Can't Burn faster than 4X on nero

I have been trying to burn at 8X using Nero 6.6.0.6 but have had no luck. I have an LG GSA-4160B in an external USB 2.0 enclosure connected to my laptop with a USB2.0/Firewire PCMCIA card. I have tried both CMC and TDX 8X discs with the same results

I don't get any coasters but I just can't seem to burn at the speed it is supposed to be able to do. I have trawled through the forums with no success (check DMA, defrag the disk etc). I am confident it is not the transfer speed. A speed check on Nero indicates I should be able to transfer at 13X. Transferring files to an external USB HDD easiy out performs the 11,000kBps required for an 8X burn.

Although I don't have the SCSI error described in this thread http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/102002 I have tried all the suggestions with no luck.

Whenever I attempt an 8X burn, the buffer fluctuates between 99% and 30% for about 10mins and then stablises at 99%. The burn completes in about 30min, equivalent to 2X. When burning at 4X, this buffer is stable at 99% orvery close to it.

I'm not sure what else to try. I've noticed that nero 6.6.0.8 is out but the release notes do not indicate anything that will help me. Does anybody have any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

the buffer fluxuation is most likely the reason, but then you have to ask why you have buffer fluxuation like that. I use an external 4x burner and when I burn DVD files from my hard drive it does burn at 4x and takes about 15 minutes total. But when I burn disc to disc it takes a little longer, usually around 20 minutes and my buffer is constantly jumping up and down. I think this takes longer just because of the read rate on my DVD ROM in the laptop.

Is it your read or write buffer that fluxuates or both? When I burn straight from hard drive both are at about 100% all the time, but when I go disc to disc my read buffer isn't even used and my write buffer is the one jumping around like crazy. One day it started getting weird and when burning disc to disc it would take about a half hour and read buffer hung around 50%. I fixed this by uninstalling and reinstalling Nero. Try this, maybe it'll work for you.

Also check for firmware updates for your burner and Nero updates. I hope this helps some.

 

I'm not sure which one you mean by that but it's the buffer with the the small bar graph at the bottom of the burning disc dialog window.

I'll try this out tonight with 6.6.0.8

 

Maybe your processor or RAM is getting tapped out by the burn process. The software seems to be doing its job if you can burn at 4x without any problems. So that really only leaves a hardware issue. Check for firmware upgrades for your burner too.

 

Just uninstalled Nero and re-installed 6.6.0.8 with no luck.

I'm doing all the burns without anything else running so the processor utilisation doesn't go above 15% and around 200MB(out of 512MB) of RAM is always available.

The drive is at the latest firmware level of A303.

 

what kind of processor you have? Speed?

 

PIII 700MHz. I also tried it on my work's laptop with a Pentium M 1.4GHz.

The reference to the CPU and memory was on the PIII laptop. I was watching the performance tab under the Windows task Manager. I know is an older laptop, but the performance graphs do not indicate that it is CPU ..... or am I wrong there?

 

I don't know what to say. Have you ever been able to burn at 8x? Some people have problems burning anything faster than 4x. Personally, I've never tried faster than 4x, I don't have the burner to do it. Unless someone else has some advice for you, looks like you might just be stuck burning at 4x.

 

I have never been successful, but I also have never had them fail .... they just burn at 2X if I chose 8X.

 

many reasons for that .. My friend !

1) your PIII 700Mhz is below minimum to handle dvd processing. (Nero specs are :For DVD and video authoring:
- 1.2Ghz Intel® Pentium III process or equivalent
- 128MB RAM )You have the RAM but the processor is very slow.


2) The media you use could be of low quality

3) Nero has a built-in module where it checks the quality of the burn and slows it down to achieve a good burn

4) Some burners have their own internal monitor to ensure the laser is doing a clean burn.

Anyone of those 4 factors you must consider.

 

Thanks for the reply Jeanc1. In reference to your four points:

1) If the PIII is the minimum, where would the bottleneck be? I've looked at the CPU utlisation under task amanger and it doesn't go above 15% (assuming burning is the only thing I'm doing). I've also tried on a current generation laptop with a 1.4GHZ Pentium M with the same result.

2) I tried both CMC and TDK ..... are they both of dubious quality, that I should try a third brand?

3) where can I find more info on this? Can be tweaked? Can it be overidden?

4) sames as 3, where can I find more info on this? Can be tweaked? Can it be overidden?

One other note, I have also tried in simulation mode and experienced the same behaviour. at 4X the buffer is fairly stable and rarely goes below 90% and completes in 15Mins or so. While if I choose 8X the buffer will fluctuate between 30% and 99% and then stabilise at 90%+ after 10mins, but the burn finishes in about 30mins.

 

What about that burner is it connected to a USB2 with a GOOD cable ? -- as for the utilisation you see in your Task Manager -- take that with a lot of leeway -- what counts is the performance of your whole system -- the FSB has to be considered and you have an external burner !

Media.. there are good and bad stuff .. TY are very good.

Tweaking Nero software -- NO

Tweaking your burner -- look on the manufacturer site if they have a new firmware that speeds up the hardware. -- maybe a hacked firmware from Dangerous Bros. --- best you look yourself.


But But But -- in closing.. Dont forget .. Burning slow is GOOD. Grab a coffee.. and let it go.

Goood Luck

 

I looked at the nero web site because it does not make any sense with my use of the software as the processor is not exactly working hard. On closer examination of the system requirements, the website only refers to them as general system requirements. I'm not capturing video, I'm not compressing a video to fit on a single layer disc, I'm not authoring or editng a video, or any processor intensive task. I'm just trying to burn a disc, so doesn't that just simply come down to I/O speed. Certainly the anecdotal evidence in the CPU performance seems support this.

I have also tried to burn a DVD data disc as well with the same result. Doesn't that fit under the:

Nero general system requirements?

As mentioned earlier I tried it on a faster laptop with no change. I think it must be something to do with your other points but I don't know what else to try, and would appreaciate any pointers.

Thanks.

 

Am not gonna enter in an argument with you ~~ Smiles --

I gave you my opinion -- !

Good Luck in your search !

 

Fair enough. Thanks for your advice.

 

Try a new cable. People dismiss the cable as "that could never be the problem." Well, I've seen bad cables.

 

I've tried a few cables and it's not the cable, but I managed to work it out .... its the USB enclosure!!!!

I have a 3.5" USB enclosure that uses a Genesys GL811E chipset. Obviously I would not be able to put the DVD drive inside but I decided to test the drive with it by just connecting the cables and leaving the drive outside the enclosure.

I did, however get the SCSI command aborted errors described in http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/102002. I just UNCHECKED high compatiblity mode and everything was OK and was able to burn at 8X.

Let me summarise for the benefit of other users who may be experienceing similar problems:

I am using a Pentium III 700Mhz laptop with 512MB RAM, and a PCMCIA USB2.0/Firewire combo card. The DVD drive is an LG GSA-4160B in and external USB2.0 enclosure. I am using Nero 6.6.0.8.

The original 5.25" enclosure which used a Cypress 68300A chipset could not burn faster than 4X. Any attempts at 8X end up with a burn at 2X. The only symptom was that the buffer fluctated from 99% to around 30% continuously for 10min after which it stabilised. However, there were never any errors, that is, all burns completed adn verified successfully.

I then used the cables and interface from a 3.5" enclosure which used a Genesys GL811E chipset. The drive was left outside the box as obviously it would not fit. In this case I got the SCSI command aborted error. I UNCHECKED the high compatiblity mode and it worked, successfully burning at 8X, and the buffer maintained its level above 90%.

Now I just have to get the enclosure exchanged with one that will work.

Thanks for all your suggestions and help.

 

ha i know im almost 2 months behind here but what case do you have ...i have a me-320 series firewire + usb2 combo (where do i find the chipset info ...its not on the box or in the manual) -i used to use the firewire but my comp is trash n i gotta send it in to get it fix ...so i use my usb1.1 for the next week or so and i choose to write at 1x or 2x (ps2 back-ups) and it inly writes at .6-.7 ...i know usb1.1 has transfer speeds of 12mb/s so shouldnt i be able to do this??

any way could you let me know what external you get ...ill search for one with that chip-set too but itd b nice if i already know of one that works :->

btw just thought id add this in:
im usin a hp pavillion ze4400 (AMD 4 2400 ~1.8GHz) 256ram 40gb (round 10free most times) and a lg gsa-4160b internal drive in a me-320 series combo external casing that i bought from extremepcgear.com, theyre sellin a similar one now that suports up to 400gb hd (mine supports 300gb) -but that one doesnt have the name of the chipset either. i use ridata 8x dvd-r 4.7 gb disc (purple surface) <- the cds and drive are top of the line so i kno there not the problem ...right?

now my comp is a $1300 piece of toilet paper but i have NEVER made a 100% working (when its jus data i can access some of it) dvd when i use firewire (makes cds just fine) and i cant go over 4x but has never actually written that fast - but it has made a couple ones that work (no ps2 games yet) over usb1.1 ...so its gotta be the case huh?!

edit: arg i jus saw somewhere that the chipset is the number on the black chip ...*whistlin smilie* but lucky for me mine was covered by a damn sticker so i scratched that off and got: PL-3507 so from prolific!

thnx
-nomad311

 

[bold]I agree....!!![/bold]

Zforum69, I would definitely try to upgrade the processor first. You might want to try and look around at newegg.com, and perhaps you might see something you like in there.

 

1X DVD speed is 1.32MB/s = 10.56Mb/s so it is certainly possible from a bandwidth point of view, as to whether you would get a successful or good burn I would have doubts as much of the media out there is not rated to be able to go that slow.

The one that I tested on was a generic brand manufactured in China and branded locally. Anyway it wasn't suitable for a DVD burner as it was only a 3.5" case, ie for HDD. I used it to try to isloate the problem to the USB case. I got it swapped for a firewire/USB2 5.25" case which used a PL-3507 chipset and that did the trick. It was not successful on the firewire interface but it did work on the USB2. I didn't pursue the firewire problem as I got the USB interface to work at 8X.

I'm really not in a position to say how good or bad the disc or drive is but there seems to be plenty of information and opinions on the forums.

USB 1.1 technically can only sustain a 1x burn.

You can try to update the firmware of the prolific chipset. I cannot do mine as it is an "A" version, only "B" or "C" versions can be updated. You can go to http://tech.prolific.com.tw for the firmware. You might want to consult the forum at http://forum.rpc1.org/viewtopic.php?t=25140 to see the experience of others.