Can you tell me what the Dell part number for this was?  It should be listed on the invoice they sent with the new DVD-RW.

Thanks!

How recent are the faulty SDVD6004 drives? I got one on my 8600 about 2 weeks ago. Is there any particular media brand it doesnt like or does it just not write to anything? What the best way of testing the drive?

 

Is the NEC-5100A also DVD+R/W

Message Edited by Wrxsti on 10-12-2003 03:18 AM

---

@Wrxsti wrote:

How recent are the faulty SDVD6004 drives? I got one on my 8600 about 2 weeks ago. Is there any particular media brand it doesnt like or does it just not write to anything? What the best way of testing the drive?

 

Is the NEC-5100A also DVD+R/W

Message Edited by Wrxsti on 10-12-2003 03:18 AM

---

The first generation notebook form factor DVD+R/RW drives were only 1x, then came the 2nd gen 2X Panasonic and now Dell has begun using the latest 4x NEC drives.  Product info on the NEC-5100A Dell part# U1038 can be found at the following:  http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/storage/p59472/en/using.htm

Thanx for the info Somms but it doesn't really answer my questions. My 2x drive is a Philips drive, so how do I know whether it is working 100% or not? What features would persuade Dell to switch it to NEC?

This NEC drive is still a 2.4x drive, 2MB buffer (8MB would've been nice). Dell P/N 7W036-A01 (firmware 10AC). I'm not sure why the part number has A01 on the end when the drive is stamped with A00 on the bottom.


I've been burning discs with Nero Ultra 6.0.0.19 with no problems. The buffer always stays near 100%.

My DMA is off according to Nero InfoTool, should it be activated?

---

@TheGSRGuy wrote:
This NEC drive is still a 2.4x drive, 2MB buffer (8MB would've been nice). Dell P/N 7W036-A01 (firmware 10AC). I'm not sure why the part number has A01 on the end when the drive is stamped with A00 on the bottom.


I've been burning discs with Nero Ultra 6.0.0.19 with no problems. The buffer always stays near 100%.

My DMA is off according to Nero InfoTool, should it be activated?

---

http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/storage/p59472/en/specs.htm
This is incorrect.  NEC ND-5100A is capable of burning at 4X speed when the proper 4X DVD-R/RW media is used. For a full 4.7GB disk burn, the first half of the disk will burn between 2-3X while the latter half burns at the full 4X speed.

Holy cow! That's awesome! *Runs to store to buy 4x media*

I recently purchased an Inspiron 5150 with the Panasonic SDVD6004 and according to Windows it has firmware 1.03, is this one of the bad DVD drives or not?  If so what do I need to do for a replacement?

TheGSRGuy

Thanks for the info. I was having the same problems like the 400 other people on this site got feed up & made a call tonight 1 hr later-I just got the NEC burner-it's on it's way! Does this burner read any faster than the Phillips ? It took 5 - 7min's sometimes before the dvd would start, I hope this 5100-A NEC does better- At least it will burn faster! 4x baby!  Dell said the phillips burner cost $328.00 Nec-$308.00 go figure

Version 1.03, I heard, fixed almost all of the problems that people experienced w/ the sdvd6004 drive...  it was the earlier 0.99 firmware version that had the major issues...

Jeff

---

@TheGSRGuy wrote:
The NEC drive is the same speed as the SDVD6004 except for DVD+R burn speeds.

---

If the specifications of both the Philips and NEC DVD burners are correct as found at http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/storage/p59472/en/specs.htm and http://docs.us.dell.com/docs/storage/P53101/en/specs.htm, the NEC can write CD-RW up to 10X while the Philips only went to 8X.  I believe both drives burn CD-R's at the same 16X rate, although the Philips has the advantage in buffer size 8MB compared to only 2MB in the NEC.  The DAE (Digital Audio Extraction) rate of the Philips is also better the the NEC, 24X for the former and 20X for the latter. The NEC burns DVD+R's at 4X where the Philips player is only up to 2X for this same media.

 

The NEC drive is the same speed as the SDVD6004 except for DVD+R burn speeds.

somms, my Philips was not an 8MB buffer.

here's an address for 1.03 firmware: ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/rmsd/R67115.EXE
i got it from here: http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_firmware.php?download_id=1681

---

@TheGSRGuy wrote:
somms, my Philips was not an 8MB buffer.

---

Nice post Mellbratt! I'm sure there are quite a few Philips owners here who will appreciate this new firmware.

Message Edited by somms on 10-17-2003 05:07 AM