Defective DVD Writer?

[agogley]

I built my new SFF system, but my Samsung 183L Sata DVD writer wont write to anything. I can't tell if it is a Vista problem or if my drive is defective.

My drive seems to read fine and rip cds without problems (although it seems kinda slow considering the speed of my system). When I pop in a blank CD-R or DVD-R media, Vista autodetects the media and gives me various options. No matter which option I choose I cannot successfully write to a CD or DVD. If I try to simply format the disc for drag and drop operation ising livefile (or whatever MS calls it), windows starts the process and then says it cannot finish the format. Roxio and other programs fail to write in any method whether drag and drop or trying to do it all at once. I thought I found a similar problem on MS website and I received a hotfix directly from MS. Unfortunately, the hotfix didn't resolve any issues. I have had a lot of Vista problems and have reinstalled twice to get rid of some conflicts. That is why I think it could be Vista, but now I am wondering if it is a ODD defect or possible SATA cable problem.

Shuttle SD37P2 with E6700 (not currently overclocked)
Corsair 4x1GB XMS2 5-5-5-12 DDR2 800
Western Digital 320 Caviar SE HDD
Samsun 183L Sata ODD

 

[Oyeve]

I dont know about you mobo, but my seconddary system wont even recognize my Samsung SATA burner nor boot if its even connected. The chipset is NF4. But on my main system, Asrock, it works perfectly. I dont think all mobos even with SATA ports, are ready for sata DVD drives.

 

[Puffnstuff]

See if samsung has released new firmware for your drive and if so flash it. I've been reading around that people are having problems with sata optical drives which is one of the reasons I've stuck with ide.

 

[agogley]

I checked for new firmware. My ODD is up to date. Other people report using SATA ODD with this particular Shuttle SFF barebones. It could be a SATA cable problem, I suppose, but I doubt it has anything to do with it being SATA vs. IDE. But if that were the problem, then you are definately suggesting it is an ODD problem not a software (VISTA) problem.

 

[0roo0roo]

try in another system

 

[Puffnstuff]

No I'm suggesting that the controller is the problem. Check the drive in another system to be sure like was already suggested.

 

[agogley]

unfortunately my old system wont take a SATA drive. I don't have any other systems to use. I am going to obtain another SATA drive, this time a lite-on SATA drive.

If the SATA controller is the problem, I guess that means I have to RMA my entire machine??? Could it be just a SATA cable problem?

 

[0roo0roo]

find a friend with a system.

 

[agogley]

Looks like it was a defective SATA cable. I used a different one (after I received a replacement drive) and both my original and replacement drives work.