Okay I hate to drag on a thread that has already been answered, but I need to be sure.
I have a Dell XPS GEN 3 I bought 9/04. It has a Phillips DVD+RW/CD-RW model DVD8601 combo drive. I am assuming this is the same drive discussed in all other post here. Like the posts before I have found that Phillips does not even have the drive on their site/support page.
I had never used the DVD+R until recently. I have used the CD-R and it worked great. I bought Memorex DVD+R 8X disks and tried to copy a DVD of my nieces church ceremony. Twice it failed due to the same errors. The Memorex disks had this little note in them stating that a firmware upgrade is needed if you are using a 2.4x DVD+RW/+R drive or you will get errors.
Now the online documentation at Dell for this drive http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/storage/P75084/en/specs.htm says the write speed is "Write: 2.4X, 4X, 8X, 16X (DVD+R)" and the "Write: 2.4X, 4X (DVD+RW)" so I have a 16X drive right? Not a 2.4X. So I should not need this firmware update that Memorex mentions right?
It does not exist at Phillips anyways! So my next question is, do I have to do the mentionioned BenQ crossflash stuff to make my drive work? Do I need to do the BenQ to beable to ever get firmware updates?
Thanks!
Not sure why I flashed since the -r media is inferior to the +r but I flashed my drive anyway, but with a much easier method. You only have to dl 2 things and no hex editing is involved. You can search over on http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92
Before finding this forum I found a firmware update on the Dell support site for my Philips DVD8601. After flashing the drive, I still have not been able to burn a dual layer DVD+R. I have tried to follow the 3 step process to change the firmware (including using a hex editor on the B5G9.exe program), but receive an error message saying that this firmware version (KD10) cannot be updated. What do I need to do to be able to burn a dual layer DVD with this drive?
Use a Hex editor on B5G9.exe to change the checksum of B5A9 (the checksum of the original Benq DW1600) to 6D11 (the checksum of the firmware in the Philips 8601). Details of the edit are
Location: Original Value -> New Value
F390: 42 -> 36
F391: 35 -> 44
F392: 41 -> 31
F393: 39 -> 31
Run the edited B5G9.exe. It will apply its firmware modification to the Philips 8601, turning it into a Benq DW1600.
