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PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D - Burning problem!

Hello,

I have a Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5 with PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D ( Firmware Revision: A606).
Recently i experience serious problems when trying to burn all kinds (DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW) and brands (Verbatim, Emtec, Sony, Epro etc.) of DVD's.
Sometimes I get different kind of errors like...

"The drive reported a error:
Sense Key = MEDIUM ERROR
Sense Code = 0x73, 0x03"

or

"The drive reported a error:
Sense Key = ILLEGAL REQUEST
Sense code = 0x21, 0x02
BUFFER UNDERRUN"

In other cases the drive just ejects the DVD without even mounting it (this mostly happens with DVD-RW media)

Sometimes when i give OK to the error message and try to burn the disc again the problem is solved, but this doesn't work every time.
Please note that i haven't used the drive much (i've recorded not more that 30-40 disks at all!!!) which should mean that it's almost new.

Please tell me if there is a way to solve this problem, because i don't want to spend money on a new drive plus it will be hard to find appropriate one where i live (Bulgaria).

P.S. i tried to find a newer Firmware Version without success... the DVR-106D is not even listed in www.pioneerelectronics.com

Thanks in advance for your answers!

George

Dual 2 GHz PowerPC G5, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Mar 11, 2008 7:23 AM

Reply
7 replies

Mar 11, 2008 8:19 AM in response to siromaha

Hi-

There is a way to flash the firmware on the DVR-106, using DVR Flash. The page includes download of the utility and link to the firmware.
If you choose to flash your drive, follow instructions exactly, or you will have to replace the drive.

With buffer underrun errors, often it is the way that you are burning, or the condition of the overall system. Too many open applications, too full of a harddrive, and poor media are common problems. The harddrive should have 15gb of space, at a minimum, or a disk may not burn correctly.

The following suggestions may help:
-The first and easiest thing you can do is don't use too many (or any) other applications when burning a disc.
-Restart your Mac and try again.
-Try using a different blank disc or a lower burn speed. Sometimes you might need to try a completely different type of writable media. I (and most others) recommend using Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim. Avoid Memorex. Also , DVD-RW isn't a good media. If you need re-write ability, DVD+RW is better.

You don't say how much RAM you have installed, but too little RAM can also cause problems.

Other tips are here.

Mar 11, 2008 8:34 AM in response to siromaha

P.S. i tried to find a newer Firmware Version without success... the DVR-106D is not even listed in www.pioneerelectronics.com


The drive is listed on the website, but for some reason they don't have a link to the official firmware on there. Pioneer Japan's website does have it (just scroll down a bit until you see the DVR-106 listed:

http://wwwbsc.pioneer.co.jp/product-e/ibs/devicee/dev00001re.html

If the firmware update doesn't fix your problems, I'd suggest looking into simply purchasing a new drive. Current Pioneer models can be had for around $35 - 40.

May 1, 2008 8:52 AM in response to siromaha

You need to use Stuffit Expander to extract the files from the .exe file. It's a PC self-extracting executable and Stuffit will be able to get the files out of the archive. You'll end up with a folder that has another .exe file (this is the flashing utility for Windows) and the firmware files (usually two files). It's these two firmware files that you need to use with DVRFlash to flash the drive to the latest firmware.

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-106D - Burning problem!

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