HL-DT-ST DVD+RW GWA4164B problem

Hi DJM,

If you have not done so, jump over to Sonic`s Web site and apply the latest available update for your version. See if this helps.

Best Regards





God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.

---

CD/RW Link

Hi there, thanks for responding pretador , the machine I will be fixing (trying to) is not where I'm at now and I won't be there untill tomorrow, so could you give me a couple of things to try if that fails to do fix the issue. Also I have heard that sonic has some kind of security feature built in that prevents you copying music and locks up your drive , is that utter nonsense or should I uninstall it. I've read up a bit about removing upper and lower filters and etc , what would you suggest if updating sonic fails. Plus it still strikes me as strange how it will burn once and then not again , when I think about it , it sounds like a hardware breakdown , but i've only used it once???

Many thanks again for you taking time to help me.

I just bought a Dimension 9150 with this DVD drive and I cannot burn DVD+R disks (the one CD-R I burned was okay). I have tried both Sonic and DeepBurner. Here are the details. Do I have a defective drive? Or is this thing just a piece of junk?

HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GWA4164BD108 DVD burner.
Dell Dimension 9150 XP-SP2 computer - 1 GB RAM, 160 GB SATA hard drive.

Using DeepBurner I tried to burn a DVD+R disk at 16x speed (files filled all but 92,776,448 of space on DVD). I used a TDK DVD Recordable, 16x, 4.7 GB, 2 hrs. DVD +R disc. Using Sonic Digital Media Studio v7 software, I had two disk failures about half way through (see below - all the details I know). Do I have a hardware unit problem? A speed setting problem? A disk problem? What? The settings for DeepBurner were default settings. No changes to CONFIGURE TOOLS.

Error message from DeepBurner - hardware error - spindle servo failure

Sonic - I have tried twice now to burn DVD +R disks and both times the burn gets about half-way through (I can see the bands on the burn side of the disk and they stop at about halfway across the disk), then stops and gives me an error. It says, "There was a problem writing to the disk. You can try again . . ." The details are as follows:

1st failure

Sense: 03 ASC: 02 ASCQ: 00 (Command 2A)
-------------------------------------------------------
Px.dll: 2.4.35.500
pxdrv.dll: 1.1.49.0
PxMas.dll: 2.4.35.500
PxSFS.DLL: 2.2.45.500
PxWave.dll: 2.4.35.500
pxwma.dll: 1.0.0.3

2nd failure

Sense: 04 ASC: 09 ASCQ: 03 (Command 2A)
-------------------------------------------------------
Px.dll: 2.4.35.500
pxdrv.dll: 1.1.49.0
PxMas.dll: 2.4.35.500
PxSFS.DLL: 2.2.45.500
PxWave.dll: 2.4.35.500
pxwma.dll: 1.0.0.3

I can't believe something is wrong with both disks. They are TDK DVD Recordable, 16x, 4.7 GB, 2 hrs. DVD +R. I am trying to burn data files, not music, not video. What is wrong? I can burn CD-RW's and DVD+RW disks using drag-and-drop (DLA), but the burn "DISK AT ONCE, Closed" type of burning does not work (Mode 1 - ISO + Joliet - I only need to use the discs for one recording settings - no verify).

I can watch pre-recorded DVD disks just fine. I don't seem to have any trouble reading data off other CD's and DVD's. So it does not seem like a fault with the DVD hardware. I believe the speed settings are on MAX.

Last Sunday I set my recording speed to 8x, then tried to burn a DVD+R using DeepBurner. It took about 8 or 9 minutes to burn the DVD, which was filled almost to capacity. Apparently the recording speed change did not affect the actual recording speed using DeepBurner (a free program for burning CD's and DVD's - I hate that stupid Sonic junk we were given). DeepBurner still showed me 2 speeds - MAX and 16x. I choose MAX. Anyway, whatever the reason, the DVD burned properly. Maybe it was just luck - I don't know. I have not had cause to burn another DVD+R.

I have exactly the same problem. The workaround is to set the max write speed to 4x. It works fine then. Hardly a solution though. 16x is what I paid for and 16x is what I expect! What I am finding is that when the drive attempts to reach maximum speed it suddenly drops down to a stop. This is when the write error message appears. It isn't just Sonic software that fails like this. Alcohol 120% and Nero both generate the exact same fault. The drive is at fault and there is no support for it whatsoever. Looks like yet another lengthy call to Dell is in order.

Thanks for that. Will download DeepBurner and try this later.

I'm afraid DeepBurner did not work either. I am sure the drive must be at fault. I have tried Nero, Alcohol 120%, Sonic and now DeepBurner with not one successful burn over 4x recording speed. Dell are sending a replacement although I have my doubts as to whether this replacement will fair any better.

I had Dell send me a replacement, but then cancelled it as I got a good burn from DeepBurner last Sunday. I did not want to go through the hassle of replacing the drive only to find the same problem (or worse) - it's just too much aggravation. I figured that, gee, since my present unit burns CD-R's, CD-RW's, and DVD+RW's (using drag-and-drop) okay (and plays commercial DVD movies okay), how can a new drive do much better than that? Please let me know how your new drive fares. Are you able to burn all the other stuff I mentioned okay (i.e., is it just a problem with 8x or 16x DVD+R's)? I don't burn many of those because my backup needs aren't great (I use a 2nd hard drive for my main data backup) - and as long as DVD+RW works with drag-and-drop I can get away with a little disfunctionality. And it's somewhat comforting to know that it works okay at 4x (were you able to set DeepBurner to record at 4x? - my DeepBurner only showed me 2 settings - MAX and 16x). So it takes 32 minutes instead of 8. If I do it only twice a year, okay. Yes, I paid for 16x and should get it. Some day Dell will release a firmware update, I suppose. Life is imperfect, isn't it?

How did you set your drive to 4x speed?

Was it:

My Computer - right-clock on D drive - Properties - Recording - Select a write speed, select 4x?

What options did DeepBurner give you when you tried to burn the DVD? Was it MAX and 16x still? That's what mine said. I picked MAX and it burned okay (last Sunday).

Dell are sending me a replacement. They are also letting me keep the old drive so at least I can still use that for reading discs.

 

The unit works fine using any burning application up to 4x. Anything faster fails as soon as the speed picks up. I have not managed one successful burn greater that 4x on DVD+R. I experienced the same settings as you in DeepBurner. Other applications such as Nero let you select any speed up to the maximum the media supports. I will post here again when the new drive arrives. Wish me luck!

 

 

Good news!

Dell swapped out the drive for an identical spec Philips drive. Its records perfectly at any speed. I would suggest that anyone who has the same faults requests the same.