Finally got my Plextor 48X working!

[ryus]

I got my motherboard swapped. From the Asus P4S533 to the Asus P4PE. Thanks Han for the suggestion, or else I was gonna go for the Asus P4B533. The P4S533 worked with my Plextor 40X, but did not work with my Plextor 48X for writing. I couldnt even upgrade the firmware! I thought it was something wrong with the drive.

The Plextor 48X seems like a pretty good drive, a few problems I have experienced are these:

1. When the drive is seeking, it makes this rattling noise, almost sounds like it might break or somethin. Is this sound normal??

2. With certain cdr discs (not limited to the manufacturer, it just that certain discs do this), when I insert it into the tray and shut it, the drive spins up, and it spins real real fast, to the point where it sounds like it might take off and explode or somethin, then I get scared and push the eject button. ( not scared that it might explode, becasue "luckily" Plextor put a reinforced front bezel , but scared cuz I dont want my drive broken).

Anyone else experience this??

Also, the Intel chipsets are far better than the SIS, based on the fact that you dont need to install so many drivers.

[TheWizard]

Also, the Intel chipsets are far better than the SIS, based on the fact that you dont need to install so many drivers.

No offense, but it took you this long to figure this out? SIS is crap, and Intel 845PE is a very fine chipset. I ordered the D845PEBT2 motherboard, I can't wait until it arrives! Serial ATA support! Not that I have any SATA drives yet.

[ryus]

It took me this long because prior to this new comp, I was using a P3 500!!

[G@M3FR3@K]

1. When the drive is seeking, it makes this rattling noise, almost sounds like it might break or somethin. Is this sound normal??

Yep it is. The Plextor 48X makes a weird noise when seeking.

2. With certain cdr discs (not limited to the manufacturer, it just that certain discs do this), when I insert it into the tray and shut it, the drive spins up, and it spins real real fast, to the point where it sounds like it might take off and explode or somethin

This is a problem when you insert an unbalanced disc. The problem is with some Plextor drives made before September 2002. Hardware Zone contacted Plextor when they did their review of the drive and Plextor said this:

"(We found out that) when an unbalanced disc is loaded, vibrations will occur. To solve this problem, we've changed the mold of the PX-W4824TA's mechanism. PlexWriters (PX-W4824TA) manufactured from October onwards will have solved this problem."

[Harrier]

So if i buy one i should check if it was built after October.

[TheWizard]

It took me this long because prior to this new comp, I was using a P3 500!!

I know the feeling, I went from a PII-350 to a P4-2.4GHz.

[ryus]

Thanks for the heads up about the manufacturing dates regarding this drive. Mine, unfortunately was manufactured Sep 2002, also it was made in Japan (goes to show, that its not always about where they are made). So I called Plextor, told them about my situation with this vibration issue, and they agreed to have me RMA it for one that was manufactured at a later date.

The thing is, I was reading Plextor's websited, and it says that products sent in for RMA will be replaced with "refurbished" products. I dont want a refurbished drive, cuz I just bought mine like a week or so ago.
But the note that Plextor told me to include in my RMA application was "REPLACE WITH PRIVATE STOCK". Does that mean I will be getting a brand new drive??

[ryus]

WOOHOO!! I finally got my Plextor 48X back!! I got the drive back in approximately 5 business days after Plextor received it, talk about service!! The drive they sent me was indeed new, manufactured Nov 2002. Thanks for the info about the "After Oct 2002" thingy, because this drive has no more vibration issues as the first batch.


Plextor = Excellent Customer Service.

Sometimes, that is what you pay a premium for.

[tlotz]

I am another victim of the vibration problem of the early versions of this drive. I purchased a PlexWriter 48/24/48A in January and found that it was manufactured in August 2002. I then read this topic, and found out that some of the excessive noise I have heard from my new drive is likely to be caused by this problem. I chose a different route than ryus did; I decided that I really did not want to deal with the inconvenience of not having my drive for over a week for the possibility that Plextor will RMA the drive and give me a *new* drive manufactured on or after October 2002. I decided to buy the replacement drive from Best Buy and *then* return the old drive to the online reseller I purchased it from for a full refund, since it is within the 30 days. This method is more costly (because Best Buy charges too much for the drive which is why I bought it online in the first place), but I don't want to be without a CD-RW drive for over a week and then still have a possibility that Plextor may not treat my RMA as nicely as they did with ryus's.

Here is my question: the drive I purchased from Best Buy is manufactured in October 2002 and has the TLA #0001. The original drive was (as I have already said) manufactured in August 2002 and has the TLA #0000. Ryus and Harrier have for some reason that I don't understand said that the drive should be manufactured *after* October 2002. The info from Plextor listed in this topic says, "...PlexWriters (PX-W4824TA) manufactured from October onwards will have solved this problem." That means drives manufactured in October and later. What is wrong with a Plexwriter 48/24/48A manufactured in October? Am I missing something here? Also, a question for ryus: what TLA # does your November 2002 made Plexwriter 48/24/48A drive have? I suspect that drives with the TLA #0001 and later are all the newer "fixed" drives that don't have the vibration problem.

[ryus]

I couldnt remember the TLA# of my drive off hand. But I know its a kind of weird number like TLA 03XX... somethin like that. But my drive did come with the latest firmware 1.03. Place the disc that caused the vibrations into the October manufactured drive and see if it gives you the same vibration problem. When I first installed the drive I got back, the first thing I did was put the disc that had problems, and indedd the new drive was problem free.

If you still have problems, exchange it at Best Buy for another one, and look for a TLA# with the highest number value (the higher the TLA, the more recently manufactured it will be). Also, try to see if Best Buy would pricematch the drive with the online retailer.

[tlotz]

Ryus: thanks for your reply. I have a quick question for you, and some more info regarding the problem. I have not installed the new drive yet--I'm not completely sure which CD caused the excessive loudness. What I do remember was that the old drive (still in my computer) sounded like a jet engine on this disk. And I'm not talking about the weird seeking noise (which is a rattling noise, just like you said). What I want to know is: how quiet is the new drive that doesn't have the vibration on the problem disc? Do you just hear the hum of the motor in the drive (which is *obviously* normal) or is the new drive still a little loud with this disk? I only hear the normal hmmming noise when the drive writes a CD-R disk at 48x; this lack of excessive noise is what I am hoping to achieve with the new drive.

When going to Best Buy earlier this evening (after checking only the local Best Buy store) I found that all the drives they had in stock had the TLA #0001. However, a few of the boxes had a 10/8/02 date on the back of the box instead of the original 8/02 date. So I chose one of the 10/8/02 boxes. I noticed that the newer October 2002 drive had a different CD-R included; a Verbatim 48X CD-R was included--*not* the blue That's CDR Taiyo Yuden CD-R disc that came with the August 2002 drive. I will visit another Best Buy location today and see if I can find a newer TLA#.

[taxman150]

I have an external Plextor 4824TU manufactured in Japan in November, 2002 that came with TLA# 0001. Since this is simply a 4824TA in a USB 2.0 enclosure, it should be nearly the same as the internal.

My drive is quiet during burning. The only noise I get is the rattling noise that tlotz mentioned when testing the seek times. I'm assuming that this is a byproduct of the fast seek times, which I've seen as low as 61ms for Random. I'm using the recommended 48X Taiyo Yuden cd-r's.

My question is whether this "seek rattling" is present on all versions of this drive or if this is another noise problem that has been fixed on newer drives. I'd appreciate any comments from Ryus or anyone else as this drive is on sale at Best Buy through today, and if the problem has been fixed on later drives I'll probably take it back to try to find a newer model.

Thanks,

[tlotz]

I have an external Plextor 4824TU manufactured in Japan in November, 2002 that came with TLA# 0001. Since this is simply a 4824TA in a USB 2.0 enclosure, it should be nearly the same as the internal.

My drive is quiet during burning. The only noise I get is the rattling noise that tlotz mentioned when testing the seek times. I'm assuming that this is a byproduct of the fast seek times, which I've seen as low as 61ms for Random. I'm using the recommended 48X Taiyo Yuden cd-r's.

My question is whether this "seek rattling" is present on all versions of this drive or if this is another noise problem that has been fixed on newer drives. I'd appreciate any comments from Ryus or anyone else as this drive is on sale at Best Buy through today, and if the problem has been fixed on later drives I'll probably take it back to try to find a newer model.

Thanks,

Since your drive is (as you correctly stated) the same drive as mine (just put into an external case with an IDE to USB 2.0 adapter in the casing), this indicates that the TLA #0001 revision of the drive (most likely) does not have the vibration problem. Great! Now I wish I had an answer to your question, but my feeling is that since the seek noise is by design (because it has an unusually *fast* seek) that you simply will not be able to avoid it with this Plextor drive at all. However, I do not know for sure. If I were you, taxman150, I would call Plextor Technical support, ask to speak to a manager, and demand an answer.

I am looking for other people who have the November 2002 versions of this drive (internal ATAPI or USB 2) to post to this topic and verify that their November 2002 made drives are TLA #0001. This way I can be absolutely sure that any drive that says TLA #0001, regardless of whether it was made in October or November, will not have this vibration problem.

[ryus]

My drive is November 2002, and the TLA# is NOT 0001. Like I said, my TLA# is higher than that.

About the seek rattling noise, that is totally normal with this drive.

The vibration issue I was referring to was not about the spinning of the drive. The vibration issue I have experienced is this:

Most cds that I insert in the drive, have the same amount of noise/spin level (without browsing the cd, but just left in the drive). But, some isolated cds, when I insert it, the drive begins to spin up, and up and gets real loud and slightly rattly, as compared to the cds that dont cause this.

This is what I meant by the vibration issue. It only happens with certain cds that I insert.

Hope this helps.

[tlotz]

I have installed the TLA #0001 drive temporarily for testing purposes. The TLA #0001 October 2002 made drive *sounds* like an entirely different drive compared to the TLA #0000. It's actually as quiet as I could imagine a drive of this speed could be! The vibration noise is gone, and so is the seek noise! Well, actually, the seek noise is only *very* slightly audible on my worst unbalanced disc. But, so far, I have read 3 discs using the Nero CD speed benchmark, and the drive seek simply is not audible at all, except on the unbalanced disc--and, like I said, you can only just barely hear it on that disc. In short, the TLA #0001 drive has superb acoustics. So I was wrong, and many others were wrong, Plextor fixed not only the vibration noise, but also the seek noise! What a difference!