DVD burner acting strangely

timboW · 03-13-2008, 06:19 PM

Can anyone give me any pointers?

I've had an Optorite DD-0405 DVD burner on my computer for the last few years and it has served me flawlessly. Lately though I've noticed that it's been producing a pile of flawed DVD's. At first I thought it might have been a bad batch of disks, but after some experimenting it seems that the fault definitely lies with the burner. It happily burns the whole disk, but the final product is unusable, whether it's a TV program recorded to disk or just a DVD that's had data transferred to it.

I'd think that maybe the unit has just developed flaws that have made it necessary to replace it, but oddly enough it still produces flawless CD's - audio, data, you name it. If the unit is on the way out, surely it wouldn't be able to produce fine disks in one format but garbage in another?

Could it be software related?

The only thing I can think of that could have caused this problem is that I've been going backwards and forwards a lot lately burning both DVD's and CD's, and on a couple of occasions when I've tried burning DVD's I've forgotten that I'd already placed blank CD's in the unit, with the result that the burner has thrown a fit at me by trying to burn DVD to CD and locking up at the end of the job. On one occasion the burner actually made some grinding noises while it was trying to do this.

As I said though, if some damage has been done, why does the burner continue to happily produce fine CD's?

Thanks in advance.

Vizy93 · 03-14-2008, 02:08 AM

Why does it continue to burn fine Cd's? IDK, but i think its time to invest a new one. An LG, samsung, Memorex, ASUS, all make good dvd burners

timboW · 03-14-2008, 04:17 AM

Hi again,
That's my point. You'd think if it's on the fritz it wouldn't burn anything correctly.

As for a replacement, I've already set my sights on an ASUS. I was just hoping that there might have been something simple to fix with the present unit.

sho95 · 03-14-2008, 05:21 AM

As new media come up your drive need to have its firmware updated. Upgrade firmware and see if it helps.

Vizy93 · 03-14-2008, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sho95

As new media come up your drive need to have its firmware updated. Upgrade firmware and see if it helps.

yea do this before u go waster u money

timboW · 03-14-2008, 09:36 PM

I thought about the firmware side of things, but unfortunately Optorite doesn't seem to have a site, which is annoying. I came across a few other complaints about that issue.

It's a shame, because the company has produced some excellent DVD burners in recent years, the chief reason I went with the 0405 model, which received some fine reviews on release. Until this recent problem cropped up the unit had performed flawlessly, burning well over 1,000 DVD's for me with nary a coaster amongst them.

One point about media. I have more or less stuck to the same media for the last couple of years (having initially been caught out badly with some of the cheaper products out there) so I don't think that should be an issue unless the technology behind their manufacture has recently changed.

If anyone knows where I could find the relevant firmware for my particular unit I'd appreciate a heads up on it.

Thanks

sho95 · 03-15-2008, 08:19 PM

I had many drives that needed to update firmware before using them for the first time. Let me see what I can find for firmware but if this is making you crazy just go to newegg and order a new one for like under $30.
I would try and order this:
http://www.meritline.com/verbatim-8x-dvd-r-silver.html
this are on of the top medias out and are use by many MFG of drive to test.
Hopes this helps out would if I was you I would think of getting a new drive.

sho95 · 03-15-2008, 08:27 PM

Looks like you stuck with what you got. The last time your firmware was updated was 2004 NOT GOOD.
Here check it and see if you got the newest one:
http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1811

The only other thing is to find old media that does not go pass 8x

StrangleHold · 03-15-2008, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by timboW

Can anyone give me any pointers?

I've had an Optorite DD-0405 DVD burner on my computer for the last few years and it has served me flawlessly. Lately though I've noticed that it's been producing a pile of flawed DVD's. At first I thought it might have been a bad batch of disks, but after some experimenting it seems that the fault definitely lies with the burner. It happily burns the whole disk, but the final product is unusable, whether it's a TV program recorded to disk or just a DVD that's had data transferred to it.

I'd think that maybe the unit has just developed flaws that have made it necessary to replace it, but oddly enough it still produces flawless CD's - audio, data, you name it. If the unit is on the way out, surely it wouldn't be able to produce fine disks in one format but garbage in another?

Could it be software related?

The only thing I can think of that could have caused this problem is that I've been going backwards and forwards a lot lately burning both DVD's and CD's, and on a couple of occasions when I've tried burning DVD's I've forgotten that I'd already placed blank CD's in the unit, with the result that the burner has thrown a fit at me by trying to burn DVD to CD and locking up at the end of the job. On one occasion the burner actually made some grinding noises while it was trying to do this.

As I said though, if some damage has been done, why does the burner continue to happily produce fine CD's?

Thanks in advance.

Before you try anything else since its a few years old I would say it probably needs a CD/DVD cleaner run a few times, could just be a dirty DVD lens. I dont think it is the firmware since it worked fine for years!

timboW · 03-17-2008, 07:28 PM

Stranglehold.

Sorry I'm a few days late getting back to this. I've been away for the weekend.

I thought about the lens cleaning side of things, but again, wouldn't it apply to all aspects of the burning process if it's dirty? As I said, the unit continues to burn CD's flawlessly.

I don't have a cleaning kit, so I guess I'll go out and buy one later this afternoon. Failing that, I'll just buy a new unit. The ASUS I mentioned looks good. It's not like this is going to kill me at $35 for the new unit. I just hate throwing money away needlessly if there's a simple fix that I may have overlooked.

Just a reminder to a couple of the other posters. I have, as I mentioned earlier, used the same media for the last 2 - 3 years. If you're on a good thing, stick to it I say, so I haven't tried using some of the faster burning DVD's out there.

03-13-2008, 06:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
timboW New Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 13	DVD burner acting strangely Can anyone give me any pointers? I've had an Optorite DD-0405 DVD burner on my computer for the last few years and it has served me flawlessly. Lately though I've noticed that it's been producing a pile of flawed DVD's. At first I thought it might have been a bad batch of disks, but after some experimenting it seems that the fault definitely lies with the burner. It happily burns the whole disk, but the final product is unusable, whether it's a TV program recorded to disk or just a DVD that's had data transferred to it. I'd think that maybe the unit has just developed flaws that have made it necessary to replace it, but oddly enough it still produces flawless CD's - audio, data, you name it. If the unit is on the way out, surely it wouldn't be able to produce fine disks in one format but garbage in another? Could it be software related? The only thing I can think of that could have caused this problem is that I've been going backwards and forwards a lot lately burning both DVD's and CD's, and on a couple of occasions when I've tried burning DVD's I've forgotten that I'd already placed blank CD's in the unit, with the result that the burner has thrown a fit at me by trying to burn DVD to CD and locking up at the end of the job. On one occasion the burner actually made some grinding noises while it was trying to do this. As I said though, if some damage has been done, why does the burner continue to happily produce fine CD's? Thanks in advance.

03-14-2008, 02:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
Vizy93 Diamond Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: LA, Westside Age: 14 Posts: 2,098	Why does it continue to burn fine Cd's? IDK, but i think its time to invest a new one. An LG, samsung, Memorex, ASUS, all make good dvd burners __________________ RnB Session- get updated Hulu- TV quality clips/shows/movies My Slurpee Cup- life's elixir

03-14-2008, 09:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
timboW New Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 13	Firmware I thought about the firmware side of things, but unfortunately Optorite doesn't seem to have a site, which is annoying. I came across a few other complaints about that issue. It's a shame, because the company has produced some excellent DVD burners in recent years, the chief reason I went with the 0405 model, which received some fine reviews on release. Until this recent problem cropped up the unit had performed flawlessly, burning well over 1,000 DVD's for me with nary a coaster amongst them. One point about media. I have more or less stuck to the same media for the last couple of years (having initially been caught out badly with some of the cheaper products out there) so I don't think that should be an issue unless the technology behind their manufacture has recently changed. If anyone knows where I could find the relevant firmware for my particular unit I'd appreciate a heads up on it. Thanks

03-15-2008, 08:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
sho95 Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 361	I had many drives that needed to update firmware before using them for the first time. Let me see what I can find for firmware but if this is making you crazy just go to newegg and order a new one for like under $30. I would try and order this: http://www.meritline.com/verbatim-8x-dvd-r-silver.html this are on of the top medias out and are use by many MFG of drive to test. Hopes this helps out would if I was you I would think of getting a new drive. Last edited by sho95; 03-15-2008 at 08:35 PM.

03-17-2008, 07:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
timboW New Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 13	cleaning Stranglehold. Sorry I'm a few days late getting back to this. I've been away for the weekend. I thought about the lens cleaning side of things, but again, wouldn't it apply to all aspects of the burning process if it's dirty? As I said, the unit continues to burn CD's flawlessly. I don't have a cleaning kit, so I guess I'll go out and buy one later this afternoon. Failing that, I'll just buy a new unit. The ASUS I mentioned looks good. It's not like this is going to kill me at $35 for the new unit. I just hate throwing money away needlessly if there's a simple fix that I may have overlooked. Just a reminder to a couple of the other posters. I have, as I mentioned earlier, used the same media for the last 2 - 3 years. If you're on a good thing, stick to it I say, so I haven't tried using some of the faster burning DVD's out there.

03-14-2008, 04:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
timboW New Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 13	Hi again, That's my point. You'd think if it's on the fritz it wouldn't burn anything correctly. As for a replacement, I've already set my sights on an ASUS. I was just hoping that there might have been something simple to fix with the present unit.

03-14-2008, 05:21 AM	#4 (permalink)
sho95 Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 361	As new media come up your drive need to have its firmware updated. Upgrade firmware and see if it helps.

03-15-2008, 08:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
sho95 Gold Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 361	Looks like you stuck with what you got. The last time your firmware was updated was 2004 NOT GOOD. Here check it and see if you got the newest one: http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1811 The only other thing is to find old media that does not go pass 8x

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