Thanks for any help guys. I can't find anything that says "firmware" when I click on My Computer/Device manager/CD/DVD Drives/ then I click on the drive.
From the Device Manager, right click on the drive and select 'Properties' then the 'Details' tab, it lists the drive ID and should show the firmware version.
Also if you have 'IMGBurn' installed, click 'Tools' > 'Drive' > 'Check firmware', it shows the version.
Nero Tools also can tell you.
Ok, thanks. So I have updated to the newest firmware. Now here's my problem, see if you can help. I have been backing up all my dvd's to different brands of DVD+R media for quite a while. Then every once and a while I will make a copy from that back up and it will work fine. But now, it seems that my drive will not recognize my backed up copy when I put it in. I've had this problem when I tried to us DVD-R media too.
Any idea why all the sudden it would stop working?
What's the brand name,model#,and firmware version of your dvd-rw drive?
Some burners are like stand alone players. They can be picky as to what media(MID code) they'll play,even their own backups.
The backups that don't get recognized,play them in some other stand alone players,game consoles,or pc drives. Make sure they are playable.
HP and Philips are a couple brand names I stay away from. They,like most other brand name media,outsource their media to different manufacturers.Here's an example of 3 different manufacturers for the Philips +8x-courtesy of dogbomb:
1 batch you got a hold of may have been ricohs,next batch cmags or philips. HP,maxell,sony,TDK,Memorex,and just about any other brand name does it.The dash format is outsourced,just like the plus format. This is whay Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim are highly recommended.
Burn speed,paper sticker labels, burn engine,crappy burner,and how they were stored can factor in as well. All these variations can give a picky drive fits. Also all the little errors on your 1st backup disc can add up when you decide to rip them later and get into the dreaded CRC errors.
Best way to prevent this:
1)Booktype the plus format to dvd-rom in the 1st place-again,depending on what drive and what programs you have.