I am trying to find the new firmware for my Cendyne DVR-105 Drive (4x) I tried the pioneer 1.21 firmware yesterday and it stopped @ 25% with "Failed to update kernel part" needless to say it wouldn't eject after that. I swapped it for a new one but it also comes with the 1.0 firmware. Is their a special version for the Cendyne or has anyone found a version for Pioneer that will work. I just don't want to kill another one with incorrect flash.
I purchased a CenDyne DVR-105 drive from Staples. As you probably already know, it is, in reality a Pioneer DVR-105. As with your drive, mine came with 1.00 firmware. I ran the Pioneer utility that indicates if your drive is up-to-date or not (it said it was, and also confirmed it was a true Pioneer unit). I then ran the firmware update, which worked just fine.
I've used the burner to correctly write a DVD-RW with no problem, but I've yet to make a DVD-R that will work. I'm going to try different media, but everything I've done so far fails at 1x burn speeds.
Don't know if it's the drive, the firmware, or the media, but I'm not a happy camper.
Good luck to you!
[Edited to say that Pioneer drives had version 1.0 firmware in them until late December, so I don't think the CenDyne is anything special. It identifies correctly as a Pioneer drive. Several media suppliers have posted version 1.0 firmware on their web sites as a fix for some cheaper media. The 1.21 firmware is only about a month old, and I've seen good & bad comments about it.]
Don't update the firmware. Apparently you can't use cheap dvd's to burn due to this updated firmware. Pioneer wants you to buy licensed media, which is a lot more expensive.
The Pioneer site says that the 1.21 specifically addresses some media issues (to allow more to burn at higher rates).
But in any event, any media should work at 1X. Everything I've read says the problem comes at higher rates.
I'm tempted to return the drive to staples and try another one (and keep the firmware at 1.0.
Finally, Memorex media isn't exactly cheap at $4 a disk! It isn't bulk, and it does say it's certified (whatever the heck that means). I've seen plenty of people who report using it at 1X, so I'm stumped....Is it me, or is it Memorex?!?
I bought a Cendyne -05 burner about two months ago. Updated the firmware to 1.21, and it burns perfectly to Apple, FujiFilm, and Ritek G04 blanks. Nice to see a full disk pop out in less than 15 minutes.
The whole point of authorizing only certain brands is to ensure that customers will be happy with the results. There is a lot of crap out there, and Pioneer doesn't want its name tarnished just because low-quality media was used.
BTW the Ritek blanks are now under $2 each in quantities of 25.
The problem I experienced with Memorex disks continues. I've even complained to Memorex and received replacement disks which still don't work. They have the most bizar burn pattern on the back. I Don't know what Memorex is doing that is wrong, but they sure don't work in this particular drive for me.
Meanwhile, TDK, Ritek and several other media burn just fine, 100% of the time!
Ritek media, which is 4X speed, is $45 for 25 ($1.80)through shop4tech.com. UPS shipping is free. I've now burned almost 50 disks on my burner and haven't had a single coaster.
By the way, I've had zero trouble with the 1.21 firmware. Everything I've read indicates that I did the right thing by upgrading my Cendyne/Pioneer.
I sold mine on ebay and bought a Sony DRU-500AX which burns 4x DVD+R and 4x DVD-R the weird thing is this, the media that burned at 1x on the Pioneer/Cendyne now burns at 2x on the Sony. I have went through about 20 disc so far with no troubles, I never had any trouble with the Pioneer either with the media just it wouldn't burn the disc at anything faster than 1x.
Do you have a Cendyne, and if so, could you please let us know how we can find the firmware 1.21 for Cendyne dvd-105? I went to the Pioneer Australian site to get the firmware 1.21 (not sure it is the same as American version), but the Australian version does not recognize Cendyne. I have a Cendyne with firmware 1.0, and I have lots of problem with Memorex DVD-R, but none whatsoever with Memorex DVD-RW. Thanks!!
Do you mean the DVR-105 (burner) or the DVD-105 (reader)? Here is the link to the US site. Since the link is about the burner, I assume that's what you wanted. Here is the link to the US site with firmware updates:
Don't know if it will work for you or not (maybe region settings are an issue, but my drive came up and asked me which region I was in the first time I accessed it.)
Run the CHKRW program and see what it says about your drive before you update it.
