Illegal disc errors when using ND6100A that has been upgraded to ND6500A

Firstly, apologies if the answer to this appears elsewhere. I've been looking for days and can't seem to find the solution to my exact problem.

I have a dell laptop which came with an NEC ND6100A DVD+R drive

I have recently upgraded my ND6100A to an ND6500A using the firmware flash tool by The Dangerous Brothers.
This should mean that my DVD drive is now DVD+-RW capable.

Everywhere I look, the drive is reported as being an NEC DVD+-RW ND-6500A.
Using the nero InfoTool, the compatible disc types include (for both reading and writing)
DVD-R
DVD-RW
DVD+R
DVD+RW

Whenever I insert a blank DVD-R into the laptop, it is correctly read as being a DVD-R and blank.
However whenever I try and burn an .iso file either using Nero or Sateira, I get an illegal disc error. This is not a problem with +Rs.


Most posts I have read said that simply flashing the firmware allowed them to use DVD-Rs. This hasn't been the case, and I have even tried Bit Setting but it made no difference.


Is there something fundamentally wrong with what I am trying to do? Can anyone offer a suggestion regarding what the problem is.
I've now got 60 blank DVD-Rs sitting on my desk that I cannot use.



Any help would be greatly appreciated

oh, and I've also tried several different decent brands, so I wouldn't think that the brand is the issue

Update your burning softwares and re-install the drive and ide channels in devicemanager, then restart.

also please post the mediacodes/MID of the media you have used.
You can get the info using dvd.identifier.

I recommend using my NEC Drive Converter and change your drive to 6500 here too. This should make it accept DVD-R media too.

It worked! Thanks heaps Liggy... I'm absolutely blown away at the sheer amount of work you guys have put into this topic area.

Hey guys & gals.

Noob here. I just appropriated a 6100A from a coworker who was turning in his Dell Latitude D800. I have a D600. I was having an issue getting the darned thing working as advertised - I was suspecting media issues, however, the Maxell DVD+R media seems to be descent - from my admittedly ignorant perspective.

At any rate, I did the 6100A (with 104D firmware) to 6500A conversion and then flashed in the 203D (using the FAST flavor) firmware.

My reason for posting is two-fold - First to say thanks for the Obvious Mega-Hours that went into developing this site/forum and the related tools. I am simply awe-struck at how obsessive some folks can be when it comes to subject matter such as this!

The altering/reflashing of the drive resolved my problem. For that, I am thankful - I can now back up a tremendous amount of data on a single piece of media. Wicked Kewl!!!

The second reason for my reply is to find out where I can go to help me get more edumacated as it relates to why so many firmware versions exist, and when it makes sense to consider 'converting a drive' and reflashing it.

The road that I went down seemed a bit overkill for a problem. I suspected that I had driver issues or media issues. However, the ends justified the means. I now have a 6500A drive and it works.

If someone can point me to where I can go to understand the underlying thought process' that one should employ when making these decisions, it would be appreciated.

My initial knee-jerk reaction is not to fudge with something that isn't broke, and as such, I suspect that I won't go further as I am able to burn DVDs now. (I lost my DVD burning virginity about 3 hours ago! ) However, I also acknowledge that there are all too often damn good reasons why one would consider upgrading firmware. I see that there is now a 203E version of the firmware, and also some 4XX series of firmware. I am struggling with determining if I need to go any further in applying any upgraded/different firmware, at the risk of breaking something, when what I now have seems to be working just fine...

Again, Thank You!!! Happy Holidays. Any input you can lend would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

-t

READ FIRST NEC/Optiarc FAQ
http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=120934

Also DO NOT FLASH the 4XX firmwares. These are slave firmwares that require flashing a slave bootcode to the drive first. There only reason for doing this is if your slimline drive does not allow your laptop to bootup because of IDE (master & slave) conflicts. Of course if your drive works with your laptop & you flash the bootcode, you will likely end up with an IDE conflict on bootup.

The slimline drive firmwares all have crazy numbering schemas between master & slave variations. Some have 1.xx|2.xx, some have 2.xx|4.xx, some have 1.xx|1.Px, and my ND-6750 has 2.xx|2.Tx. Thank NEC for that. Always stick with your current working series of firmware!

Also the easiest way to see which firmware is the "latest & greatest" is to sort & compare the writing strategy versions and the firmware dates. You can also use Media Code Speed Edit to make a debug dump of the supported media to a text file...then you can compare them to see what's different...like newer media ID's, writing speeds, etc.
http://ala42.cdfreaks.com