LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW 1213S. Doesn't burn DVD's

[jim38curl]

Hi everyone. Was hoping someone would be able to give me some advice on my DVD drive not burning DVD's. It works fine for CD's / CDRW but won't have none of it on DVD's. Have tried upgrading the firmware but that just resulted in it not burning anything and i ended up having to do a system restore. Reads and rips DVD's fine.

Thanks for any help,

Jim.

[dodgyshirt]

You can't do a system restore on the firmware of your hardware.Have you read these instructions on updating the firmware.

It sounds to me as though you have a problem with your software i.e. the programme that you are using to burn the DVDs.

What programme are you using.

[stevie21]

I have 2 CD drives : one can read DVDs the other can burn them too. This latter drive MUST be set as the master rather than the slave on the IDE cable/jumper settings to be able to burn DVDs.

If you've added the DVD burner after having had another device on the same IDE cable then you may have added it as slave. I had to swap these for mine to work.

Lots of jargon here - does it make sense?!

[dodgyshirt]

I agree stevie that the DVD writer should be set as master and even better for it not to be attached to the same IDE cable as the other optical device but if that were the problem, then it would also affect the CD writing capabilities which it apparently doesn't. I would still opt for the problem being with the burning software.

[stevie21]

I'm sure my problem was only with writing DVDs : if I remember correctly I could still burn CDs.

If all else fails I'd give that a try or even nosey about on google to see if others have the same experience.

[jim38curl]

Thanks for replys. The system restore that i done was to a few days previous to me starting to mess about with the firmware. The link that you put up was the same as where i got the firmware from. I know it says on there that you can't change the firmware back once done, thats why i had to go back a few days. Before i done the restore it wouldn't even recognise that there was a DVD drive. I Have tried burning on Nero & WMP. Also looked on google but others seem to have the same problem with no solution.This is the only CD / DVD drive that i have so i'd guess that the slave idea wouldn't apply ?? I can burn CD's fine as well just problem with DVD's.

Thanks again.

Jim

[dodgyshirt]

Jim, the firmware is within the optical device itself and any update if applied properly will not be undone by a system restore of your operating system. The fact that a system restore has now enabled your OS to recognise the DVD drive reinforces my opinion that you have a software rather than a hardware problem.

[Hammer]

Similar to Stevie, i found that mine would only work properly if I disconnected the other DVD rom drive. I now have a fully working DVD burner and a disconnected DVD rom. Not perfect, but it works!

[qapmoc]

Is this a new DVD drive which you have NEVER managed to write dvd's with or is it a old drive that was working and has now stopped working.
If it is a new one, have you only used one brand of blank DVD in it? if so try a different make and see it that changes anything.

[jim38curl]

Thanks again. Have had the system for around 8 months now and have never burnt a DVD on it. Did originally think that is was because i brought -DVDs instead of + but then a couple of months later on closer inspection saw that it was a +/-RW. Tried +RW ( sony make ) and same thing. Just to clarify, it's a CD / DVD combo drive. I see what you're saying now dodgy shirt. What would you suggest i try next then ?? I have tried the lite-on firmware route with no success and am a bit reluctant to try again incase it all stops working again.

Thanks for any help.

[Kerplunk]

Dodgyshirt I will try this in capitals. THE FIRMWARE IS NOT THE PROBLEM. WHAT SOFTWARE ARE YOU USING TO BURN THE DVD DISCS. TRY USING DIFFERENT SOFTWARE.

[qapmoc]

Wait a second here! If it is a CD/DVD combo drive it will read/write CD's but only read DVD's and you can never get it it to write them.

[dodgyshirt]

Kerplunk WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU ON ABOUT.If you read the whole thread carefully you will see that I have never suggested that the firmware was the problem.

Anyway the problem now seems to be resolved in that the optical drive is a combo DVD ROM/CD-RW drive and cannot therefore burn DVDs

[stevie21]

Not too fast : if it's this model
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?Ar ticleId=9861
then it does burn DVDs.

Inside your PC case, jim, is your hard drive(s) on one IDE cable and this DVD burner the only device on the 2nd IDE cable (or is the DVD set as slave and the hard drive set as master on one cable) ??

[stevie21]

Also, if you can see it properly, is your "jumper" in EXACTLY the same position as this one?
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Articles/Sources/LiteOn% 20SOHW-1213S/Images/etc/back.png

The jumper is the wee sky blue thing to the left of middle at the bottom of this image. It can go in one of 3 places, on this image, far left = cable select, middle = slave and right = master. You need it to be in "master".

[Kerplunk]

Dodgyshirt you mis-understood my post. It was to re-itterate to jim38curl that the firmware was not the problem. You told him twice that the firmware updates the device not the computer but he didn't seem to understand. So I thought if I said the same thing but in capitals to emphasise then the message would get through. I am perfectly capable of reading a whole thread carefully, but sometimes answers are not read in the way they were written. Oh and by the way the Lite-On SOHW 1213S is a dual DVD +/- R DVD Recorder. SO he should be able to burn DVD's with it with the right software.

[dodgyshirt]

Sorry kerplunk we really do seem to have our cables crossed, your post did appear to be addressed to me rather than to jim.

I too seem to have lost the plot on this one as I remember now reading what an oustanding DVD writer this model was.

Stevie' s right to point out that it should be master relative to any other optical drive but where two drives are fitted, I find it best to slave the DVD-ROM or CD-ROM to the HDD as putting both optical drives on the same IDE cable seems to cause conflicts in some cases when copying from drive to drive.

If Jim is able to confirm that his setup agrees with the outlines given by stevie, then we are probably back to it being a software problem but jim appears a bit shy in telling us which it is.