The Big Lite-On FAQ
| LiteOn / PLDS / Sony Writer Discuss, The Big Lite-On FAQ at CD and DVD Writers forum; I'll update this thread when I have time. So more Q and A will follow shortly. And don't be a LAMER and only copy and paste to other places without crediting me and www.cdfreaks.com !! First, here are links to some other important threads: WSES Guide MTKFlash guide WinMTKFlash - |
Posted: 14-03-2002 - #1
| I'll update this thread when I have time. So more Q and A will follow shortly. And don't be a LAMER and only copy and paste to other places without crediting me and www.cdfreaks.com!! First, here are links to some other important threads: WSES Guide MTKFlash guide WinMTKFlash - Flash your drive in Windows Bad-flash-recovered drives Overclocking to LTR-48125W: Experiences Table of contents:
Q: 1.1. What Lite-On drives could be overclocked and which drives could not be overclocked? A:Well, here is those that I think/know may be upgradable:
A: Currently not. This upgrade might be possible if LiteOn releases a 48x firmware for 3-chipset, but this is unlikely to happen. Q: 1.3. What is the con's and pro's with overclocking? A: Pro's: -Higher write speed of course. -Sometimes better media compatibility and write quality -You could brag about having overclocked your CD-RW drive.  -If performance is not what you expected you could go back to older firmware/older drive by using mtkflash and a bin firmware. Con's: -Woids your warranty. -We can't be 100% sure that the hardware is 100% identical even if the drive uses the same chipset. May have a newer engine, newer pickup and such. This may in some cases lead to shorter lifespan or worse write quality. -Since it's now a newer drive it may have worse program compatibility. -May in the worst case kill your drive...and then you sit there without any warranty left. Q: 1.4. I have a "X" brand drive but I think it is manufactured by Lite-On, could this drive also be overclocked? A: Yes, but you have to be sure that it's a Lite-On. Q: 1.5. After having overclocked my drive to a newer model, can I use the official windows firmware upgrades for this drive when newer firmware versions is released for this drive? A:Yes, you may use the official firmware upgrades released for the model you overclcocked your drive to. Q: 1.6. Could you name some brands that may be manufactured by Lite-On? A: Sure, but note that they are not always Lite-On(check front and back nad firmware version to be sure), unless I say so.
Q: 1.7. How do I know if my drive is actually manufactured by Lite-On? A: Take a look at the firmware version, Lite-On drives have a firmware of 4 digits/letters. Also take a look at the front and the back of the drive to see if they are identical. Here is the most used face plates on Lite-On(Some OEM's like TDK have other face plates) drives and the back of the newer Lite-On drives:  Lite-On front  Back of Lite-On. Q: 2.1. Can I see which drive a firmware is for only from its name? A: Yes, you can:
Q: 2.2. Lite-On firmware update program will not flash my drive, it hangs or aborts! A: You may have a conflict with your chipset drivers. There are a few possibilities to try:
Q: 2.3. How do I find my firmware version? A: There are different tools available which show your current firmware version, such as Nero InfoTool, Nero CD Speed and Nero DriveSpeed. Q: 2.4. Is it safe to upgrade the firmware using the windows firmware flasher downloaded from Lite-On? A: There is no real danger present. Most of the flash progresses go well, and the few ones which fail can be recovered. Refer to the MTKFLASH-Guide to learn how to recover a drive which has suffered a bad flash. Q: 2.5. How do I use MTKFLASH and where do I get it? A: Read the MTKFLASH-Guide Q: 2.6. Do I need to disable DMA in windows when using the DOS mtkflash program in DOS? A: The DMA setting in Windows does not affect the drive's behaviour in DOS mode, so you don't need to disable DMA in Windows if you intend to use MTKFLASH. Q: 2.7. I want to go back to an older firmware version. How do I do that? A: The official LiteOn flashers do not allow downgrading of your firmware. However, you can use MTKFLASH or WinMTKFlash to downgrade. Q: 2.8. Where do I find older firmwares and binary firmwares for download? A: For example here and here Q: 2.9. What drives to use pflash for and what drives to use mtkflash for? A: Drives with Mediatek chipset require mtkflash, while drives with Sanyo chipsets require pflash. Drive with a “2” or higher number as its 5th digit (such as LTR-24102B) have a mediatek chipset. Q: 2.10. Lite-On firmware update program says it supports firmare xxxx-xxxx, but my drive do not have any of these to versions. A: Use mtkflash or winmtkflash to install the new firmware. Q: 2.11. Could I flash my brand X into brand X just because they use the same chipset? (Like Lite-On to asus or asus to Lite-On) A: No. It’s the same chipset, but still different hardware. Q: 3.1. My drive uses long time when writing a CD, it should take less time. And the LED is flashing between RED and ORANGE! A: The DMA mode is most likely not activated. You need to activate it in order to ensure normal operation of your drive. Q: 3.2. How do I enable DMA then? A: Windows 98: go to the device manager, CD-ROM, open it and activate the DMA checkbox. Windows 2000: go to the device manager, IDE/ATAPI, and set “DMA”. You need to reboot in order to have the changes take affect. Q: 3.3. Is there a program to tell if DMA is enabled? A: For example, launch Nero InfoTool and go to “configuration”. You can see there all your drives and whether DMA is on or not. Q: 3.4. But DMA is still not enabled when I reboot  A: Then, there are a fre things you should try: - use different chipset drivers - (win 2k/xp) remove the IDE channel to which the burner is connected from the device list and reboot (this can be risky if your hard disc from which you boot is connected to the same channel!) - reinstall Windows Q: 3.5. My drive is still slow at writing! And led shifts between RED and ORANGE A: - Check if DMA is activated for your hard discs as well - Did you try to burn on-the-fly? This may not work with certain configurations - is your hard disc heavily fragmented? Defrag it! Q: 3.6. I only get ??X shown as the maximum recording speed, but my drive supports faster speeds! A: SmartBurn considers your disc not suitable for the maximum speed. Use discs which your burner considers good for a higher speed. Note that the speed for which a disc is certified can be higher as well as lower than the speed which it can be burned at in certain burners. Q: 3.7. Is it possible to disable smart-BURN? A: Yes, you can deactive it for example in Nero. Goto “Recorder” -> “choose Recorder” -> “Options”. You can activate and deactive SmartBurn there. However, do this only if you know what you are doing! Deactivating SmartBurn increases the probability of burning coasters, unless you know exactly which speed your discs are good for in your burner! Q: 4.1. Do LiteOn writers support overburning? How much can they do? A: Up to 99 minutes work, maybe a bit more. Q: 4.2. How do I overburn? A: That depends on your burning software:
Most CD-Recorders will only overburn in DAO or RAW mode, but never in TAO! Q: 4.3. How much could I overburn? A: Most 650 MB or 700 MB discs allow 10-15 MB, a few allow 20-25 MB. If you overburn, verify that the disc has been written correctly! The very outer portion could be unreadable! Q: 4.4. Help, my 90/99/100 minutes discs is not detected as 90/99/100 minutes long! A: This is normal. The specifications for CD-R discs demand that the capacity which is written in the ATIP is less than 80 minutes, or about 703 MB. Many 90+ minute discs thus contain a value of 80 minutes in their ATIP. You must overburn then. There are also discs which contain the correct capacity in the ATIP, but then, you burner must be able to read this ATIP correctly. LiteOn 52246S can do it, LiteOn 48125W can not (yet). If the reported capacity is less than the real capacity, you must overburn. Q: 5.1. Write Strategie: CLV A: This is Constant Linear Velocity, meaning that the entire disc is recorded at the same speed.  Q: 5.2. Write Strategie: Z-CLV A: This is Zone - Constant Linear Velocity, meaning that the drive starts recording at a lower speed, writes a part of the disc at that speed, stops, accelerates the disc, continues to write at a higher speed and so on. Typical steps are 16x->20x->24x->32x or 20x->24x->32x->40x. Q: 5.3. Write Strategie: P-CAV A: This is Partial - Constant Angular Velocity. The drive starts writing at a lower speed, usually at about 20x. Then, the number of RPMs stays constant, so that the recording speed increases smoothly. When the maximum speed is reached, such as 32x or 40x, the drive switches to CLV.  Q: 5.4. Write Strategie: CAV A: This is Constant Angular Velocity. The drive starts writing at a lower speed, and the number of RPMs stays constant during the entire recoding process.  Q: 5.5. But which one is the best? Zone-CLV, P-CAV or CAV? A: CLV / Z-CLV is much easier to implement, but at the current recording speeds, P-CAV and CAV are faster. The manufacturers of current drives have learnt how to do CAV recording properly. Q: 5.6. Which LiteOn drives uses which write strategy?
Q: 6.1. TAO A: In Track-at-once mode, the laser is switched of after each track. There will be 2 unreadable sectors at the end of each track. Do not use this mode for audio. Q: 6.2. SAO A: In Session-at-once mode, one session is recorded „in one piece“. You can add more sessions later. Q: 6.3. DAO A: In Disc-at-once mode, one session is recorded, and the disc is finalized, meaning that you cannot add more data later. In other words, the entire disc is recorded without any interruption. Q: 6.4. RAW-96 ("DAO/96", "DAO-PW", "RAW-DAO-96") A: The RAW mode is usually used to circumvent copy protections and make working backups. You can also use RAW mode to create audio or data CDs. However, the RAW mode is harder to implement for software developers, so it has a higher chance of being buggy. If the software does not have bugs in this matter, then it is safe to use RAW writing (regardless of whatever you might have been told elsewhere). Nero (Version 5.5.9.9) and higher support RAW writing. It has been introduced earlier in Nero, but was buggy in older versions. Q: 6.5. What is the SAO-bug? A: Some LiteOn drives may show unusual behavior when using SAO or DAO write mode. This can mean:
The worst thing which could happen is that it does not help either. Remember to use a current version of Nero! Q: 7.1. Which Lite-On models could make safedisc 2 backups without aws? A: The 5th digit of the model number must be 2 or higher. Example: LTR-24103S. If you have such a recorder, then do never use AWS. Q: 7.2. Which drives support correct EFM encoding of regular patterns? A: The reason for certain drives to fail or to succeed with SafeDisc 2 cannot be explained with only a few lines, but „support correct EFM encoding of regular patterns“ does not really describe it. If you want to know more, and if you have plenty of time, refer to the Technical Forum. Q: 7.3. Can LiteOn drives read RAW+96 and write RAW-DAO-96? A: Yes. However, that does not qualify for copying everything! Q: 7.4. What protections could my Lite-On handle/not handle? A: Most data protections can be copied correctly. You cannot copy Star-Force at all, neither CD-Cops. SecuROM 4.8 can be copied using the Twinpeak-Method or using emulation, such as BlindWrite / Alcohol. SecuROM 4.7 requires a good reader, such as a Toshiba DVD-ROM, but a LiteOn recorder will do fine in the burning part. Protected Audio-CDs can be read on newer LiteOn drives. Drives with 5-chipset may need a firmware upgrade to read Key2Audio, Doc.loc. and Cactus 200 discs. Drives with 6-chipset have always been able to read these discs. You won’t succeed with some Cactus 200 versions and some Cactus 100 discs. Tagès can be copied using special software, but does not require special hardware. Q: 7.5. My drive do not read all types of discs at max speed, is this normal? A: Yes. CD-RWs, V-CDs, S-VCDs, audio, and especially audio which is protected with Cactus 200, may be read at slower speeds. Q: 7.6. My drive is very slow reading protected discs! A: Depending on the protection, it can take several ours to read a disc, especially if there are lots of unreadable sectors. Q: 7.7. My game backups do not work in CD-RW drives! A: Some games try to find out if the inserted disc is a CD-R/W disc. This only works on burners and can be inhibited by activating „hide cd-r“. Q: 7.8. How do I enable "Hide CD-R media"? A: Left-Click on CloneCD-Tray. You see the option there. Q: 8.1. What media do LiteOns work well with? A: Generally, newer Mitsubishi and Taiyo Yuden media seems to work well, as well as better Riteks. Don’t use crap discs. Q: 8.2. How can I check the quality of a burn? A: You can scan discs using KProbe or WSES. Have a look at the Media FAQ in the Media Forum to learn more. Q: 8.3. I have written a CD-RW at 24x, but now it cannot be read properly or even not read at all! A: Did you try to use the bundled disc? Shame on you  The 24x CD-RW disc which had been bundled with my LiteOn 52x was terrible. Not even the new Plextor Premium can write to it reliably.The same goes for InfoDisc media, such as Memorex. If you do not want to gamble, then use Verbatim DataLifePlus CD-RW media.
__________________ I'm a real freak in many aspects! Last edited by alexnoe; 29-05-2003 at 22:47. |
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Posted: 15-03-2002 - #2
| Hello OC-Freak, 1st of all, keep up the good work!  < LTR-12102B: Not upgradable, mediatek chipset > You won´t believe me, but I´m thinking of that this device is MAYBE upgradeable to a 24x speed device (I´m not sure, but I THINK it could be possible)! If someone has this drive, I´ll send a firmware which will >try< to make a 24x speed device CYA V_Banshee v-banshee@gmx.de |
Posted: 15-03-2002 - #4
| Well, I don't think it's possible to upgrade it. It's different since it have 8Mb cache instead of 2Mb which is standard. Byside that I've already tried to upgrade it to a LTR-16102B, which didn't work. I don't have the drive availible right now, but I will have in 2 weeks
__________________ I'm a real freak in many aspects! |
Posted: 15-03-2002 - #5
| Yes, that´s right! But one question remains! Why did it worked to DOWNGRADE my 24102B to a 12102B? - I could write at 2x spead instead of 8x - Nero showed a 2MB buffer but it worked??? I don´t know why - I will do a few other tests in the next days but today I don´t have the time to do it  BTW: OC-Freak I´ve send you a backup of the 24102B firmware 5S54 for MTKFlash! Because a lack of time I can´t send it to the other people at this time! Would you do that for me? Thank you! CYA V_Banshee v-banshee@gmx.de |
Posted: 15-03-2002 - #6
| an another friend of mine owns the ltr-12102b i will ask him if he want to try it to upgrade to 24102b. i have mtkflash already i am going to try to backup the 12102b firmware in case the upgrade fails. and have you tryed mtkflash once for reflashing an firmware in an liteon drive ? does it works ? |
Posted: 16-03-2002 - #8
| Hello crackerrw, >an another friend of mine owns the ltr-12102b i will ask him if he >want to try it to upgrade to 24102b. > >i have mtkflash already i am going to try to backup the 12102b >firmware in case the upgrade fails. and have you tryed mtkflash >once for reflashing an firmware in an liteon drive ? does it works ? Yes, normally it works! I think it will work, why it shouldn´t, due a wrong firmware, you normally can´t "destroy" your drive because MTKFlash is "made" to recover it  CYA V_Banshee v-banshee@gmx.de |
Posted: 16-03-2002 - #9
| I hope that you will understand my posting Today I´m not able to write normally *gg* CYA V_Banshee v-banshee@gmx.de |
Posted: 18-03-2002 - #13
| Does anyone have a link to get the flash? The one at the Geocities isn't there anymore. |
Posted: 20-03-2002 - #15
| Hey OC, when you are posting the altered firmware for the burners, can you post the LTR 1610C also? |
Posted: 24-03-2002 - #16
| How do you upgrade? Is it as simple as using the firmware for the higher version?? I have an LTR-0841, which is 8x4x32. Do I simply flash the LTR-12101B firmware and it will now work at the 12101B speed? Thankx, ~Jonathan |
Posted: 24-03-2002 - #17
| Quote:
yes its verrrry easy , look here here is an description in how to do it :http://www.cdrinfo.com/tips/liteon_oc.shtml and it works i have done it to with mine 8x4x32 liteon it burns now at 12x |
Posted: 25-03-2002 - #18
| 12101B->16101B = died liteon i've ripped the binary from the original 16101B firmware upgrade exe, flased into my 12101B with pflash and the drive died. I tried to recover with the jumper trick but the 16101B firmware doesn't have the recovery feature i think. So i desoldered the flash eprom, reprogram it with external programmer and resolded. So, if someone is trying to upgrade the 12101B, DON'T TRY!! |
Posted: 01-04-2002 - #20
| can my liteon 24 10 2b be upgraded im new to all this so dont really have a clue any help would be greatful i also got a 12101b can that be done? |
Posted: 05-04-2002 - #21
| you list the LTR-40125S as not upgradable - on a website it gives the specs as - Use Flash ROM supports internet firmware upgrade this info comes from http://www.essencompu.com/nupplysingar.asp?ID=1768 I have ordered the LTR-40125S and being a newbie dont know about upgrading yet but am wondering if it will be possible to upgrade the LTR-40125S |
Posted: 05-04-2002 - #22
| It's possible to upgrade the firmware yes. But that's not what this list is for. It's not possible to upgrade it to a newer model to get higher write speeds since next model will most likely be a CAV writer and not Zone-CLV.
__________________ I'm a real freak in many aspects! |
Posted: 08-05-2002 - #23
| Quote:
now my q is why can't we just upgrade 2410B to 3212S ??? Thx
__________________ MaFd0n |
Posted: 17-05-2002 - #25
| OC-Freak what about the LTR-32125W. I'm shure its an LTR-40125W inside, but resticed by the f/w and the ID string... So I'd say you could upgrade a 32125W --> 40125W. The last two letters/numbers mean chipset. "5" must be they both use the same chipset (32125W + 40125W) And the "W" must indicate P-CAV writing, and "S" means Z-CLV. Anyhow I've ordered me a 32125W today, to see what an hex editor and MTKFLASH can do  
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