Problems with DMA mode installing an Asus DVD writer

Question

I have a Dimension 4700 and I bought an Asus 1608P DVD writer to put in the system.  I am having a couple of problems with it.  First, the BIOS won't recognize the drive.  If I enable the PATA secondary option, it is listed as unknown, whereas the DVD drive that is in the PATA primary slot has the correct information.  Because it is listed as unknown, I get an error every time I start the computer saying the device on the PATA slave device is unknown, press F1 to continue or F2 to enter setup.  Is this burner not compatible with my computer?   The second problem I'm having, which may be related to the first, is not being able to use DMA mode on the DVD burner.  Since PIO mode is the only thing it can access, I have to burn my CD's at 16x or under or it errors out every time.  The setting for the burner is on PIO mode, even though DMA if available is selected.  I tried making it PIO only and then switching back to DMA if available to get it in DMA mode but that did not work.  I also tried uninstalling the DVD drives and the IDE controllers and rebooted but it still can only access PIO mode.  Is there something in the BIOS that will enable DMA mode for my DVD burner?   Sorry for rambling on, but I am at a lost trying to figure this problem out.  Thanks for any help.        Mike

Predator · Answer

Hi Mike,You never mentioned the jumper setting you used for the Asus, Dell uses Cable Select so your existing drive will have that setting, if you used Mster or Slave this can cause the problem you are seeing. Also although in theory it should not matter but many have found that a DVD/RW tend to work best in the Master position, with Cable Select, Top Bay, 'end' connection.Dell did release BIOS update for the 4700 to address ATAPI detection issues. I have an article from Dell-Andrew that may be relevant, click on the CD/RW link in my post and scroll to Section 15, article 18.Best Regards God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell thedifference. CD/RW Link

Gremmie · Answer

Thanks for your quick reply Predator. I have an update to my problem with DMA mode. It seems whatever I have set as the master drive is read by the BIOS and has DMA enabled. Yesterday, I tried setting the regular DVD drive as the master and the ASUS dvd writer as the slave. I also tried putting both on cable select. Both of these configurations resulted in the problem described in my first post. However, today I hooked the DVD writer up as the master and the regular DVD drive as the slave and the reverse happended. The ASUS DVD writer was recognized in the BIOS but the other drive said unknown. Also, the ASUS DVD writer was then using Ultra DMA Mode 4 and the standard DVD drive was using PIO. Could this be a problem with my IDE cable not being able to give DMA mode to anything but the master drive? Would this also explain why my BIOS will only detect the master drive correctly and the slave drive as unknown? I think I should also mention that my hard drive is using SATA and I only have 1 PATA slot which my DVD drives are using. Thanks for any further info.

Mike

Predator · Answer

Hi Mike,I know Dell defaults the Second drive on the IDE channel to 'Off' when shipping a system with only one drive, however the BIOS 'should' automatically recognize a new drive. Verify again that the IDE channel is set to Auto and that both drives are on as well. Also Dell did release a BIOS update for a number of their systems to address ATAPI detection issues, have you updated yours?Too, one can never rule out a problem with IDE cable, testing with a new 40-pin 80-conductor type will not hurt and worth a shot here.Best Regards God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell thedifference. CD/RW Link Message Edited by Predator on 08-04-2005 11:32 PM

Gremmie · Answer

This is getting annoying. I got a cable from a friend of mine which will put both drives in Ultra DMA mode 2, but only when the DVD writer is a master. I can live with that, however now I can't burn a CD. When the DVD writer is a slave, I can still burn a CD, as long as it is slower than 16x. Everytime I try to burn a CD with the DVD drive as a master, it always errors out at about 75-85 percent. Also, the BIOS still won't recognize both drives, as the slave is just labeled unknown. I am using Bios version A09. I guess the only thing to do now is call ASUS and see if I can get a replacement drive.

Predator · Answer

Sorry Mike, I was not much help, it is possible the issue is with the drive itself, good luck with Asus, keep us posted...

Best Regards

God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.

CD/RW Link

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Problems with DMA mode installing an Asus DVD writer

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