• PLEASE KEEP YOUR FIRMWARE AND DRIVERS UP-TO-DATE for driver and firmware updates please check the newest firmware by Live Update Tool.

• USE CD-R(W)/DVD+/-R(W) MEDIA THAT WERE TESTED AND VERIFIED please find the media support list for your drive's latest firmware update at http://www.drvupdate.com/htm/media_list.htm

• MANUALS ARE (ONLY) AVAILABLE IN DIGITAL FORM manuals in PDF format can be found on one of the application discs that came with your drive.

• MORE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS more FAQs can be found on this page.

FAQ

To help you get more familiar with the DVD+/-RW Drive, the following FAQ lists some common problems you might encounter. Please read it for reference before you request RMA support from your dealer.
01.	My drive is recognized by Windows (Device Manager, My Computer), but unfortunately it can't read / write any DVDs. When I insert a disc, the program I use will report that there is no disc in the drive. It only recognizes CDs, but not DVDs.
02.	I have a DVD rewriter and a CD rewriter in the same system on the same IDE cable. With just the CD-RW plugged in everything works fine. But when I connect the DVDRW, the CDRW suddenly can't burn anything. I always get a “Drive in use by another application” error message. If I disconnect the DVDRW then I can burn with the CDRW? What can I do?
03.	I can't get my DVDRW drive to burn my media at the maximum burning speed.
04.	My DVD burner has produced a “calibration error”. How can I do?
05.	Upon placing an empty DVD+R disc within the drive and starting Nero, Nero reports that the disc only has 4.38GB of space though the disc itself clearly states that it has 4.7GB available. Can you shed any light on this matter? .
06.	Do I need to use the bitsetting program ?
07.	Can I use the firmware for the 8X DVDRW drive on my 4X DVDRW drive?
08.	When playing an audio CD on my DRW1004IM (F/W 0049 or lower) the drive sometimes skips some segments. Is my drive defect?
09.	I can't burn any DVD successfully, what can I do ?
10.	After burning a Princo disc, which used to be mentioned on your online media support list, I can't read the data written on the disc when using it in other drives. What is wrong ?

Q1: My drive is recognized by Windows (Device Manager, My Computer), but unfortunately it can't read / write any DVDs. When I insert a disc, the program I use will report that there is no disc in the drive. It only recognizes CDs, but not DVDs.

Answer:

In this case the drive might be defect. Please contact your dealer (place of purchase) for assistance

Q2: I have a DVD rewriter and a CD rewriter in the same system on the same IDE cable. With just the CD-RW plugged in everything works fine. But when I connect the DVDRW, the CDRW suddenly can't burn anything. I always get a “Drive in use by another application” error message. If I disconnect the DVDRW then I can burn with the CDRW? What can I do?

Answer:

1. Please check if the power cables and data cables to the drives are both properly installed.  

2. Please check the jumper setting on the rear of both the CD-RW and DVDRW to make sure there is no conflict with other peripheral devices. On an IDE cable, only one IDE device can be set as "master" and the other one should be set to "slave ".
3. Please check out your IDE setting in your mainboard's BIOS. The IDE port to which your CD-RW or DVDRW is connected must be enabled and (U)DMA mode must be enabled.

Q3: I can't get my DVDRW drive to burn my media at the maximum burning speed.

Answer:

• Check the specifications of your drive to make sure that the type of media that you are trying to burn (DVD+R/+RW/-R/-RW) is supported up to the speed that you are trying to burn it at;

• Check the information on the media itself (or on the packaging) to make sure that the disc that you are using can be burnt at the maximum speed that you would like to use; it is not recommended to burn at a higher speed than what is mentioned on the package of the disc;

• Please check the media support list for your drive and make sure that the media that you are using is indeed supported at the speed that you would like to use. In some cases, a new firmware update may be necessary to add the support for the maximum speed.

Q4: My DVD burner has produced a “calibration error”. How can I do?

Answer:

In this case the drive might be defect. Please contact your dealer (place of purchase) for assistance

Q5: Upon placing an empty DVD+R disc within the drive and starting Nero, Nero reports that the disc only has 4.38GB of space though the disc itself clearly states that it has 4.7GB available. Can you shed any light on this matter?

Answer:

Basically, the confusion around this issue is caused by the use of different systems in the industry. Some people use the definition of 1 KB = 1,000 Bytes, others go by the official (and basically correct) definition of 1KB = 2 10 bytes = 1,024 Bytes.

So according to the above 2 systems, the total available space on a DVD ± R/RW Disc can be :

4.7GB è Unit is 1KB=1,000 Bytes, 4,700,000,000 / 1000 / 1000 / 1000 = 4.7GB or

4.38GB è Unit is 1KB= 1,024 Bytes, 4,700,000,000 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 = 4.38G

Actually, the available space is the same.

Q6: Do I need to use the bitsetting program ?

Answer:

Actually, you will only need to use the bitsetting program if you intend to use the burnt DVD disc on a home DVD player that does not support the disc type that you are using. For example, some home DVD players (usually older types !) can't play any DVD+R discs, so if that is the case with your home DVD player and you are using a DVD+R disc to copy a movie to, then the bitsetting utility enables you to change the disc type (so-called book type) from DVD+R to DVD Movie. The DVD Movie type can usually be read by any home DVD player. (see www.drvupdate.com for download Bitsetting)

Q7: Can I use the firmware for the 8X DVDRW drive on my 4X DVDRW drive?

Answer:

No, you can't! Using a firmware on any drive that was meant to be used by another drive model may seriously damage your drive ! Even if you manage to flash the firmware to the drive, chances are that the firmware may harm your drive due to specific parameters which were optimized for only one particular drive type, such as laser power settings, etc. which are optimized for one particular optical pickup. When using these settings on a drive with a different optical pickup, the pickup may be destroyed when the power is too high or may not work properly when the power is too low.

Q8: When playing an audio CD on my DRW1004IM (F/W 0049 or lower) the drive sometimes skips some segments. Is my drive defect?

Answer:

No, your drive is not defect. An audio playback issue has been found and solved in firmware version v0050, so please install this firmware to solve this problem (or higher).

Q9: I can't burn any DVD successfully, what can I do ?

Answer:

1. Make sure to use the latest firmware update (see www.drvupdate.com for more information);
2. Make sure to update the software that you are using to burn the DVD;
3. Make sure to use reliable, quality media (discs) that are supported by your drive (see the online media support list for your drive);
4. Make sure to use only 1 burning application in your PC; more than 1 burning application may conflict with each other by trying to simultaneously access the drive;

If you have taken the above measures and are still experiencing problems, then please send an e-mail to the technical support person that is responsible for your region. Check the website for more information.

Q10: After burning a Princo disc, which used to be mentioned on your online media support list, I can't read the data written on the disc when using it in other drives. What is wrong ?

Answer:

Your drive uses the so-called MID code (manufacturing ID) of each media to determine which writing parameters to use in order to make a successful burn. We have found, however, that there are Princo media on the market which have identical MID codes but different dyes. Different dyes require different writing parameters. However, the drive is not able to distinguish between the different dye types due to the fact that both type of media use the same MID code. It is therefore not possible to know for certain whether the Princo media you have bought will be compatible to your drive. In order to prevent problems, we therefore don't suggest using Princo media.

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