I recently bought an LG GSA 4040B DVD-Writer drive. I've successfully flashed the latest firmware to it, and it's set as the master drive. It can read all types of media, except for DVD-R and DVD+R. I've tried two different brands but Windows and every DVD recording program I've tried has failed to detect it. I've also tried reinstalling Windows, but to no avail. I'm running Windows XP Pro. Anyone know how I can fix this problem? Thanks.
Did you try it before you flashed it? Does it show up properly in Device Manager? Is DMA enabled? Download Nero's Info tool and see if it is listed in the various tabs with the proper firmware/DMA etc. http://www.cdspeed2000.com/go.php3?link=download.html
Before I flashed it, it still couldn't read DVD-R and DVD+R. That was the main reason why I flashed it. It reads DVD-RW and DVD+RW fine, which is the strangest part. If it reads the RW media, shouldn't it be able to read the R media? I also ran Nero's info tool. It lists all supported read features, except for CD+G, and write features are all checked except for Mount Rainier. The drive is sitting on my main IDE channel with DMA on. Is there a way that I can fully disable cd writing on this drive? If that's the case, I may be able to force the drive to write to DVDs only.
A confusing problem. Have you tried to burn a DVD-R or a CD-R yet? In the Nero Info tool under the ASPI tab do you have a green box that says 'ASPI is installed and working properly'? In device manager all looks good? and Region 1 (usa I assume) is selected? Where did the -RW discs come from that it will read? Are these ones you burned? The LG is pretty picky about 4X media, I've found 2X RitekG03's to be be a nice match and 2X Princo's work OK. Can it play store bought DVD's? I don't think there is a way to disable CD writing only I also have XP Pro. Use Nero, burnatonce, DVD Decrypter, InstantCopy 8, Power DVD 4 and DVD Shrink with no problems. Have you been able to rip a store bought DVD with DVD Decrypter?
I've burnt CD-Rs successfully, and when I try to burn DVDs, the programs will either ask me to insert a disc, or in Nero's case, wait for the drive to become ready. In the Nero Info tool, everything is working just fine. Region is also set properly and everything in the device manager looks fine too. The DVD-R media is 4x and is manufactured by a generic company, whereas the DVD+R media is 4x and manufactured by Memorex. When I burn to DVD-RW, I successfully use Nero and DVDshrink in conjunction with one another, which also includes ripping store bought / rented DVDs. You're probably right about the pickiness of the media speed though, but I'd really like to get 4x to work, as I spent $80 on a spindle of DVD-Rs.
Well it must be a media problem, you can read this review for some ideas, but I imagine you will not like what you see when it comes to 4X media and the LG. http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/126
Alright, thanks a bunch for your help. I'm going to wait for the new firmware to be released, and hopefully it should resolve some issues. Apparantly A301 isn't available to the general public yet.
Here is a possible (but strange) solution for everyone who can't burn at 4X on DVD-R media that says 4X on the box - 1. Update to latest firmware first (A302) - check out some of the forums for the exact location (why does LG make it so hard to find!!) 2. Buy a small or single pack of more expensive discs that have been proven (by others on this site) to burn at 4x - Maxwell or Sony are the two I'd recommend. 3. Burn a DVD at 4X (which is such a pleasure since I was having the exact same problems as everyone else stuck at 2x) 4. Now go back to the cheaper DVD-R media (E3 Works for example) and they will forevermore show up in Nero (ver. 6.0.0.11 or 6.0.0.19) and burn at 4x !! strange but true! Hope this helps. _X_X_X_X_X_[small]FyveAlyve[/small]
i have this drive and i have not updated the bios but the only problem writting a dvd has been with star trek 6 the undiscovered country...it paused twice during playback (inconsiquential). I then ripped it to hard drive with smart ripper and then burned it to dvd using intervideo dvdcopy and that copied the disc without any pauses...it seems to me that the software you use to compile the disc has a lot to do with it.I have made several discs with dvd x copy platinum also...but that is the program that created the pauses...dvd x copy copied other discs fine...
in addition to that...i have a lg cd burner w/dvd reader in it...i rip the discs by using the dvd reader then burn them with the dvd burner...maybe people should put a regular dvd reader in their computer and read the disc from the dvd reader and write with the dvd writer...my 2 drives: lg 4040b dvd writer (write dvd) lg 4520b 52x24x52 w/16x dvd reader (rip dvd to hard drive)
dan111: If you mean that the drive becomes locked (tray won't open but windows detects the drive ok) after flashing to A302, it only means that you've misflashed it. If so, it's broken for good. Happened to me the other week.
i have recently installed a lg-4040b dvd burner and is only recognizing it as a cd-drive too, it only reads and writes cd's. it cannot read or write any sort of dvd's, its set to slave on my secondary ide 8200, P4 2ghz, 256mb, windows xp any suggestions
