NEC FAQ and troubleshooting guide

*Wesociety* · 02-04-2004

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FAQ and troubleshooting guide.

Welcome to the NEC forum!

If you are brand new to online forums, please take a moment to watch this short flash animation: http://albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting.php
The animation references another forum, but all of the same rules apply here!

TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE:
If you are having an issue with your burner please read through the following items,
which provide resolutions to the most common issues with DVD writers.

1. Manually set the jumper pin on your DVD writer. (Do NOT use cable select, master is recommended)

2. Make sure your BIOS has DMA enabled.

3. Make sure DMA is enabled on your IDE channels in Windows Device manager. Wombles' DMA guide!

4. Check your IDE ribbon cable(s). It is recommended that you use an 80 wire UDMA IDE cable with a DVD writer. Replacing an old IDE cable has been known to solve DVD writing issues for many people.

5. Uninstall Intel Application Accelerator. (if applicable)

6. Using Nforce Nvidia IDE drivers and having problems? Uninstall them and reboot so that Windows loads the default Micrsoft IDE drivers.

7. Uninstall ANY packet writing software. Many people have had issues with packet writing software(s). Examples include Aheads’ InCD, Roxios’ DirectCD, and Sonics’ DLA.

8. Having issues with reading/writing a certain media type? Update to the latest firmware. PRINCO media is very poor quality and has been known to cause issues with all DVD writers. Many users have reported problems with RitekG04 media and the ND-2500A, search the forum for threads on this topic.

9. Defragment your harddrive! Obviously, DVD video files are very large and can quickly fill your harddrive to capacity. A fragmented harddrive can cause problems during DVD burning. Make sure to defragment your drive(s) regularly.

10. Problems with Nero? Make sure to update to the latest version! Many people prefer using RecordNow (including myself!) as their burning application. Ssseths’ RecordNow guide is an excellent reference!

11. More often than people realize, Windows can be a cause of problems, as there are countless things that could go wrong with Windows configuration that would cause problems. It can often be helpful to take a look at this thread.

12. What else can I try? Put your writer in a completely different PC and see if the same behaviour occurs. If there are no problems in another system, there is nothing wrong with the drive.

13. Other issue? Don’t forget the SEARCH button located at the top of every page! Dee-ehn also has a nice FAQ here.

*********************************

FAQ AND OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION:

How do I identify the MID (Manufacturer IDentification) code of my media?

I recommend using DVDIdentifier , which is very easy to use. If you would like to know the MID code for a certain brand before purchasing, you can try doing a search on our forums or checking the DVD media database at VIDEOHELP

How do I backup or flash firmware on my NEC drive?

The Dangerous Brothers have created an amazingly useful DOS firmware utility for the NEC drives. I've listed the commands HERE. chrome307 posted step by step instructions here.
Get the DOS utility -->http://tdb.rpc1.org
Get the Windows based flasher by Liggy and Herrie: http://binflash.cdfreaks.com

Can I use Kprobe to scan discs on my NEC drive?

No, Kprobe will only work with LiteOn manufactured drives. Other options for testing your DVDs with your NEC drive are Neros DVD/CD Speeds' Transfer rate & ScanDisc tests.
*Note CD-DVD Speed disc quality test (PI/PIF) does NOT work on NEC drives.

What is bitsetting or booktype?

Read THIS!
And this: Cdfreaks explains bitsetting

Does the ND-2500A drive support bitsetting?

Officially no, however the good news is that NEC provided a bitsetting capable firmware to HP (HP rebrands and resells NEC drives). Herrie and the Dangerous Brothers have patched this HP firmware for use on the original NEC drives! You can find discussions and download links for these firmwares in this forum.

What program do I use for bitsetting?

DVDBitsetter, or the NEC WinBtype utility. If you set the default booktype to DVD-ROM, the drive will retain the setting.

Does flashing a hacked/patched/modified firmware void my warranty?

Yes, any unofficial NEC firmware will void your warranty. If you do not know what you are doing, do not flash your drive! Firmware patchers refuse to be responsible for misuse of a patched firmware. USE THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Nero fails to verify my burnt DVDs but they appear to play fine and pass all other tests, is there something wrong?

Probably not, many people have reported issues with Neros’ verify feature. See HERE.

Does the ND-2500A have reading problems?

Some users have reported poor reading abilities for this drive. More information HERE

Where can I read a comprehensive review of the ND-2500A?

Read OC-Freaks' review HERE! I highly recommend that you read this review even if you already own the drive!

Is it possible to upgrade the ND-3500A to an ND-3520A by using a different firmware?

This upgrade is not possible due to the fact that NEC changed some essential parts in the hardware.

*********************************

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdgrimes

As with all of the branded burner forums, we ask that you post only NEC-specific topics here.
General hardware-related topics should go in the Recording Hardware Forum .
That would include things like "why is my burner not recognized", DMA issues and the like.
Software problems should go in the Recording Software Forum
Please do not be offended if your post gets moved to another forum,
it's only because we want all the information to be easily found by visitors.

*********************************

If you have any suggestions to improving this guide, please PM me! Thanks!

Revision history:
1.00 initial guide released
1.01 fixed some text color formatting
1.02 added what is bitsetting ?
1.03 made a few minor revisions
1.04 added DMA tutorial links, added a link to Dee-ehns' FAQ.
1.05 added question/link to OC-Freaks' 2500A review
1.06 added suggestion to try testing the writer in another PC
1.07 added check your IDE cable segment
1.08 added link for CDspeed2000.com, modded bitsetting text
1.09 added NEC gif and defrag segment
1.10 modified DOS flashing Q&A.
1.11 clarified DVD Speed functionality & a few other minor edits
1.12 added rdgrimes quote, added bitsetting apps, deleted 106 fw segment, and a few other minor edits
1.13 updated DMA guide links.
1.14 added link to cdf bitsetting article
1.15 modified binflash link and other misc edits
1.16 Added answer on upgrading 3500->3520
1.17 Added link to MSKB.

*zebra* · 02-04-2004

:-D. Wonderful work Wes!

Somebody sticky this!

bichi · 02-04-2004

Quote: Does the ND-2500A have reading problems?
I have not had any reading issues with my particular 2500A, but others have reported poor reading abilities for this drive. More information HERE

This is not true! - I tried the two "extra/bonus" "clear" disks in my 25pak spindle and they did not work.....

(hmmm... site date = April 02? - oh well, one day late....)

*rdgrimes* · 02-04-2004

Thank you Wesociety, I know just what to do with this thread.

BTW, my 2500 can read a week-old tortilla at 12x with no PI errors.
(no reading issues here either)

*zebra* · 02-04-2004

grimey...thats nothing.

Mine will read Enchilada wrap's....

*rdgrimes* · 02-04-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by zebra
grimey...thats nothing.

Mine will read Enchilada wrap's....

Is that the real corn-husk wraps or just the fake wax-paper wraps?

*zebra* · 02-04-2004

Alas, you have found me out. Fake from the packet....

no WONDER I had such a low Parity Outer count!

Hehehe.

In seriousness however, I would really like to try them some day - i.e, REAL milled and pounded cork-husk....

*Wesociety* · 02-04-2004

Thanks Zebra and rdgrimes.

hmm how did this thread turn into a bunch of bad jokes?

bichi · 03-04-2004

Quote: hmm how did this thread turn into a bunch of bad jokes?

Its because you are a highly valued resourse and 'cause we love ya, Wes-O!
Secondly, it was a bad case of timing, posting on April Fools Day, giving us, your buddies, a perfect opening! - hehee!
Thirdly, it was "payback" for torturing me at our forum with: "buy, buy, buy," and "order, order, order" messages. - (which worked, actually...)

Your LiteOn Buddies!

*Wesociety* · 03-04-2004

Ahhh, I knew my relenting of bichi would eventually pay off!
Welcome bichi to the NEC club!

mark_88 · 05-04-2004

This is driving me round the bend now..

My NEC 2500A has got to go back (terrible read problems), however. I need to re-flash the firmware back to the original before I do.

I've made a MS-DOS boot disk, I'm running FAT32, I've downloaded:

NEC2X00A.EXE DOS Flasher
STOCK106.BIN from http://tdb.rpc1.org/

Everytime I try to run NEC2X00A.EXE from DOS it just gives me the same error:

"error specify drive"

and then returns me to C:\

Where exactly am I supposed to specify the drive? there doesn't seem to be any clue as to what I'm supposed to do?

can someone help please?

regards

*Wesociety* · 05-04-2004

In DOS, navigate to the directory that contains NEC2x00A.exe and then just type NEC2x00A.exe and press enter.
This will display all of the program commands.

Usage : NEC2x00A [-pri] [-sec] [-ter] [-qua] [-mas] [-sla]
[-out <file>] [-flash <file>]

-pri Primary Controller
-sec Secondary Controller
-ter Ternary Controller
-qua Quaternary Controller
-mas Master Drive
-sla Slave Drive
-out file Specify backup file for current rom
-flash file Specify flash file to upload and burn

Examples:
nec2x00a -sec -mas -out hackedfw.bin
nec2x00a -sec -mas -out hackedfw.bin -flash STOCK106.BIN

Warning - This program is intended for use with the NEC ND2x00A or the OEM equivalent drives. Use with caution as a failure could render your drive unusable.

So assuming your drive is configured as Secondary master.
You would use:
NEC2x00A.exe -sec -mas -flash STOCK106.BIN

*rdgrimes* · 05-04-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by wesociety
In DOS, navigate to the directory that contains NEC2x00A.exe and then just type NEC2x00A.exe and press enter.
This will display all of the program commands.

WEsociety, I merged this with the FAQ thread for obvious reasons, and thanks again for taking the time.

mark_88 · 05-04-2004

Many thanks wesociety!

typingsux · 08-04-2004

I love you man!!

Ok not really, sorry.

I only have the NEC burner on it in master. I wouldn't have thunk it, but for some reason the second IDE channel was in PIO4 mode.

Changed it, rebooted.

Should have realized something was wrong when burning it slowed the computer down to almost nothing.

Now it's nice. Burning a 4 gig image I just made right now.

Total time. 3:50

It was about 2:33 in.

again.

Just one of those little oversights that you have to be reminded of from time to time.

meditek · 21-04-2004

Having a few problems with 'Power calibration'. Only thing I haven't done is to get rid of Intel Application Acc because I can't find an alternative DMA driver for the Intel 845 chipset.

Help would be appreciated.

Btw what's the problem with application accelerator?

Thanks

DavidW · 22-04-2004

If you have no DMA without the Intel Application Accelerator, hunt down the Intel Chipset Utility, which should then allow the standard Microsoft IDE drivers to install.

David

Gunterius · 04-05-2004

Hello there,

maybe a stupid question, but is there a difference between the NEC ND2500A and the NEC ND2500 ? (without A)

The review is super, so if somebody can confirm there is no difference, I will by one 2500 in my online shop at once !

Kind regards,

Gunterius

*Wesociety* · 04-05-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by Gunterius
is there a difference between the NEC ND2500A and the NEC ND2500 ? (without A)

No difference! They are one and the same drive.

meditek · 04-05-2004

Interestingly, the 'power calibration' problem disappeared. It will now burn pretty well anything.

*Wesociety* · 04-05-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by meditek
Interestingly, the 'power calibration' problem disappeared. It will now burn pretty well anything.

This has been discussed many times in the beta threads. The plaguing "power calibration" errors were a problem with older versions of Nero 6.X alone. The errors do not occur when using Nero 5.5.10.54 or any other burning application.

bigearmouse · 02-07-2004

I have a question with my NEC 2500A. There's no problem when i read CD, DVD
and burn a CD. But whenever I insert a blank DVD, it changes into CD-Driver and
won't work. I cannot burn a DVD. Does anyone know why?

lightk · 02-07-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigearmouse

I have a question with my NEC 2500A. There's no problem when i read CD, DVD
and burn a CD. But whenever I insert a blank DVD, it changes into CD-Driver and
won't work. I cannot burn a DVD. Does anyone know why?

Yeah ! I had the same problem. I just couldn't get it to recognise the DVD drive. I don't know why it happened but if you reboot the computer and try it should recognise it. Worked for me :-)

memphis_guy38 · 04-07-2004

I had an old nec 1100 and I just removed it and replaced it with a nec 2500a, not only did my D: disappear also my E: drive vanished, is there anything else that I need to do to get my computer to recognize the drives? I had an external case and plugged it into a USB port, it is being recognized that way. Any help would be appreciated.

zepp3lin · 21-07-2004

There's no more problem in using Nvidia's Nforce drivers version 4.24. Its the latest from Nvidia since June. I'm using Asus A7N8X Deluxe Nforce2 Board.
I've tested and my NEC2510A works fine reading and burning using Herries 1.07 v2 beta5.

02-04-2004	#2
zebra CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 576	:-D. Wonderful work Wes! Somebody sticky this! __________________ Remarkably, all of the well-known computer interfaces - and many non computer human-machine interfaces - are designed as though their designers expect us to have cognitive abilities that experiment shows we do not possess. Raskin, J., 2002, Cognetics and the Locus of Attention

02-04-2004	#5
zebra CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 576	grimey...thats nothing. Mine will read Enchilada wrap's.... __________________ Remarkably, all of the well-known computer interfaces - and many non computer human-machine interfaces - are designed as though their designers expect us to have cognitive abilities that experiment shows we do not possess. Raskin, J., 2002, Cognetics and the Locus of Attention

02-04-2004	#7
zebra CDFreaks Resident Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 576	Alas, you have found me out. Fake from the packet.... no WONDER I had such a low Parity Outer count! Hehehe. In seriousness however, I would really like to try them some day - i.e, REAL milled and pounded cork-husk.... __________________ Remarkably, all of the well-known computer interfaces - and many non computer human-machine interfaces - are designed as though their designers expect us to have cognitive abilities that experiment shows we do not possess. Raskin, J., 2002, Cognetics and the Locus of Attention

02-04-2004	#8
Wesociety CD Freak Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 5,230	Thanks Zebra and rdgrimes. hmm how did this thread turn into a bunch of bad jokes? __________________ WesleyTech.com Blu-ray Disc & consumer technology reviews, news & articles Last edited by wesociety; 03-04-2004 at 04:45.

03-04-2004	#9
bichi CD Freaks Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Silicon Valley, CA Posts: 386	Don't have Friends and post on April Fools Day! Quote: hmm how did this thread turn into a bunch of bad jokes? Its because you are a highly valued resourse and 'cause we love ya, Wes-O! Secondly, it was a bad case of timing, posting on April Fools Day, giving us, your buddies, a perfect opening! - hehee! Thirdly, it was "payback" for torturing me at our forum with: "buy, buy, buy," and "order, order, order" messages. - (which worked, actually...) Your LiteOn Buddies!

Today
Mr. Adbot Register to remove me Join Date: Today Location: Myce HQ Posts: Zillions

Today
Adbot Always the best offers Join Date: Today Location: Myce HQ Posts: Zillions

02-04-2004	#4
rdgrimes Retired Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Deadwood Posts: 11,533	Thank you Wesociety, I know just what to do with this thread. BTW, my 2500 can read a week-old tortilla at 12x with no PI errors. (no reading issues here either)

05-04-2004	#11
mark_88 New on Forum Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 10	2500A restoring original firmware! help? This is driving me round the bend now.. My NEC 2500A has got to go back (terrible read problems), however. I need to re-flash the firmware back to the original before I do. I've made a MS-DOS boot disk, I'm running FAT32, I've downloaded: NEC2X00A.EXE DOS Flasher STOCK106.BIN from http://tdb.rpc1.org/ Everytime I try to run NEC2X00A.EXE from DOS it just gives me the same error: "error specify drive" and then returns me to C:\ Where exactly am I supposed to specify the drive? there doesn't seem to be any clue as to what I'm supposed to do? can someone help please? regards

08-04-2004	#15
typingsux New on Forum Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 16	I love you man!! Ok not really, sorry. I only have the NEC burner on it in master. I wouldn't have thunk it, but for some reason the second IDE channel was in PIO4 mode. Changed it, rebooted. Should have realized something was wrong when burning it slowed the computer down to almost nothing. Now it's nice. Burning a 4 gig image I just made right now. Total time. 3:50 It was about 2:33 in. again. Just one of those little oversights that you have to be reminded of from time to time.

21-04-2004	#16
meditek New on Forum Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 10	Having a few problems with 'Power calibration'. Only thing I haven't done is to get rid of Intel Application Acc because I can't find an alternative DMA driver for the Intel 845 chipset. Help would be appreciated. Btw what's the problem with application accelerator? Thanks

22-04-2004	#17
DavidW CD Freaks Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Bedfordshire, UK Posts: 450	If you have no DMA without the Intel Application Accelerator, hunt down the Intel Chipset Utility, which should then allow the standard Microsoft IDE drivers to install. David

04-05-2004	#18
Gunterius New on Forum Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 1	NEC 2500A or 2500 ? Hello there, maybe a stupid question, but is there a difference between the NEC ND2500A and the NEC ND2500 ? (without A) The review is super, so if somebody can confirm there is no difference, I will by one 2500 in my online shop at once ! Kind regards, Gunterius

02-07-2004	#22
bigearmouse New on Forum Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1	Re: NEC FAQ and troubleshooting guide I have a question with my NEC 2500A. There's no problem when i read CD, DVD and burn a CD. But whenever I insert a blank DVD, it changes into CD-Driver and won't work. I cannot burn a DVD. Does anyone know why?

04-07-2004	#24
memphis_guy38 New on Forum Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1	My computer doesn't recognize my new 2500a I had an old nec 1100 and I just removed it and replaced it with a nec 2500a, not only did my D: disappear also my E: drive vanished, is there anything else that I need to do to get my computer to recognize the drives? I had an external case and plugged it into a USB port, it is being recognized that way. Any help would be appreciated.

21-07-2004	#25
zepp3lin New on Forum Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 19	Re: NEC FAQ and troubleshooting guide There's no more problem in using Nvidia's Nforce drivers version 4.24. Its the latest from Nvidia since June. I'm using Asus A7N8X Deluxe Nforce2 Board. I've tested and my NEC2510A works fine reading and burning using Herries 1.07 v2 beta5.

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