ok, i had the pioneer 109 dvd writer then after a few months the writer would not write faster than 4x or it would fail and also the used read buffer is going crazy from 100% dropping to nearly 0% constantly. I thought the writer maybe faulty or the media i was using didn't go well with it, so first i changed media (same problem) then i took my writer back to the retailer and replaced it (same problem). then i had a grudge against pioneer writers because i thought they were unstable, anyway I have replaced ide cable tested RAM and even changed motherboard (same problem). So a few days ago I had enough and went and bought the sony dual layer dvd rw dru-810A, now i have 2 dvd writers and guess what! (same problem) with both writers. Now I understand the problem isn't the writers, the only ideas i have now is the hard drive maybe faulty or maybe i have to buy a really good motherboard.
I agree with creaky it sounds like a DMA, PIO issue.
PIO information is processed only by CPU
DMA information is processed threw RAM
That is why your buffer level is probably going up in down cause its in PIO mode. The CPU is getting information from DVD-ROM then has to proccess it which is why your buffer is lowering. It stops reading the DVD-ROM to proccess the information it has. Then reads DVD-ROM again buffer will go up, then it will go down again cause its CPU is processing the information again.
But anyway do that creeky sugested and go to the site to get it back in DMA mode.
ok, im a little concerned with deleting registry files. I have gone in to device management and tried to change it to dma but the only option there is is "use dma if available"
do u think that the reason it isn't using dma is because of a memory problem because i have 1x 512 ddr & 2x 256 ddr, maybe if i bought another 512 ddr and dont use the 256 memory so that the memory is identical, do u think this may fix it?
Checking and setting the DMA settings is an important part of configuring PC for recording DVDs.
From Microsoft:
"Basically, DMA or Direct Memory Access is a system that allows devices in your computer to transfer data directly to and from RAM without having to use the CPU as an intermediary. This boosts the performance of your PC significantly as not only the device from which the data is being read responds quickly, but also leaves the most important component, the CPU, free for other critical operations. However, the UDMA or the Ultra direct memory access is further advancement over the DMA technology that uses even higher data transfer rate thereby boosting the overall performance of the PC.
For repeated DMA errors. Windows XP will turn off DMA mode for a device after encountering certain errors during data transfer operations. If more that six DMA transfer timeouts occur, Windows will turn off DMA and use only PIO mode on that device.
In this case, the user cannot turn on DMA for this device. The only option for the user who wants to enable DMA mode is to uninstall and reinstall the device. Windows XP downgrades the Ultra DMA transfer mode after receiving more than six CRC errors. Whenever possible, the operating system will step down one UDMA mode at a time (from UDMA mode 4 to UDMA mode 3, and so on).
If the mini-IDE driver for the device does not support stepping down transfer modes, or if the device is running UDMA mode 0, Windows XP will step down to PIO mode after encountering six or more CRC errors. In this case, a system reboot should restore the original DMA mode settings.
All CRC and timeout errors are logged in the system event log. These types of errors could be caused by improper mounting or improper cabling (for example, 40-pin instead of 80-pin cable). Or such errors could indicate imminent hardware failure, for example, in a hard drive or chipset.
NOTE-IT CAN AND WILL SAY DMA AND WILL BE IN PIO MODE if the 6 time outs are used
Sometimes the DMA/PIO mode "sticks" and won't change when you try to select DMA.
You can delete the secondary channel IDE controller from Control Panel. Then reboot your system and the system will reinstall the controller when you reboot. This often fixes this problem.
Ok first off changing the ram isnt going to effect if your drive is in PIO or DMA mode.
How do you have the DVD-Burrner connected to your motherboard?
Do you have 2 CD/DVD drives on the same IDE Cable?
If so set your DVD burrner to MASTER with the jumper and place it at the end of the IDE cable then set the second drive to slave with the jumper and place it in the middle of the IDE cable.
If your hard drive and DVD-burrner are on the same cable then its best to put them both on thier seperate IDE cable. So if you have another IDE slot get another IDE cable and place the DVD-Burrner on its own cable and set it to master.
If you dont have an extra slot and your Hard drive and DVD-Burrner are on the same cable then make your hard drive Master setting it at the end of cable and then setting your DVD/burner as slave in the middle of the IDE cable.
Now after you have made sure the drives are installed right go into your device manager and choose the IDE Controlers and check each IDE channel to make sure it is running in DMA mode. If 1 of them is running in PIO mode then that is the problem. Try changing the drive to DMA mode. If it wont let you change it from PIO mode to DMA mode then uninstall the channel and restart your computer. Windows should then reinstall the drive in DMA mode.
ok, ive checked everything (ide master slave ect. and I have uninstalled secondry ide drivers and now the settings are UDMA but the problem is still there, any last ideas apart from throwing my com out the f*cking window!
