Pioneer DVD-116 doesn't work in DMA anymore...

[coolestnitish]

I have had my Pioneer DVD-116 Tray http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pione ... 41,00.html for almost 2 years now. It was working fine in my XP installation before. But from the day I formatted and did a clean install of XP (using this drive only) and installed the LiteOn 48x24x48, it stopped working in DMA. When I put any disc in, nothing happens and if I go to My Computer to browse the disc, My Computer stops responding and I have to use Ctr Alt Del.
If I go to Device Manager, and in the options I enable Use DMA if possible, it accepts it and switched to DMA. But then, it stops reading any CDs or DVDs. I am running firmware 116v122A which I believe is the latest. If I try and flash the drive to the same firmware again in DMA mode using Pioneer's firmware update utility, it gives me this error
If I use PIO mode only, and then flash it to the same firmware, it successfully does it.
In short, when using DMA, it doesn't allow any firmware updates or reading any discs.
My confirguration is : Primary Master:10 GB Maxtor 7200rpm ATA 100, Primary Slave:40GB Maxtor 7200rpm ATA133
Secondary Master:LiteOn 48x24x48, Secondary Slave:Pioneer DVD-116.
I remember this drive working perfectly in DMA before, but now it doesn't seem to like it. What's wrong? I have tried uninstalling the Secondary IDE Channel and then use Add Hardware Wizard to install the drives again but it didn't work. What's wrong and how do I solve it?
-Thanks

[Pito]

Hi, did you install the SP1 for XP?
I have the same problem with my old 105s, afther a fresh install of windows XP with Sp1 the drive doesn`t work anymore.
I disable the DMA use and the drive works again.
Regards,

[coolestnitish]

Yes, I installed SP1. Looks like it's a problem created by evil Microsoft . I hope Pioneer releases a new firmware or some kind of fix for it.

[Inertia]

It sounds from your description that the problem started at the same time that you installed the Liteon burner. It would be a worthwhile experiment to see if the Pioneer would run in DMA if the Liteon was disabled by removing it in Device Manager and temporarily detaching the power cable so that it wouldn't be detected on system restart.

If DMA is then available for the Pioneer, there may be a DMA channel availability issue. A DMA channel may be freed by going to the system BIOS and checking the parallel port setup. If it is set to ECP, change it to EPP or standard settings.

[coolestnitish]

Ok I tried all the stuff you said and here are the results -
1. I uninstalled the LiteOn and took it's power supply off. Started the computer and the Pioneer still didn't read anything in DMA. PIO works fine still.
1a(LiteOn still unplugged). Went to bios-> Peripheral Configuration->Mode-> and it was set to Bi-Directional. I set it to EPP as you suggested and booted up again. Pioneer still doesn't read in DMA and PIO works fine.
2. Connected the LiteOn again and switched back to Bi-Directional just for argument's sake. Still same problem. Then switched to EPP with both drives connected and LiteOn reads fine and Pioneer still doesn't read in DMA. PIO works fine again.
So in the end I still have the same problem. This drive used to work fine in DMA .
By the way I still have those settings back to Bi-Directional. Should I use EPP or Bi-Directional?

[Inertia]

ECP (extended capabilities port) is the most powerful (but not by much) mode, but it uses a DMA channel. Most of the time you won't notice the difference if you don't use this mode.

EPP (enhanced parallel port) is the next most powerful mode. Both ECP and EPP are bi-directional modes and standard mode is one direction only. I assume from your description that your system has a choice between EPP, Bi-Directional, and Standard. If this is so, then Bi-Directional would have to be the ECP mode.

Both ECP and EPP allow a printer to communicate errors, paper outs, etc., but if it were my choice I would leave the setting at EPP to free up an extra DMA channel.

It shouldn't matter, but did you try swapping the Pioneer to master and the Liteon to slave? DVD drives used to be required to connect as master by some setups in the past. This is a longshot, but it's worth a try.

My first suggestion was going to be to uninstall the IDE channel that the DVD was located on, but I saw that you had already done that. There is a known bug in WinXP that resets DMA to PIO with some devices and can be worked around by uninstalling the IDE channel. Unfortunately, in your case this doesn't work, but strangely enough the DMA setting seems to stick. The problem is that it sticks but it doesn't work.

If I were trying to troubleshoot this problem, I would pull the Pioneer and find another computer to put it in to test for DMA operation. If the DMA works in another computer, then you have eliminated the drive as the source of the problem. Then, the problem can be narrowed to your current computer configuration that somehow was affected by the reinstallation of WinXP.

When you reformatted, all of your current motherboard chipset drivers were wiped out. Did you reinstall the latest motherboard IDE drivers after the reinstallation? You may also want to update your BIOS with the latest drivers.

[Ian]

Just curious.. but are you using UDMA 33 or 66 with this drive?

[coolestnitish]

Just curious.. but are you using UDMA 33 or 66 with this drive?

I think I am using UDMA33. What's the way of being sure?
Do i have to open the case and see if the IDE cable is 40pin or 80 pin?
Inertia:After some time I will open the case and set the DVD ROM as master and LiteOn as slave and see if that makes a difference. I'll get back to you with that.
Edit: I went to the FAQ section and learnt about the different UDMA modes and I am using UDMA 33 on the LiteOn. That's the drive you were asking about Ian?

[coolestnitish]

Ok, I finally got time to play around with some more settings. I now have my Pioneer DVD-116 set as Secondary Master and LiteOn 48x24x48 as Secondary Slave.
The Pioneer still doesn't work with DMA I even took off the power supply of LiteOn and it still doesn't work. Someone have a clue what's going on?
By the way in Bios for the LiteOn I have the option of enabling Ultra DMA and then Mode 1,2,3,4... Currently its disabled (Doesn't your motherboard have to support it, in order to enable it?). What's the recommended way? Whereas for the Pioneer I can't change that as Bios seems to have found the best settings by itself.
Plus my Pioneer can't read CD-MRW in Pio mode too, I don't think that is connected with this but just thought I'd mention it.

[mike_s104]

I'm feeling lazy and didn't read the whole post.

1. the drive must be able to do DMA
2. the motherboard must be able to do DMA and be set do to it also
3. WinXP may not bet set to DMA. if not, delete the controller the drive is connected to and reboot the machine. you might have to reboot another time after WinXP finds "new" devices
4. if using it up to UDMA33, a 40-pin cable is fine. for UDMA66, an 80-pin cable is required.
5. double and triple check all cables in the computer to make sure they all are seated correctly.
6. replace the IDE cable with a NEW one. go for an 80-pin for future use.
7. try a drive that you know will do DMA on the channel the Pioneer is on to see it that channel is acting up.
9. MAYBE (I say maybe since I know that VIA drivers are not happy sometimes) try the motherboard makers drivers.
8. do a clean install of WinXP with SP1 intergrated. if you don't have this, do a clean install of WinXP and then install SP1 before anything else. (other then devices that WinXP finds upon initial boot).
10. if all else fails, ditch the drive and break out $40 and get a new Lite-On DVD-ROM. you could go to Staples or Best Buy and just try one first.

[coolestnitish]

Thanks for the suggestions mike_s104, I know my posts in this thread have been reeeeally long, so I don't blame you. lol. Well believe it or not, I have tried every single thing you said. Did 3 clean installs of XP in the past 3 weeks. I guess it's the drive itself. Thanks anyways everyone for your help. I only use this dvd-rom to rip dvds. When the need comes, I'll follow your advice and buy a new one.