to give good results (it does for me - not 1 bad burn).

Regards

[setarip]

To powrtoch

"I did what you suggested setarip and after cleaning the lens got one burn happening, then no more"

To me, this sounds like the very typical pattern exhibited by a burner that's "on the verge of death". The burner may also begin to generate false "successful burns" - but you've certainly got little to lose, other than, perhaps, a few blank discs, by following the suggestion made by "blutach".

There may be a difference in the methodology employed by the burner in burning one continuous .ISO image file and burning different files and file structure information - and it may be that a faltering drive can continue to successfully burn .ISO image files while failing to successfully burn DVD file "packages".

Stranger things have been known to happen ;>}