Big DVD problem, help gratefully received!

[AS_Dodger]

Just got a Samsung Lightscribe from Novatech.

It's set to slave, IDE drive is master. They're on the same cable, as my mobo only has one IDE slot.

Bios recognises it, Windows (MCE 2005) recognises it.

It will read and write CD's no problem.

It will WRITE DVD's.

It won't read DVD's, either originals or even one's it has written.

Any clues?

[Taxation]

only one IDE cable, that may be the problem, have you checked the manufacturers site for help??
does it work fine on another computer?
does it read DVD games?

[AS_Dodger]

No, it won't read ANY DVD at all.

I tried an old DVD-ROM drive, and that reads DVD/CD fine.

Edit - The manual supplied on the disk specifically talks about setting to slave if you are using one cable and another device.

[Big Beere]

I had a problem like yourself AS DODGER. I installed an LG CD-RW from one PC into another, but the new one i installed it in didnt want to run GAMES OR DVD'S !

In the end I given up, and used another one!

Try googling it and looking for any drivers that may help.

Cheers,

BIG B 8)

[AS_Dodger]

That's not too encouraging Big Beere :(

So would Novatech take it back just because it doesn't work on my machine? And if so, what then? i can't really try drives at random until I get one that does work.

I should mention that the mobo I'm connecting to is a Gigabyte GA-965P-S3, also bought from Novatech. Surely that's not the problem?

[AS_Dodger]

I seem to be making progress.

Using Nero Infotools, I noted that the drive was under the Gigabyte RAID controller, which didn't seem right. A quick google later revealed others had had this problem, until they uninstalled the RAID driver.

So I tried that and rebooted.

New hardware found: PCI IDE controller (cool)
Reboot
New hardware found: TSST corp CD/DVDW SH-S182M (cool)
Reboot

Now that all sounds promising. However, now I see that the drive is under the IDE controller (DMA on). I get the following results:

CD: no problem
Original DVD: empty directory
Written DVD-R: thinks it's a blank DVD and wants to open the DVD writing wizard.

Similar to before, but at least I'm not getting "insert a disk" or "Device error".

[AS_Dodger]

Update #2.

I tried the old CD/DVD drive (the one this new one is replacing, as I thought it was busted...)

Same exact results.

So I tried an old DVD (non burner) drive. That reads CD and DVD (original & written) no problem.

Hopefully these symptoms help someone to narrow this down a little... ;)

[anthonygriff]

There could be a possibility that the mobo bios has somehow become corrupted. You could try resetting it or loading defaults or updating it to the latest version to see if that helps.

Also there may be a problem with your burning software, try uninstalling it and then try to read dvds with the software uninstalled. If you're using separate software, such as roxio or nero then disable the cd writing option provided by windows (right click the dvd icon, then choose properties/recording/untick 'enable recording) as this also can cause problems.

If none of these work then it looks like you may have to do a clean install of windows or a restore to a point when the dvd drive was workng properly.

Is there any chance of trying it in a different computer?

[AS_Dodger]

Anthiny- thanks for the suggestions. I disabled CD recording in properties - no diff. It was never working, so restore won't help. The results are the same in straight windows, or after I install the supplied Nero. Infact Nero infotool reports everything a-ok.

The motherboard is only a couple of weeks old, straight from Novatech. I don't really want to flash the bios. However that's the only suggestion I haven't tried. How likely is that to be causing these symptoms?

----------------------

Update.

I have been trying various discs with the following results:

CD & CDR/RW reading - all work.
CD burning - all works.

DVD burning (all makes) - works.

DVD reading, original game - doesn't work.
Written Maxell DVD+R - doesn't work.
Written unbranded DVD+R - doesn't work.
Written Phillips, TDK or Packard Bell DVD+RW - will read fine.

Basically CD's and anything rewritable works, but non-rewritables and originals won't.

I'm wondering if this is a drive problem, rather than anything else in my system. My big worry is that if I return it and NT say "works for us" I'll be hit with a 'checking fee' and I'll be stuck with a drive that doesn't work for me.

Can anyone advise on this?

[anthonygriff]

The bios usually makes the mobo compatible with more new hardware. Probably in your case it won't make any difference as you seem to have no problem with it accepting the dvd writer.

I originally thought it was a problem with the writer but did you not say that your other writer had exactly the same problem? If you didn't then I'm sorry I misunderstood you.

The problem I thought it was at first was a dodgy dvd laser in the machine which may be slightly out of line. The cd is a separate laser and so is not affected.

Other than that I'm afraid I'm clueless. Good luck with whatever you try.

[AS_Dodger]

Yes my old writer had the same problem, but I thought it was an issue with the drive. Which is why it's triply frustrating to buy a new drive and have the exact same thing happen.