Buffer fluctuates and limits burning to 12x???

I just got the NEC ND-2510 and Nero 6 OEM S-3 (new to nero 6). I was copying a cd and during the burn process I was only getting 12x at the most and the buffer was fluctuating up and down from 10% to 100% over and over and the burn speed followed with 9x and 12x. My drive is capable of burning at 32x. Everything turned out OK but I'm just wondering why the fluctuation and limit in burning speed. Anyone know what's wrong?

Have you checked if DMA is enabled for your NEC drive? It should be running in UDMA mode 2, if it's in PIO mode then you'll experience the problems you're describing. Please provide us with details on your system if you need more help. Details include things like operating system, hardware set-up, etc.

You might also have this problem if your writer is on a hard drive controller card. I know I do.

I think it was the DMA. I enable it and it seems to be better although not as fast as I would like. I'll keep you posted on things as they go and hope there are no other issues.

Thanks!

Hey guys I have a similar problem with my Liteon 48161H Combo drive. When I select burn at 32x or more, the simulation goes right and during the burn process after around 39-40 % the LED color changes for a moment and the write speed suddenly drops to 16x and the write proceeds to complete successfully. But when I try to read the CD, some of the files are inaccessible. I dont experience this problem when using a CD-RW. Due to this reason I got the drive back after I gave it for RMA and when I contacted them for the problem again I was told that they tested using CD-RW and everything went right. I have tried several different media. I have given the drive back for RMA.