Sony DRU-530A unable to detect any type of disk

I agree with eric, rainman. Why go to all that trouble when it can be a virus or some kinda malware? I like http://www.pandasoftware.com for online virus scans.

As for the pio mode thing. Recently, I notice my burner was burning @ 1x. In device manager it said I was in pio mode. After messing with the settings, trying to force UDMA in the BIOS, and a bunch of other stuff, I changed the Sony to be the Master on the secondary channel. And things have been fine for 8 months as a slave. Go figger. Not the first time this has happened to me with a burner. Sometimes this works, disable dma, reboot, enable dma, reboot, and sometimes automagically things are normal again. Good luck

 

Hey, i was just curious, is it possible for the dru-530a to burn at 1x? ive been searching through the threads to see if its possible, because its suggested in order to burn ps2 games, you should burn at the lowest speed possible and for the 530 i get 2x as the lowest, in nero and dvd decrypter its always burning at 2x when ive set it to 1x, is there anyway to change that? or does it depend on the media?

 

Ok I finally came down to where the problem is
I removed all the software and the Operating system from the equation. and tryed swaping IDE
channels on the motherboard and it still failed.
Tryed forcing the DMA and PIO modes in the operating system and the BIOS. I hooked up another burner from another computer it it burns CD's and DVD's just fine

This is definitely a hardware issue with
Sony DRU-530A that somehow came to a head when I went and re burned a CDROM that was already burned in open mode and track at once using the last track and I tryed the new open volume mode as well this acted like it burned it but the data never went on the CD it jsut went thorugh the motions as it it opened session burned and then closed it out with no data on the rom getting burned at all.

No matter what DMA or PIO I used it would always
read the DVD but not the cdroms

Then I noticed that even on reboot
it would never even read the Cdroms on boot up
from a cold boot.......

It can't read linux windows or anything for that matter
it acts like it can even read the cdroms at all
and takes forever trying to figure out what they are ,and never is able to read them
.... but not on DVD's it acts normal with
DVD roms regional and regionless

This is Defiantly a hardware issue caused by
something from "Stomp Record Now Max" that caused the hardware
to either burn up a resistor or transistor
or something that has to do with reading the cdrom functions. Something somewhere has completely F@#$ed
up the Burner into trying to read any Cdrom
" Now no cdrom can be read or written "

but dvd's can be read and burned etc.
time to make another trip to the return department
and get a exchange for a different burner.....

and it sure as hell won't be this burner ever again
because somehow the Stomp Record now max screwed something in the burner when I went and tried to record
back onto an already written cd that was originally recorded in open mode. using 2 different methods
last track and new open volume.

There was something else I would like to mention
when you boot up with sound on and in PIO mode
the wav file would play clippy and stuttering
but in DMA mode it would play just fine.

The latest firmware update caused the cdrom reading
to take even longer then before. 2.1a *for me they can't even be read anymore.
and never effected the dvd performance at all.

I had a lot of fun with this burner until I did those
final things. burned a lot of dvd's and cd's
it worked great all the way through but never do
what I did until Sony fixes the problem.

Otherwise get ready to return it back to the store.

After calling Sony at
1-800-588-3847 and talking to them they told me
the drive is not supported on any server system platform and that it was only made for windows 95.98.ME.XP.2000 home editions and professional and or for home use only and that there is nothing they could do for me because I'm using a server operating system. So there is no support for me.....

 

That really blows, rainman. Do you have another system to put the burner in? Something caught my eye:

<<There was something else I would like to mention
when you boot up with sound on and in PIO mode
the wav file would play clippy and stuttering
but in DMA mode it would play just fine.<<

I'm not familiar with 2003, but I remember from the good old days of '98 that corrupted wav files can wreak havoc on your system. Have you checked for irq conflicts? I know a soundcard in pci slot 1 can cause problems too. I'd at least pull the soundcard if that's the case. Hope it works out for you.

_X_X_X_X_X_[small]Sil[/small]

 

Ok well time is now
7:33 PM----
Just got back from Comp USA and they gave me an exchange after 6 months lol
anyway now I'm dealing with a workable model
DRU-540A 12x4x8x4 this is a newer model then the last
Remember to also purchase the 19.95 ! year replacement plan so they can store your receipt in the computer incase ya lose that as well
and then they can just replace it in any store
no questions asked

Can someone please suggest some burning software I could use to do all sorts of dvd and cd burning that won't burn up a drive ......

I did try that 530a model ion the other computer again without anything attached except the data cable.
It seems after that firmware update ,that it was the straw that broke the camels back.

The sound file was not corrupt but something in the drive went corrupt and I was not going to open it up because then I would void warranty
but I could have trouble shot it down to the component level but in this case it was easier to figure out what caused it and get a exchange
and just not use the same burning software again and not try that re burn crap again lol.

If anyone needs to know
they can do reverse firmware updates on the Sony model
530A from version 1.0c-2.1a because I tried them all
and finally put it back to the store bought version

and there is a website that has those firmwares for the 530a model
the set firmware from 1.0c - 2.1a
http://www.cdfreaks.com/drive/511

make sure to update that aspi driver stuff as well
from the adaptech website
upgrade them to v4.71.2 or at least try to
it comes with a descent FAQ for troubleshooting as well.
http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/su...cat=/Product/ASPI-4.70&filekey=aspi_471a2.exe

 

Hey, nice going with the exchange.

As far as burning software, I use the bundled RecordNow!, DLA for packet writing, and Sonic DVD.

I'd say Nero Ultra is a must, if you want something else other than what Sony gave you. I think most would agree Nero is most compatible with just about any burner.

I also have 3 different video authoring programs by Ulead. I also use Ashampoo's burning suite- not needed, since I have Nero, but I got it on sale of the net for something like $7. Just remember not to have to different types of packet writing software. DLA works just fine for me, but you may want to use InCD if you get Nero. Good luck. Is that the dual layer burning model you got?

 

Since I think the problem was in the drive from the very begining I'm going to burn with that software
and see what happens and since I have a 1 year replacement in effect for free what do I have to lose.
lol.......
I think the drive was screwed up from the get go
and it just took the right combination to show it's
true colors this time we are on the 540-A and not the 530-A and burning with Sonic RecordNow MAX and Alcohol 120% for emulation and iso and other stuff
and with compusa right down the street well....
hehe

 

Anyone have success using Ritek media? Check out this site for pretty cheap media:http://meritline.com/ritek-dvd-blank-media.html .

I'm reluctant to buy the 8X media, cuz there's a chart that says you need firmware version 2.0c w/a link that takes you to the wrong page. I have version 2.0a.

And an FYI-I saw at cdfreaks that people with burning problems, you can sometime fix it by downgrading TO an older firmware version. I spoke to Sony, and they said you can write them if you want an older firmware version (I don't know why they just don't make it available on their website- DUH).

 

ATTN: UGLY and others....Hey guys....first off, I read most of the threads and tried just about everything that was mentioned, along w/ a couple of formats to try and fix the dru-530a problem. My issue is pretty much exactly the same as mr uglydude and I was hoping to see if he got his problem fixed....if not, anybody want to buy a drive?

 

No my problem is still the same... this piece of shit of a dvd bruner won't burn dvd's but will burn cd's quite well. This sucks... and sony hasn't send me my RMA I am more pissed still.

 

what is a RMA and how do i go about getting one because I have the same exact problem....the drive won't acknowledge the presence of dvds...not even its own sony software....thanks

 

Return Manufacture Admission or something like that...

 

I have exactly the same problem. No software or hardware changes, it just stopped reading everything except commercial preburned CDROMs. One minute it was working, the next time I tried to access a DVDRW (same day, several hours after it had worked) it said "no disc in recorder". I'm off to try the DMA thing to see if that helps.

 

I tried the switching of the drive orders and made my DRU-530A the slave and it works perfectly now, those that suggested it I wish to give you a huge E-Hug you are 3000x better than sony's suck ass support.

 

I fixed my DRU-530A by flashing the firmware to a region free firmware... based on 2.0c i believe - you can find it on google... its a "modified" version of sonys firmware. Now the drive reads any media perfectly, I can also burn anything - at max speeds.

Anyone complaining of only being able to go 1x - I would bet that the drive is not in DMA mode - you can change that by right clicking on my computer and choosing manage - on the left, go to device manager and select your ide channels, make sure they are all in DMA mode if available... you should have 2 channels (unless you got a kick ass mobo) and you'll know which is your DRU-530A drive by looking at the current mode box - it will probably say "PIO only".

I just spent a couple of hours trying to solve this problem, and some people here looked like they needed some help...

Good Luck!

 

I'm so happy that I'm not the only one struggling with this piece of crap! Thanks everyone for posting as I finally--after 6 hours--got the drive to write both CD-R and DVD-R disks. I've read some other sites' threads and holy crap, can there really be some much pain in this world?!! Anyway, I just downloaded the 2.0c firmware upgrade and will install after I make a trip to Fry's! Keep the faith, sanity is somewhere!!

 

After trying a number of things, suggested here and elsewhere, I gave up. Sony support had me jump through some more hoops, but finally gave me a RMA. Shipped it off, and in less than 10 days I got back a brand new DRU540a. Worked out of the box like the original, and seems to burn about twice as fast. At least my story has a good ending.

 

Good for you skiphill! I struggled and got mine working (530A) without the help of support though, I did have to read alot of other persons problems/resolutions. Happy burning!!

 

So you found a solution? Can you put your finger on it, or in the end, was it all kinds of things.

 

I tried all the recommended things but turning off DMA for the drive. After doing that, everything worked fine.