UNSOLVED
J
jamie_mahar
3 Posts
0
42075
April 9th, 2006 23:00
NEC ND 6100A Not recognizing blank DVDs properly
My NEC ND 6100A no longer recognizes blank DVDs. I can burn CD-Rs just fine and subsequently, read (play) DVDs alright. However, when I put in a blank DVD (+R or -R) I cannot burn anything to it.
Specifically, with DVD-Rs absolutely nothing happens in 'My Computer' and with a DVD+R it changes to 'CD Drive' which is totally incorrect. In both cases, as stated above I cannot write files to either format once blank media is loaded. Even a program such as Sonic RecordNow does not recognize any blank media so I doubt its a software problem of any sort.
After my own research I figured I could just flash my drive to fix these problems but the dell firmware provided kicks back an error message since it cannot find the 6500A (not surprising, since that is what the program seems to be designed for). I have even tried Liggy and Dee's forums and all but I cannot seem to flash my drive correctly. I have NOT tried to flash in DOS since I am not that familiar with DOS and don't feel 100% comfortable doing that.
Anyway, has anyone encountered the same problem before and how did you solve it? We're you able to flash your 6100A? If so, we're you able to flash in Windows with anything you could find from Dell or elsewhere? In this forum, there have been quite a few quality complaints with this drive but so far I don't think its a physical malfunction - however, this is my last ditch effort to sort this drive out!
Thanks in advance,
--jamie
jamie_mahar
3 Posts
817
0
Posted April 12th, 2006 00:00
Hey dude, thanks for the show of solidarity.
The only thing I can offer in the way of help to you is that you try another brand of blank DVDs. I have found that not all DVDs are created equal so buy a small pack of pricey ones and give that a try. I never used to buy the very best but I always steered clear of very inexpensive generic brands since I always thought I ended up with more duds that way. Anyway - best of luck, your case is encouraging since you have successfully burned recently.- First check this out and i will tell you what type of CD or DVD you can use with the NEC ND 6100A drive. http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/storage/p71024/en/specs.htm
Unless the media you are tring to burn is RW then the disc will not have to be formated.
Even though your software program says the DVD is a CD have you tryed to burn the DVD+/DL+/RW ?
Have you checked Device Manager/ IDE controllers/ Secondary IDE CPs transfer mode DMA available ultra DMA mode 2.
Use only top qulity DVDs. Like Sony (made in japan) or fuji (made in japan) or for DL+ DVD there is realy only one choice Verbatim. If you perfer to order online these DVD+ are about the best you can get. http://www.rima.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=R&Product_Code=1733-50&Category_Code=DVP8X
If none of this helps then i would say you have a software problem and its time to uninstall and then reinstall or upgrade your software.
You do know that with Nero you have to tell nero what type of disc you want to use.
The first thing i did after i got my E1505(with a NEC ND 6100A) was to reformat the HD and install XP and the Dell drivers only.
After that i installed my software that i like and know how to use.Message Edited by Flatnose on 04-12-200612:12 AM
@Jamie_mahar wrote:
Hey dude, thanks for the show of solidarity.
The only thing I can offer in the way of help to you is that you try another brand of blank DVDs. I have found that not all DVDs are created equal so buy a small pack of pricey ones and give that a try. I never used to buy the very best but I always steered clear of very inexpensive generic brands since I always thought I ended up with more duds that way. Anyway - best of luck, your case is encouraging since you have successfully burned recently.
I have been particulary touchy with brands of CD/DVD I use when burning, seems that The guy in the flying chair brand (Maxell, if you've seen the ad on tv) works fine with my current Burner ( which is not the one mentionned in this post.) It actually came out to my attention ( reason why I quote this post) that you guys are looking for blank dvds to be read like and AS dvds. have you tried teh Maxell ones? they are cheap , and reliable. I've had tried some unnamed (actually it was Cicero) and Nature CDs and it actually had the sound being choppy and un readable towards the end of the CD. I also tried Eworks dvd-r media, and I got the same result. Since I Have switched to maxell, I have no more issues. I recently bought Verbatim CD too... they are working great as well... Hope this helps.
- well i called dell up and described my troubles. they put me on hold and 5 mins later they came back and said "ok david no problem we will .send u a new drive" etc....i recieved the new drive, exactly the same nec model and installed it....and guess what...the problem is STILL THERE! so it is obviously not a hardware issue...i know people say it is a software issue (which is obviously correct) but the question is, what is the software problem? i've used 6 different burning programs and all do not work. a firmware problem? i can't even find a firmwire update for my model. i i will try a better brand of media, as the ones i am using seem to not be supported, according to the list provided by nec. now before u say "well that's obviously the problem!" my father has the same computer with the same identical drive and that handle the exact same blank dvd brand that does not work on mine (benq)...so my question to all is, what is the software sollution to this problem??? would something like anydvd be messing with my drive? some people say itunes also causes issues...i guess what im searching for is a kind of list...a way to go through a process of eliminination so i can go through each idea and hopefully work out a way to get this working!
Apologies in advance if folks know this already.
The 6100 is quite limited when it comes to which DVDs it will write to. Seeing as I use DVD-Rs on the home DVD player I use for watching stuff and that this 6100 "device" does not write to that format (nor a good many more), I'm scr**ed. Will have to look for another one.
Bummed.
Compatible media /< Read/Play>DVD-ROM (SL, DL) No/Yes
DVD-Video (SL, DL) No/Yes
DVD+R (SL, DL) Yes/Yes
DVD+RW Yes/Yes
DVD-R No/Yes
DVD-RW No/Yes
DVD-Audio No/Yes
CD-DA No/Yes
CD-Extra No/Yes
CD-ROM No/Yes
CD-R Yes/Yes
CD-RW Yes/Yes
Video CD No/Yes
CD Text No/YesAs long as you're replacing it, try cross-flashing it to the NEC 6500. http://tdb.rpc1.org/#ND6500A
Dave
jamie_mahar
3 Posts
414
0
Posted April 29th, 2006 12:00
Dave - do you recommend flashing in Windows or DOS. I have messed around with flashing my drive but never actually could complete the process (only tried in Windows/GUI environment though).Thanks - Jamie
defslip29
4 Posts
817
0
Posted April 10th, 2006 07:00
Unfortunately I too have the same problem. I have an Inspiron 6400 with an NEC DVD +-RW ND-6650A. I cannot find any firmware updates and have no clue what "flashing" is but I don't think I want to risk trying it. I found on google that some other people have similar problems with these NEC drives so we are not alone. I did succeed originally in burning a data dvd to a dvd-rw, but I cannot burn multimedia. In all programs, for example roxio easy media creator suite and nero, it tells me I have bad media or that I need to insert the appropriate media type. The same problem arises no matter what software I use and when I insert a blank dvd, it tells me it is a blank cd. I hope this is worked out soon. I just got this computer under a week ago.
--David