NEC NR-9100 Firmware

Thanks for the reply Predator, however I already have Nero CDSpeed, Nero DriveSpeed and Nero InfoTool and neither of them are able to override the drive's wishes to write certain media at a slower speed than that maximum stated on the CD itself. I was told new firmware may help because it'll include a list of CD manufacturers which will tell the drive that CDs from those manufacturers can be written at higher speeds, don't know if this is correct. However, there must be either a way in Nero or via a third party program that will override the drive's wishes to write at a slower speed.

Thanks again,

Niraj.

Where did you see a firmware update later than 109b?  I also have the NR-9100a and occasionally it will not burn as fast as the "alleged" speed rating of the CD blanks.  For example, I have some TDK 48x CD's that Nero will only burn at 24x.  Roxio will burn them at 32x.  Neither will burn them at 40x, the max speed of my drive.

This appears to be a function of the media, not the drive.  The TDK disks are actually cheaper CMC Magnetic disks.  I've never had a problem burning at max speed with Fuji's Taiyo Yuden disks.

Dave

Where I read about the updated firmware for the NEC NR-9100A is here:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/cdrwtestide/cdrw-test-ide-p15-nec9100.html

I am desperate to get newer firmware for this drive because I have a hundred of Memorex 48x blank CDs and Nero will only burn them at 4x or 8x! Seeing as no one has posted on how Nero can be set to override the drive's wishes to write at a slower speed, I am assuming that it is impossible and the only way is to get updated firmware that recognises that Memorex 48x CDs can be burnt on this drive at the maximum of 40x.

Thanks.

Hmmm.  I see that.  I was also able to find some other sites that mentioned the 2.11 firmware, but no links to a place to download it.  The 9300A uses firmware 2.11 (now 2.12) but I'd be leery of trying to flash with that update.  But here's the link if you want to give it a try: http://forum.firmware-flash.com/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1505.

Have you tried any other brand of CDR?  I've never used the Memorex, too many problems with a previous burner and bad CD-RW's.

Have you tried searching NEC's Asian sites for the firmware?

Dave

Thanks for the post Dave. I went to the link that you posted last and downloaded those firmwares and when I double clicked them, I got an error message saying that the NR-9300 could not be found, so you can't use those firmwares on the NR-9100.

I find this problem happens with good quality CDs like Sony, TDK and Memorex, although these Memorex 48x discs burnt at 48x on another computer with an LG 48x drive. I usually find that unbranded media burn faster, at minimum 24x, but these Memorex at 8x on this NR-9100 is ridiculous.

I'm surprised Dell hasn't posted an updated firmware seeing as they must have installed thousands or even hundreds of thousands of these drives in Dell computers in the past. Is there any way to request that they do this?

As for searching, spent ages searching Google etc and NEC sites that I know of, but I'll try asian NEC sites like you suggested.

I'm also surprised that Nero have not developed anything which can override the drive's wishes to write at a slower speed, this would be a useful feature for people who know what they're doing, although not recommended for amateurs who would prefer a slow but completely error-free copy.

I don't have Roxio, but I doubt that would make these burn much faster either. The core problem is the drive, because as I said above, the CDs burn at maximum speed in other drives. Is there no way of disabling that feature of the drive so that it doesn't dictate burn speeds?

If not, we just have to hope that a later firmware will do the job in allowing more brands of CDs to burn at their correct maximum speeds.

Let me know if you find anything. Or if anyone else finds anything for that matter.

Thanks,

Niraj.

I came across this site which says it has firmware 2.12 (see the link at the bottom of the page):

http://www.cdr.cz/rekordery/nec/nr_9100.html

But when I downloaded the file, it opens, but does not allow me to press the "Flash" button because it shows an error message "Incorrect file" in the white box to the left. See if it works on yours.

Niraj.

Niraj, I get the "incorrect file" message too.

I'm able to burn at 40X using both Roxio Ver.6 and Nero Ver. 6.3.0.2.  using the 109B firmware.  Have you tried any of the updates to Nero?  I believe the latest version for 5 is 5.51054.  I assume you've checked to make sure DMA is turned on for the drive's IDE controller?

How about trying CDRWin and seeing what that shows as far as burning speed.  It's small and fully functional for 30 days.  http://www.goldenhawk.com.

Dave

DMA is turned on in the control panel. I downloaded CDRwin and it was not a fully functional program for 30 days, the limit was that it limited writing speed to 1x, absolutely defeats the object if I'm trying to test maximum speed.

I came across this on the Ahead Nero site:

If you do not place any media in the recorder till Nero asks you to, are you then able to select the Max write speed? But once you insert the CDR media, the write speed drops down? If yes, then this is caused by the recorder determining that the media does not support this write speed, and so forces a slower write speed.
Ahead works with the Recorder drive manufacturers very closely, and they requested this feature so they can insure good quality writes. If other programs still allow the Full write speed, it's because they override the Recorders wishes, and this can cause poor or defective writes.
To resolve this issue, you will need to have upgrade Recorder manufacturers firmware for support this media at high-speeds, or obtain another brand of CDR media that the recorder does support at high speeds.

And also this on an NEC website:

http://www.necd.de/faq_detail.php/id/571/frage/159

I also emailed the author of this page, http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/cdrwtestide/cdrw-test-ide-p15-nec9100.html who tested a NEC NR-9100 with firmware 2.12 but he was unable to email me the firmware because he said he no longer had the drive and it was already flashed with 2.12 when he got it.

Earlier than that I emailed Dell UK asking for the firmware and they were no help either, here's what they fobbed me off with:

Thank you for choosing Dell Hardware e-Support & Services.

We appreciate this opportunity to assist you. I have gone through
your mail and understood your concerns. Niraj, Dell will not
have device drivers or firmware updates available for use until
compatibility testing has been completed. Beta drivers or firmware
updates may be available from individual device vendors, however,
the may not be fully compatible and the vendors may not be able
to provide support for the drivers.

So, if the required firmware update is not found in the website,
we appreciate your patience in this matter. It will be available
as the compatibility testing is done.

Thank you for your co-operation. Have a nice day.
Kind Regards,

Praveen.P
Dell E-Support and Services

Still no closer to finding the firmware ...

Niraj.

Sorry about CDRWin.  I thought it would burn at full speed for 30 days, then drop down to 1x.

I'm still not convinced the firmware is the problem.  109b burns fine for me.  Have you tried updating Nero to 5.5.10.54. the last release?

Good luck on the firmware search.  If you find it, and it works, let me know.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for the reply. I think I mentioned earlier that I already use Nero 5.5.10.54 as standard. However I had also downloaded a trial version of Nero 6, which also did not do the trick. I agree with you in the sense that there is nothing wrong in firmware version 1.09, it burns CERTAIN blank CDs at their correct maximum speed. For example, with my NEC NR-9100, I can burn unbranded CDs at 40x. However, put a good quality branded CD into the drive and it will no longer offer to burn at 40x, or even 32x or even 24x - sometimes as low as 8x, as with these Memorex CDs.

Whilst I appreciate that unbranded discs burn at their correct maximum speed on this drive, and therefore in the future I will only buy unbranded, I have a temporary problem in that I have 300 odd Memorex CDs left, which refuse to burn faster than 8x on THIS drive. I am not in any way faulting these 48x Memorex CDs as they burn at 48x on my friend's 48x Samsung drive, and he too is using Nero 5.5.10.54. So if Nero isn't the problem, and the discs are not the problem, the only problem can be the NEC NR-9100, and this is confirmed by both what is written on Nero's website with reference to this problem (see earlier post) and also by the link I sent to the NEC site which also confirms that the NEC NR-9100 has a built in feature to limit write speeds in order to allegedly produce more accurate writes.

Now because the THIS drive is capable of burning unbranded CDs at 40x, neither am I going to fault NEC for supplying a drive that can never achieve the maximum write speed. But the solution to the problem of getting THESE Memorex CDs to burn at 40x on THIS drive, is to upgrade the firmware, so or I have been told by several sources. Makes sense to me - firmware 1.09 simply has not been programmed to accept that THESE Memorex CDs can be burnt at upto 48x, and that is why I hope NEC have rectified the problem in an updated firmware (eg. in version 2.12) by including a more up to date, more accurate list in the firmware of which CDs are capable of which speeds.

Thanks for all your help, but I doubt there is a solution to this problem, neither Dell or NEC are interested in helping getting newer firmware, although it is allegedly available (as seen from the links posted). The only solution I can think of is that once I have used these 300 odd Memorex CDs (which could take some time), never to buy branded (Memorex, Sony, TDK or otherwise) CDs for use on THIS drive again. Just stick to unbranded, cheaper and burn faster!

Niraj. 

niraj, I agree the drive can be picky on media.  I generally use Fuji disks (Taiyo Yuden) or TDK disks (CMC Magnetics).  With the Fuji's I can burn at 40x, but with the TDK's I can only burn at 24x max.  This is with both Easy CD/DVD Creator 6 or Nero 6.  When I look at the disks with DVDInfo Pro Nero is using the "Available Write Descriptor" to determine the maximum speed of the disk.  They are different on the Fuji vs. TDK disks.  I don't know if Nero is limiting the speed, or it's based on what the drive is telling it.

The difference between 24x and 40x isn't all that important to me.  But the difference between 40x and 8x, with 300 blank disks to boot, is definitely an inconvenience.

I won't buy Memorex anymore, too many problems with the media.  And that was on an old Iomega 4x drive.

Have fun burning those 300 disks!

Dave