LG GCE-8481B and SmartBuy 48x media

[J-Wo]

Hey guys, I have an LG GCE-8481B that has problems burning at full speed on SmartBuy 48x CD-R's. I previously had no problems with a spindle of Pine 48x, where I was getting used to write times ~2.5 min for an 80 min CD (I mostly burn full length VCDs). However whenever I try these SmartBuy ones Nero says it's burning at 48x but it takes ~5.5 min. I tried upgrading my firmware from 1.02 to 1.03 and 1.04, but no difference. The weird thing is when I run Nero CDSpeed and do a Transfer Rate test, it does go up to 48x on those media. And when I simulate a burn, it takes only 2 min but when I actually burn it it takes 5.

I've checked my DMA settings and everything is on. I've even tried flashing my system with the 8520B firmware, so now my system thinks it's a 52x drive (heh heh).

The thing that has me most confused is if I turn off Buffer Underrun and run a Speed Measurement, it says

Speed measurement completed: 39.6x (5,940 KB/s)
Can only write at 32x instead of 48x, because speed of source is too slow

Now when use Roxio to burn, it gives me a bit more information and tells me that it's actually writing at 16x and not 48x.

So what's going on? Is it just poor media or what???? Thanks guys

[cfitz]

The thing that has me most confused is if I turn off Buffer Underrun and run a Speed Measurement, it says

Speed measurement completed: 39.6x (5,940 KB/s)
Can only write at 32x instead of 48x, because speed of source is too slow

What is the source for your burn?

Now when use Roxio to burn, it gives me a bit more information and tells me that it's actually writing at 16x and not 48x.

Here is a tip for displaying the instantaneous burn speed in Nero:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=9476

Do you still have some of the Pine 48x CD-Rs? If so do they burn at 48x the exact same compilation that is burning at 16x on the Prodisc CD-Rs?

cfitz

[J-Wo]

What is the source for your burn?

It's my hard drive, which is a 100 GB Western Digital I got back in January. I have it split up into 3 partitions, the largest is my E:\ drive of 76 GB and holds all my movies. When I go into the Nero Preferences --> Cache --> Test all drive speeds, it says this partition has a speed of 38,576 KB/s.

Here is a tip for displaying the instantaneous burn speed in Nero:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=9476

Do you still have some of the Pine 48x CD-Rs? If so do they burn at 48x the exact same compilation that is burning at 16x on the Prodisc CD-Rs?

cfitz

No I don't have any more of the Pine 48x CD-Rs. I did however follow your instructions on displaying the instantaneous burn speed in Nero (took me a while though! Had to go through the entire thread to get it to "stick"). Now when I do a speed measurement it says

Code: Select all

Speed measurement completed 129.6x (19,440 KB/s).

When I simulate the burn Nero reports that it eventually gets up to 48x (7,200 KB/s). But when I actually burn it, the speed starts off okay but by 5% through it drops down to 16x (2,400 Kb/s) and never improves.

Any ideas?

[cfitz]

What is the source for your burn?

It's my hard drive, which is a 100 GB Western Digital I got back in January. I have it split up into 3 partitions, the largest is my E:\ drive of 76 GB and holds all my movies. When I go into the Nero Preferences --> Cache --> Test all drive speeds, it says this partition has a speed of 38,576 KB/s.

That should be plenty fast. Unless you happen to be burning thousands of tiny files scattered all over the drive and have turned off cacheing of small files or your drive is horribly fragmented. Neither sounds likely in your case since you have a new drive and are burning VCDs.

I did however follow your instructions on displaying the instantaneous burn speed in Nero (took me a while though! Had to go through the entire thread to get it to "stick").

I've updated the thread to hopefully make it more explicit for the next person who has trouble.

When I simulate the burn Nero reports that it eventually gets up to 48x (7,200 KB/s). But when I actually burn it, the speed starts off okay but by 5% through it drops down to 16x (2,400 Kb/s) and never improves.

Any ideas?

Hmmm. There is always the standard "try different media." Getting a few samples of other mdia would be most helpful for trying to narrow down whether this is a drive/setup problem or a media problem.

Also, although your DMA setup seems to be okay, you might want to review the problem DMA FAQ anyway:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6645

Are you able to read discs at 48x?

cfitz

[J-Wo]

Also, although your DMA setup seems to be okay, you might want to review the problem DMA FAQ anyway:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6645

Yeah, I did take a look at that and followed all the directions. My CD-RW is the secondary master (HD is primary master with DVD-ROM as primary slave) so for Device 0 under Secondary IDE Channel Properties, it says

Code: Select all

Transfer Mode: DMA if available
Current Transfer Mode: Ultra DMA Mode 2

So I think everything is alright?

Are you able to read discs at 48x?

I'm actually not too sure how to do that! I used Mtkflash.exe to "upgrade" my 8481B to 8520B. Should I try testing under these conditions, or flash back to one of the 8481B firmwares?

BTW, can I just use the Windows based firmware upgrades for the 8481B or do I have to use a DOS-based one like Mtkflash?

[cfitz]

My CD-RW is the secondary master (HD is primary master with DVD-ROM as primary slave) so for Device 0 under Secondary IDE Channel Properties, it says

Code: Select all

Transfer Mode: DMA if available
Current Transfer Mode: Ultra DMA Mode 2

So I think everything is alright?

Looks good.

Are you able to read discs at 48x?

I'm actually not too sure how to do that! I used Mtkflash.exe to "upgrade" my 8481B to 8520B. Should I try testing under these conditions, or flash back to one of the 8481B firmwares?

Woops! New information. Why did you withhold this tidbit? The first question to ask is, when did you convert your 8481B to an 8520B? Did the burning problems begin at the same time? Second, you don't need to convert back to do the read test, just see if it reads at 52x. I only mentioned 48x because that is top speed for the 8481B. However, you might want to convert back to the 8481B to see if that helps with the writing problem.

BTW, can I just use the Windows based firmware upgrades for the 8481B or do I have to use a DOS-based one like Mtkflash?

To switch between firmware for different models and to go backwards in versions you will need to use MtkFlash.

cfitz

[J-Wo]

Woops! New information. Why did you withhold this tidbit? The first question to ask is, when did you convert your 8481B to an 8520B? Did the burning problems begin at the same time? Second, you don't need to convert back to do the read test, just see if it reads at 52x. I only mentioned 48x because that is top speed for the 8481B. However, you might want to convert back to the 8481B to see if that helps with the writing problem.

Sorry, I didn't think I was witholding anything (thought I mentioned it in the original post). But the writing problems have been with all firmwares. I first tried switching between v1.02, 1.03, and 1.04 for the 8481B with no luck, and only yesterday I decided to try the 8520B firmware thinking that might solve things. It didn't.

I just stuck in one of my burnt VCDs and ran Nero CD Speed on it with my 8481B v1.00 firmware. For the transfer rate test, it starts at 18X and gradually goes up to 42X (average 31.82X)

To switch between firmware for different models and to go backwards in versions you will need to use MtkFlash.

Oh okay. I guess the only problem is I don't know where to find the BIN files for the 8481B firmwares. I'll do some searching but if you can point me in the right direction that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for all your help so far!

[cfitz]

Sorry, I didn't think I was witholding anything (thought I mentioned it in the original post).

My fault. Now I see it. I guess I overlooked it since the title of the thread says "LG GCE-8481B".

But the writing problems have been with all firmwares. I first tried switching between v1.02, 1.03, and 1.04 for the 8481B with no luck, and only yesterday I decided to try the 8520B firmware thinking that might solve things. It didn't.

Based on that, there isn't as much motivation for going back. You have answered the question as to whether or not the 8520B upgrade caused the problems - apparently it did not.

I just stuck in one of my burnt VCDs and ran Nero CD Speed on it with my 8481B v1.00 firmware. For the transfer rate test, it starts at 18X and gradually goes up to 42X (average 31.82X)

That sounds good, and confirms DMA is okay.

I guess the only problem is I don't know where to find the BIN files for the 8481B firmwares. I'll do some searching but if you can point me in the right direction that would be greatly appreciated.

It is always wise, although something of a pain, to back up firmware before flashing. You might look around here for binaries, or ask on their forum if anyone can supply you with what you need:

http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php

However, as I mentioned above, this isn't so critical now. I would suggest trying some other media as your next step.

cfitz

[J-Wo]

Okay, I'll give that a shot. Only thing is there's not too much selection in my area (Kingston, Ontario, CANADA). There's a great computer store near me that sells everything at dirt cheap, and they've got gazillions of CDR spindles but they're all from Taiwan (hence the SmartBuy, 50 CDRs for $18!!). The only other big store around here is Future Shop, but I don't think they sell any Fuji or Verbatin CDRs that I've heard so much about. Here's a link to the brand they sell (I hope this works)

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/subcla ... atid=12500

[Action Jackson]

J-Wo,

You know Futureshop does offer free shipping right?

[cfitz]

Is the shop where you bought your Smart Buy discs reputable? There's no chance they sold you some older ones and just told you they are rated for 48x, is there? I don't have any personal experience with SmartBuy/ProDisc, but I hear they are decent quality, and they seem to do okay on LG as reported by others in the media compatibility thread.

Anyway, it still a good idea to try something else just to help narrow the scope of the problem. Future Shop does list Verbatims:

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde ... ewdeptid=1

The picture is awfully small, but it looks like they are DataLife Plus. And while these are expensive on a per-disc basis, buying one package might be okay for some experimentation.

cfitz