It shouldn't present any problems having a few legacy instances of the Philips drive in your registry.
As for PowerDVD, I would try uninstalling and reinstalling. I'm not a big fan of this decoder, but others seem to find it to be fine (including my daughter, who uses it on her 3000).
I think its always best to uninstall before you install something especially if its a replacement like in your case. Your Philips 8631 should have been laid to rest and your system should no longer have any references to it.
Well my methodology might not be the best one but I tend do things the long way, and use registry edits as a last resort.
firstly, do you still have the Philips drive?
Is this a replacement drive from Dell or did you buy this yourself?
I'd also like to know what kind of problems you were having with your Philips 8631 as I have one also for a few weeks now?
Oh you'd better believe they're still shipping out the Philips 8631, in Europe anyway!
Maybe in USA they've stopped doing so, maybe they've shipped out the Philips 8631 drives to Europe lol. Who knows!
Anyway, yeah your methodology sounds like the kinda thing I'd do even if it does seem extreme to some I always like to go right back to the beginning if possible. Let us all know how you get on, as I myself may have to replace my 8631 very soon.
My concern is that the registry has references to the Philips drive, but not the Plextor. Maybe this is causing the weird behavior of the PowerDVD software. So I may uninstall the Plextor from Device Manager, shut down, disconnect it, plug in the Philips, reboot, uninstall the Philips from Device Manager, shut down, then connect the Plextor and reboot. I should have thought of this before.
The Philips 8631 has caused problems for a number of people. Check out the posts here. I've had lots of read errors. Sometimes the drive would not read a disc it had burned itself. Or it might show a list of files, but you couldn't open them. I updated the firmware to CD21 (the most current version on Dell's site) and that didn't correct the problem.
I've been on the phone with Dell support for a total of an hour and a half. They were supposed to ship me a replacement drive that was not a Philips, but the drive arrived yesterday and it was another Philips 8631. I had been told they weren't shipping this drive anymore. Last night, a really patient support guy tried to find a non-Philips replacement (such as the NEC 3450A) but couldn't. I even built a sample system on Dell's website while on the phone with the support guy and according to him, the DVD burner was a Philips 8631. This doesn't seem to be consistent with what I've read in this forum.
Anyway, I bought the Plextor myself. There's a $30 rebate on the drive.
I did uninstall and reinstall the PowerDVD software, but that didn't fix the problem. I also installed the recent patch. If my clean install of the Plextor doesn't do the trick, I'll dump PowerDVD and look for something else. Any recommendations?
Even though in theory working backwards to get to the start should work, it it doesn't for whatever reason it might be worth looking to see if there's a new BIOS upgrade for your XPS Gen 4 system?
I know there's a new one for the Dimension 8400 and includes improved support for recognising ATAPI devices, so there's a good chance there may be an upgrade for other systems too.
I did originally plan to get the XPS Dimension (blue version), but have been putting it off for some time and it was replaced by the Gen 4 (silver version) now. If I had the extra money to throw away I'd have definately got the Gen 4 and had no regrets!!! There's a good chance I'd have got bored with the blue as it stands out too much, and the spec would've been lower a year or so ago.
In the meantime I've been playing with the specs via Dell's "customise and build" section on the Dimension 8400 and the XPS Gen 4 Systems, and looking at the price differences.
Of course you do get more value for money getting the Dimension 8400 now with a pretty high spec, as opposed to the XPS Gen 4 with a lower spec and upgrading it over time. But hey, I wanted a system that was high spec now, even though I could have settled for staring endlessly at the Gen 4 and picturing all it can be in the future. pmsl.
Sorry getting carried away there, what specs do you have for your XPS Gen 4?
As Billy and John mentioned, uninstalling the "original/removing drive" from Device Manager is always a good habit, less likelyhood of conflicts and stray entries but it is not set in stone.
Yes, Dell did release BIOS updates for the Gen 4 & 4700 series with basically the same "fixes". Dell-Stephen posted the information in the thread I started on BIOS update for 8400. Many times, Clearing the NVRAM (CMOS) is used as well. Carolyn posts a good link on installing a drive and I have additional information in Section 4 of the CD/RW link in my post.
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
Sorry to ask again Smoothieboy, but what specs do you have on your XPS Gen 4 system? I'm only intrigued as I almost got myself the XPS Gen 4 system when I ordered mine around 3 weeks ago.
Thanks, Jeff. I did reinstall/uninstall the Philips (using Device Manager) and reinstall the Plextor. The Philips registry entry is still there, but I suppose that's not a big deal. I'll look into your other suggestions. I did upgrade the XPS Gen 4 BIOS to A04 the other day. So far so good on the Plextor's DVD burning reliability.
I built my last system and at the time the Plextor drive available was the 708a, been truly an excellent device. I went a little overboard at the time on the system, got a large tower, Asus P4/800E motherboard, 1GB Mushkin memory, cut the side out, blue lights, 9 fans, etc..but what I liked the best was 6 SATA ports and both Primary & Secondary IDE ports. I was disappointed in seeing Dell drop the Secondary IDE port on the new systems simply because there are still a great number of IDE drives available. Went with SATA Hard drives and I placed the Plextor on the Primary IDE ~ Master, (old school -- lol) & Sony 225 CD/RW - Master on Secondary IDE channel. Another Regular, Jack and I were discussing burning two CD`s at the same time, he was able to do this after installing a PCI controller card in order to separate the drives to their own channel. Since mine was already set-up this way, I gave it a shot, Created a Play list in Roxio of 16 or so songs, opened Music Match 8.2, created a different Play list of 16 or songs, selected a drive for each play list, popped a CD-R disc in the Plextor & Sony, selected "Burn", I believe the Plextor firt, then Sony, used max speed of media which was 16X. Both completed with no errors with seconds of each other, not too bad..
Best Regards PS: as long as the registry entries are not affecting the system, then editing would just be a matter of choice, my nickel...
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
Thanks Smoothieboy, she sounds as good as she looks!!!
Besides the Philips drive issue, I bet you're completely satisfied with it? Bet you've got it on the desk as opposed to on the floor. lol.
I decided not to go for the 1905FPT monitor and got the M993s instead as I feel you still can't beat the quality (at a low price) of a CRT. But it sure is a really slick design!!! I'll wait until the next generation of LCDs come out see how much closer they get to CRT quality.
My system has a 3.6 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB Western Digital HD, ATI X800XT graphics card, Audigy 2ZS sound card, DVD burner, Samsung CD burner, 1704FPT monitor.
My message crossed with yours. I've heard good things about the Plextor, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'll never have the amount of knowledge you have about drives, so I really appreciate your participation in this forum. I'll leave the registry alone. Too much like a minefield.
Billy,
I do some editing in Photoshop and a lot of people still feel that CRTs are the way to go. But I'm really happy with the Dell 1704FPT LCD monitor. It's color accuracy and resolution are very good. I have a Gretag Macbeth colorimeter to adjust it, and it didn't need much. The one thing I added to my system (other than the Plextor) is an ATI Silencer 4 cooler for the ATI X800XT graphics card. I replaced the fan/heatsink that came with the card. The GPU now runs about 15 degrees centigrade cooler under heavy use, and it also cools the memory chips. A great investment for only 30 dollars.
Thanks for the info regarding the ATI Silencer 4 cooler for the ATI X800XT graphics card, sounds like a great investment!
I too have the radeon x800 xt and its well worth upgrading to from when choosing your components. I'm really happy with my system so far (besides "the drive" lol).
I'm sure if I could've seen and tested a 1905FPT for myself before ordering I'd have just got one as I'd have loved it that much. lol.
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 11:00
It shouldn't present any problems having a few legacy instances of the Philips drive in your registry.
As for PowerDVD, I would try uninstalling and reinstalling. I'm not a big fan of this decoder, but others seem to find it to be fine (including my daughter, who uses it on her 3000).
Billydakid
23 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 11:00
Billydakid
23 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 12:00
Oh you'd better believe they're still shipping out the Philips 8631, in Europe anyway!
Maybe in USA they've stopped doing so, maybe they've shipped out the Philips 8631 drives to Europe lol. Who knows!
Anyway, yeah your methodology sounds like the kinda thing I'd do even if it does seem extreme to some I always like to go right back to the beginning if possible. Let us all know how you get on, as I myself may have to replace my 8631 very soon.
Read my post: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=dim_cdrom&message.id=95151
Good luck
Smoothieboy
147 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 12:00
The Philips 8631 has caused problems for a number of people. Check out the posts here. I've had lots of read errors. Sometimes the drive would not read a disc it had burned itself. Or it might show a list of files, but you couldn't open them. I updated the firmware to CD21 (the most current version on Dell's site) and that didn't correct the problem.
I've been on the phone with Dell support for a total of an hour and a half. They were supposed to ship me a replacement drive that was not a Philips, but the drive arrived yesterday and it was another Philips 8631. I had been told they weren't shipping this drive anymore. Last night, a really patient support guy tried to find a non-Philips replacement (such as the NEC 3450A) but couldn't. I even built a sample system on Dell's website while on the phone with the support guy and according to him, the DVD burner was a Philips 8631. This doesn't seem to be consistent with what I've read in this forum.
Anyway, I bought the Plextor myself. There's a $30 rebate on the drive.
Smoothieboy
147 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 12:00
I did uninstall and reinstall the PowerDVD software, but that didn't fix the problem. I also installed the recent patch. If my clean install of the Plextor doesn't do the trick, I'll dump PowerDVD and look for something else. Any recommendations?
Billydakid
23 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 13:00
ctalia4000
2 Intern
•
1.3K Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 13:00
Hi Smoothboy,
Predator
2 Intern
•
15.3K Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 16:00
Hi Smoothieboy,
As Billy and John mentioned, uninstalling the "original/removing drive" from Device Manager is always a good habit, less likelyhood of conflicts and stray entries but it is not set in stone.
Yes, Dell did release BIOS updates for the Gen 4 & 4700 series with basically the same "fixes". Dell-Stephen posted the information in the thread I started on BIOS update for 8400.
Many times, Clearing the NVRAM (CMOS) is used as well.
Carolyn posts a good link on installing a drive and I have additional information in Section 4 of the CD/RW link in my post.
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
Billydakid
23 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 16:00
Smoothieboy
147 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 16:00
Thanks again.
Eric
Predator
2 Intern
•
15.3K Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 17:00
Hi Eric,
I built my last system and at the time the Plextor drive available was the 708a, been truly an excellent device.
I went a little overboard at the time on the system, got a large tower, Asus P4/800E motherboard, 1GB Mushkin memory, cut the side out, blue lights, 9 fans, etc..but what I liked the best was 6 SATA ports and both Primary & Secondary IDE ports.
I was disappointed in seeing Dell drop the Secondary IDE port on the new systems simply because there are still a great number of IDE drives available.
Went with SATA Hard drives and I placed the Plextor on the Primary IDE ~ Master, (old school -- lol) & Sony 225 CD/RW - Master on Secondary IDE channel.
Another Regular, Jack and I were discussing burning two CD`s at the same time, he was able to do this after installing a PCI controller card in order to separate the drives to their own channel. Since mine was already set-up this way, I gave it a shot, Created a Play list in Roxio of 16 or so songs, opened Music Match 8.2, created a different Play list of 16 or songs, selected a drive for each play list, popped a CD-R disc in the Plextor & Sony, selected "Burn", I believe the Plextor firt, then Sony, used max speed of media which was 16X. Both completed with no errors with seconds of each other, not too bad..
Best Regards
PS: as long as the registry entries are not affecting the system, then editing would just be a matter of choice, my nickel...
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
Message Edited by Predator on 02-24-2005 02:18 PM
Billydakid
23 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 17:00
Smoothieboy
147 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 17:00
Eric
Smoothieboy
147 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 18:00
My message crossed with yours. I've heard good things about the Plextor, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'll never have the amount of knowledge you have about drives, so I really appreciate your participation in this forum. I'll leave the registry alone. Too much like a minefield.
Billy,
I do some editing in Photoshop and a lot of people still feel that CRTs are the way to go. But I'm really happy with the Dell 1704FPT LCD monitor. It's color accuracy and resolution are very good. I have a Gretag Macbeth colorimeter to adjust it, and it didn't need much. The one thing I added to my system (other than the Plextor) is an ATI Silencer 4 cooler for the ATI X800XT graphics card. I replaced the fan/heatsink that came with the card. The GPU now runs about 15 degrees centigrade cooler under heavy use, and it also cools the memory chips. A great investment for only 30 dollars.
Eric
Billydakid
23 Posts
0
February 24th, 2005 18:00