Issues with philips pcrw804k cdrw drive

[Blitzkrieg]

the drive cant seem to see blank cdr disks but reads burned cds and normal cds fine
also the sound output is messed up on both the digital and analog outputs. it works but it doesnt seem to separate the bass properly.
i have another pioneer cdrom and it works just fine for audio. Im using the SBlive for a sound card.
i tried flashing the drive using version 1.5 and 1.8 but I get an error at the end of flashing saying incorrect firmware for the drive.
I also cant figure what version of firmware the drive is using right now. it says something like "2,1" under version in the properties
im using win98se and have also tried win2000 to flash the drive, the drive isnt even recognized in the flash program in 2000

any help would be appreciated

 

[Mitzi]

I have the exact same drive and sound card. It sounds like the drive itself is faulty. You already have the latest firmware (2.1) so thats why it is not letting you flash the drive.

I don't have any suggestions on the sound problem but have you tried different brands of CDRs? Perhaps it doesn't like the brand you currently have, saying that my drive works perfectly with even the cheapest CDRs.

I would suggest giving Phillips a call and seeing what their returns procedure is - if the drive is out of warranty I would suggest getting hold of a cheap LiteOn 16x drive or something.