Hi I just exchanged my Sony (peice of Crap) DVD burner for the Pioneer DVR-106D. However because I'm treating my self to a new system in a couple of months I decided to make it an external drive with FireWire so I can swap it to my new system. So my questions are... 1) IDE vs Firewire. Is they're any difference? Is one more stabble than the other? 2) I looked up Firmware updates for the drive. I found this site http://www.pioneeraus.com.au/multimedia/software/software_files.htm . However the update for the firmware says "This update is for IDE (internal)only not firewire(external). Does this mean I am screwed? Or will the drive not work properly. I have'nt hooked it up yet, I'm still at work and have just picked it up. Any advice would be appreciated.
I've set up a few of these drives via IDE and had no problem at all. Now that is what I do for a living; fix hardware and build computers. I've also helped other people on this board with these drives hooked up externally using USB. This seems to cause some issues. I haven't seen the firewire connection; is there a firewire connection in the drive, or does the drive connect into an external adapter; a boot you might call it? If it connects to the adapter there will be no advantage to connecting using firewire, as although firewire is faster than IDE, the signal has to get converted from firewire to IDE.
Thanks fo the reply. The DVD burner is in a case. And I guess the case has a Firewire Adapter. Does that make sense? Should I expect problems because I can't update the firm ware? Or should it be fine?
I would say if the manufacturer is saying not to update the firmware, then don't. A partially failed or partially applied firmware will cause the drive to stop functioning. I always say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Seeing as your burner is in the case the only advantage is it's more portable than a standard IDE drive. As I said, firewire is faster, but the final comunications come through the IDE port on the drive. Imagine you upgrade the plumbing in your house to 2 inch thick pipes; in the hopes of getting better water pressure. If the sevice coming in has to pass through a 1/2 inch adapter; you won't see any increase inside.
LOL! Great plumbing analogy. Thanks for the help. That clears things up. Well I'm going to go home now and try out the new drive hopfully this drive will work. I'll post my results.
