Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
1 Rookie
•
11 Posts
0
4118
Can NEC DVD+RW ND-1100A be upgraded to write DVD-R media?
I tried to write DVD-R media in the NEC DVD+RW ND-1100A drive in my Dimension 4600 using the Sonic MyDVD software that came bundled with the computer, but it doesn't seem to be compatible because MyDVD says there is no media in the drive. Is there a firmware upgrade that will provide this functionality or do I need to replace the drive? I see that this firmware is available for this drive but am not sure if it does what I want.
http://support.dell.com/FileLib/Format.aspx?c=us&l=en&ReleaseID=R59801
Thanks,
donander
Message Edited by donander on 06-25-2004 03:05 PM
DELL-Stephen S
1.4K Posts
0
June 25th, 2004 19:00
donander,
Thank you for visiting the Dell Community Forum.
The NEC ND-1100A drive is a DVD+R/RW drive therefore it only uses DVD +R or DVD +RW media and will not work with DVD-R media. Try getting plus media instead and see if that helps.
Skybird
10.9K Posts
0
June 25th, 2004 21:00
donander,
For reference ..........
http://www.the-predator.com/dell/sec7-1.html#7-1-7
steve-S
127 Posts
0
June 26th, 2004 01:00
I have read reports of people doing so successfully. But be aware that you will be voiding your warranty if you do so and I am not recommending that you try it (unless you are prepared to buy a new drive if it doesn't work right).
http://tdb.rpc1.org/#ND2100A
ALIR123
22 Posts
0
July 2nd, 2004 11:00
Message Edited by ALIR123 on 07-02-2004 08:28 AM
davejohn
2.5K Posts
0
July 3rd, 2004 00:00
Here's the link to the unofficial 1100/1300 firmwares: http://etna.rpc1.org/nec/index.html
Dave
ALIR123
22 Posts
0
July 3rd, 2004 09:00
It was extremely easy. It also burns at 4 speed instead of 2.4 speed.
donander
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
11 Posts
0
July 3rd, 2004 21:00
Where (URL?) did you get the update?
ALIR123
22 Posts
0
July 4th, 2004 10:00
Email them if you have ant questions or need a windows based flasher. I got the windows based one because I found it too difficult to make a bootup dos disk because of lack of floppy drive on my 8300. I'm no pc guru, but all I had to do was download the file & run it & restart. I must say I delighted with the result. I can burn both medias now at twice the speed which is great.
Regards
Jim Hardin
2.1K Posts
0
July 4th, 2004 11:00
ALIR123
22 Posts
0
July 4th, 2004 13:00
Keep a backup of your original firmware so.
Jim Hardin
2.1K Posts
0
July 4th, 2004 23:00
No, only on the drive, sorry I didn't spell it out more clearly.
"Keep a copy of your original firmware so." Nice afterthought… Where does one get that? What happens when you find out that many optical drives cannot be restored to earlier versions???
donander
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
11 Posts
0
July 5th, 2004 01:00
Well, I just went out and bought DVD+R media. I have not tried it yet but the DVD+RW media I have works so I assume the DVD+R media will work. I'll just use this solution instead of flashing the drive. Thanks to everyone for the input.
Don
davejohn
2.5K Posts
0
July 5th, 2004 13:00
You backup the original firmware using the same DOS tool you use for flashing. It's just one change on the command line. It creates a backup .BIN file.
It generally can't be restored using the Windows flasher, it has to restore under DOS to bypass the version checking. See the referenced rpc1 site mentioned above. It's similiar to flashing back to a previous version of a BIOS update.
I've flashed my NEC 2500a up and back several times trying different versions. Mainly because I'm too cheap to buy dual layer media to test, although both DVDINfoPro and Nero said my drive was DL capable.
Dave