I have searched the forums and there has been many discussions on my problem (buffer underrun and power calibration error) but nothing exactly relating to what I have observed. I have included all the information as all the problems may be linked.
My system:
P4 2.8Ghz
1026MB DDR RAM
1 20Gig (master) and 1 80Gig (slave) hard disks
Windows 2000 pro
Nero 6 and Easy DVD creator 6
My problem:
I purchased a new Ricoh 4x MP5240A DVD+R/RW drive in January. I burned about 30 DVDs with it no problem. Then about 2 weeks ago the burner refused to start burning and Easy DVD creator said I had a power calibration failure. I got this error using Nero 6 too.
I left the burner for a few days and when I tried to use it again it worked perfectly for 2 more DVD burns. Then the next day I had the same problem again with the power calibration error. This continued to happen for a few weeks, working fine for 1 or 2 burns and then a power calibration error. I have another combi drive (CD-RW/DVD-ROM) attached as a slave on the same cable so I removed that to see if it was affecting my Ricoh drive but I still got the same problem. I searched the forums here and discovered it is possible that the lense is dirty if one gets such errors. So I got a DVD cleaning disk (the type with the little brushes) After I cleaned the DVD drive I still got the calibration error. After trying a few times Easy DVD creator crashed and when I restarted it it did not recognise my Ricoh DVD drive. However, it gave me an error message saying I needed to re-install the software. So I uninstalled Esay DVD creator 6 and tried a fresh install. The strange this was that I could explore my Easy DVD creator installation disk with my Ricoh drive but when I clicked on the install icon I got an error telling me that it was not possible to install the software due to low memory or a corrupt .cab file. I tried three times (restarting the computer each time) but it was still not possible to install the software. So, I put the Easy DVD Creator installation disk into my secondary drive and it worked fine the first time and the software could recognise my Ricoh drive again. Then I tried to burn some DVDs but this time I got a buffer underrun error after buring only 1MB of data. I tried 3 times and I got the same error, ruining 3 DVD+Rs :( I had been using the same DVD+R media all the time, which was Tevion 4x DVD+R. I recently started using Tevion 8x DVD+Rs but my drive didn't seem to have any problem with these as I had already burned 2 or 3 of them before I got the calibration error and I have burned a further 5 since the problem started. Is it possible that the x8 DVD+Rs have confused the drive somehow? I have tried also to burn again with x4 DVD+Rs but that doesn't work either. The really strange thing is if I put a blank CD-R in my Ricoh drive it recognises it as a music CD and when I explore the CD it says it has 1KB of data on it but the CD was still open and had free space for burning. I opened a new pack of CD-Rs and tested 3 of the CDs. These were also seen as music CDs with 1kb of data. When I put these CDs in my laptop and on my secondary drive on my PC they are just seen as normal blank CDs. Anyway I tried to burn data onto these CD-Rs, using my Ricoh drive but yet again I got a buffer underrun during the writing of the the lead-in.
I still have the same firmware the drive was shipped with because up to now I had no problems with it. Do you think it would be benificial to upgrade to the latest firware?
Shouldn't the buffer underrun and burnproof technology prevent a buffer underrun? Is it possible to check if these features are enabled? Are they symptoms of a misaligned laser beam?
I'm lost for ideas.
Thanks for your help.
Power calibration errors are cause mostly by poor media.(Cheap Brand CD/DVD disks) Try using a different brand such as TDK'S, some Memorex, SONY and of course Ritek G04's or Branded Verbatim. Dont waste your good cash on cheap disks.
There are commercial lens cleaning disks available ; but i found that using a small cotton swab with a dab of cleaning fluid same as you use on video tape machines heads, quite often will solve that problem.
Hi Jazzanova, Welcome to AD. Many members here have had problems with Roxio software when burning DVD's. Roxio doesn't work well when installed with other burning programs like Nero. It is usually suggested that Roxio be removed from the system and Nero be used as the main burning program. I think you should at least try this first. Also as suggested, try a good brand of blank media like Ritek. Poor quality media will cause the errors you are getting. Stay away from Memorex media at this time. It is considered poor quality since they purchase the blanks from other companies that make cheap media.
Quote:Try using a different brand such as TDK'S, some Memorex, SONY and of course Ritek G04's or Branded Verbatim.
Memorex ... crap
Sony ... over priced crap
TDK ... 1/2 n 1/2 :)
Branded Verbatim and Branded Ritek's ... great stuff.
I would also definitely see if your burner has a firmware update. As far as Nero and Roxio, like Jerry746 said ... Nero and Roxio tend to fight. Uninstall both, pick one and re-install. (go for Nero!!).
Quote:I left the burner for a few days and when I tried to use it again it worked perfectly for 2 more DVD burns. Then the next day I had the same problem again with the power calibration error. This continued to happen for a few weeks, working fine for 1 or 2 burns and then a power calibration error.
Also check to see if your pc is overheating, remove the covers, if ya can put fans on both sides, and try to burn.
Are you running any other programs while your trying to burn?
Hi Guys/Gals,
Thanks for your help. The next time I booted my computer after posting here Nero or Ez DVD creator would not recognise my Rioch drive as a burner. So I removed both programs (as suggested by Jerry and Flip). Then I installed Nero on its own but it still didn't recognise my drive. I then uninstalled Nero and installed Ez DVD creator but my driver was again not recognised. Like I said in my original post I had tried to remove my slave combi CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive from the cable and it did not work. However, as it is simple to do I thought I would give it another quick try. When I booted up my computer my Rioch drive was recognised and my blank DVD+R and CD-R media were recognised. So, I attempted to burn some data. So, far I have burned 2 DVD+Rs and 2 CD-Rs without any problems ...... wooooohoooo! :P However, when I discovered the first problem with the power calibration errors the drive also worked fine for 2 or 3 burns. I'm going to try burn a few more DVDs tonight and see if I am still problem free. Fingers crossed!!
Hope I don't have to come back to this thread again but I'll keep it open for the next few days just in case.
Thanks again!
Well the next time I booted my computer I got the calibration error when I tried to burn a DVD. I have waited for a few days to see if it would work like before, which was that it would sucessfully burn 1 or 2 DVDs and then a calibration error would occur and it would not work again for a few more days. However, I have not successfully burned a DVD since my last post :( Then I tried to update the firmware. I have double checked to make sure I downloaded the correct version for my drive and I have followed the instructions exactly as they say but I get an error everytime I try to update. It says "Cannot change Drive to Up Mode". I think I might have to bring it back to the store where I bought it ..... grrrrrr!! Unless any of you guys have some ideas?
Thanks.
