Need urgent help with my Litey Ltr-48125 CDRW!

CD, DVD and (Ultra HD) Blu-ray Writers LiteOn / PLDS / Sony Writer
#1

Hi! All

Today I disconnected everything from my computer and installed an extra 80mm chassis fan booted up my computer and everything went fine or so I thought. I went to eject my CDRW drive and the green light on my Lite-0n CDRW did the blinking thing but for some reason it wouldn’t eject.

I restarted Windows but the same thing kept happening. I then thought I would push a pin in the manual eject hole to see if I could free the problem of a sticky drive bay, if indeed that was the problem and then pushed the tray back in… while the power was off of course. When I started up Windows this time however I noticed it hung for a while and when I pressed the eject button nothing happened at all…No blinking green light or anything. It only blinks once upon restarting windows when it posts but then nothing. I disconnected the extra fan I installed but still “No Joy”.

My bios is seeing the drive correctly as the “Secondary Slave” and its still there in Windows.

I ran LtnFlash 1.2.2 and it sees both my Lite-On DVD and my CDRW drives though it seems to hang before it loads the Initial LtnFlash software interface. I thought to be safe I would try the backup option for my CDRW drive as I’ve done before successfully but all I get now is an error message “Drive not Support this feature!”

I placed the drive in another computer and Windows correctly identified and loaded it up but still No green light after post.

Does anyone have any idea how I should proceed…???

Any ideas as to what the problem might be ??..The drive was working perfectly the last time I used it yesterday:confused:

Thanks!

#2

I reflashed it back to my original f/w ws05 with MtkFlash in dos and it is now recognised in bios and windows as such…but still the green light only flashes once on restart then nothing at all.

I don’t know what to try now!!..since flashing isn’t making a difference. I have read many threads on problematic drives but never one quite like this!:confused:

BTW I am using WinXP Pro SP1 and AMD based Asus A7V8X-X MB…if that helps.

Any ideas anyone???

#3

Maybe you accidentally knocked the IDE or power cable out of the drive when you opened the case. Try re-seating the IDE cable (all connectors) and the power cable going to the drive. If that doesn’t work, try another IDE cable.

#4

Thanks for the input CDRecorder…but I rechecked all cables and tried it in another PC…later on I’ll try it in an old Pentium based Pc I’ve got lying around. I think since the bios and windows can see the drive correctly something else other than the usual symptoms of a dead drive has occurred.

If no one has any ideas I think I’'ll just have to buy a new one.:a

I will still buy Lite-On drives even though mine crapped out on me after just over a year of service.:slight_smile:

#5

You could also try going into DOS and flashing it with LTR-40125W firmware with MTKFlash; maybe that would help recover it.

BTW, I like my LTR-52327Ss; if you need a new drive, I would recommend the LTR-52327S.

#6

Just bought the LTR-52327Ss drive today and all I can say is holy crap!..What a drive Man! :eek:

Just did some prelimenary 700MB burns on some media that was giving me problems before on my Ltr-40125w. Particularly this 100 pack of Memorex Prodisc CD’s I bought a little while ago which I could only burn @ ~ 24X before but they now burn @ 52x with serious improvements SEE…check HERE for comparisons. My one came with the QS04 f/w. What’s the best current f/w that you guys are using for this drive???

Tried that already CDRecorder but No joy man!

Can disconnecting my parrallel port printer cable soon after powering off cause any problems like the ones I described???

I did wait for the green light on my Asus board to go out before I disconnected anything…but someone told me that the parrallel port cable being disconnected can sometimes cause a DOS cammand to shut a drive down. Is this BS!

I just don’t know what could cause my perfectly working drive to stop working like that…Please any ideas from the Lite-On Masters around here :bow: and how I could get this thing working again??? :confused:

#7

Yes, the LTR-52327S is good! :smiley:

Probably the best firmware would be QS09. There is a leaked version of QS0A available, but it slows down the speed for some discs. I’m using QSOA because it has better write quality on some old 12x Philips CD-RW discs, but for pretty much everything else, QS09 is better. [Edit] I flashed my 52327S drives back to QS09 because, after thinking about it, I realized that my 48125W works fine with the old CD-RW discs. [/Edit]

You can get QS09 from Lite-On’s web site. As always, I would recommend backing up your current firmware first (I’m sure you know how based on your previous comments) in case you don’t like the new firmware.

I’m sorry; the only other suggestion I have for recovering your old drive is to try flashing it in another computer. Pulling out your parallel cable shouldn’t cause any problem unless the computer is actually turned on (which I understand yours wasn’t). [Edit] You also might try resetting your CMOS settings, but write down your exist settings first in case you want to restore them to the way they currently are. [/Edit]

#8

You’ll find a new and improved firmware for the 7S HERE , QS0C. I can attest to the fact that it’s really good, scans are posted in the test forums (search for “QS0C”).

#9

Thanks for the suggestion CDRecorder…I will definately try the drive in another computer and flash in DOS with MTKFlash as soon as I get a chance. If I get the thing to work I will post back here.

Some nice scans there rdgrimes…Thanks for the heads up about the QS0C f/w. As soon as I back my original up, I will definately give that one a try. :slight_smile:

I remember vaguely something about reviving dead drives concerning something called the “Jumper trick”. Maybe someone can describe the procedure to me or a link to the procedure. I don’t want to believe that my Ltr-40125w drive is dead.:frowning:

If all else fails then I’ll take it apart to see what’s going on inside:rolleyes:

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions guys. :slight_smile:

#10

MTKFlash should take care of it for you. If it flashes successfully, but still doen’t work then it likely a dead drive. you can try booting to the drive or reading a disc in DOS to eliminate Windows issues.

#11

I don’t think the jumper trick is applicable; if I remember correctly, I think it was a trick for allowing the old 12x and 16x Lite-On drives (the ones with Burn-Proof) to be re-flashed in the event of a failed flash.

I’ll also give the QS0C firmware a try (I have flashed one of my 52327S drives with it, but I haven’t run any tests yet).

#12

Originally posted by CDRecorder

BTW, I like my LTR-52327Ss

if I remember correctly, I think it was a trick for allowing the old 12x and 16x Lite-On drives

CDRecorder,

This is regarding your scans in CD-RW Media forum.
Don’t you think the results would be better if you scaned the media with the LTR52327S ?

There was another jumper trick that was applicable for the LTR40125S/48125W.
It was discussed last summer and hopefully there still is that info available @this forum.

#13

Originally posted by BoSkin
[B]CDRecorder,

This is regarding your scans in CD-RW Media forum.
Don’t you think the results would be better if you scaned the media with the LTR52327S ?

There was another jumper trick that was applicable for the LTR40125S/48125W.
It was discussed last summer and hopefully there still is that info available @this forum. [/B]

The reason that I scanned the discs in my 48125W was to allow my results to be compared with each other more easily. Since the firmware could also change the reading ability of my drives, I felt it was better to use another drive that wasn’t likely to change. After all, if I got a better result from both burning and scanning on one firmware than another, it could be that the burn quality is better, or it could be that the read quality is better. However, if it is the general thought that scanning in the drive that burned the disc is better, I’ll change my posts. I did scan each disc in both drives, so I already have the pictures.

Interesting, the only jumper trick I’ve heard of was for the old drives I mentioned above! I’ll have to search around a little for the jumper trick for the 40125S/48125W. Thanks for the correction! :slight_smile:

#14

Originally posted by CDRecorder

Interesting
Fully agree with you.

Now, back to my former question, here’s someting that I meant - the same data & different drives :
( ignore the wrongly defined manufacturer in the KProbe 1.1.9 - that was a bug )


#15

Yes, those results certainly are different. I’m confused about what that has to do with me scanning my burned CDs on the burner that burned them, though. :confused:

#16

OK! guys just to keep you updated.

I reflashed the drive as Master & Slave on the secondary IDE cable on an older PentiumII 200 based PC I had lying around with MTKFlash 1.55 & 1.62…I then found a thread concerning the “Jumper Trick”, HERE for reference. I jumpered the Left side set of jumpers as follows;
0 0 0
0 _ _
Flashed the drive in DOS with MTKFLASH & before rebooting removed the extra jumper and still No Joy!

The drive is visible in Bios and windowsXp and since I have now managed to press the drive bay back in properly the green light flashes correctly on startup and when I press the EJECT button.

The characteristic internal “wisp” sound you hear when the drive bay closes on a working drive can be heard every time I press the Eject button along with the accompanying flashing green light but then nothing else happens.

I have no idea what could have caused this, I definately don’t think that OC’ing it was the problem. I have run the Kprobe utility quite often recently to compare and contrast some of my burns but since many of you have done the same I’m sure this can’t be the problem either. I guess in the end elctronics is like that something old as hell will work for seemingly forever, like my very old 4x4x24x HP CD RW drive and then something brand new will quit on ya!

I only hope my new 52327S drive performs much better.:slight_smile:

All that is left for me to do is to open up my LTR-40125W drive and see if there is any obvious signs of circuit failure…carbonised regions etc.

I’ll post back on my findings;)

#17

I wonder if the 40125W is partially not getting power. I mean that it would be getting power on the 5V rail but not on the 12V rail, or it might be getting power on the 12V rail but noy on the 5V rail. Did you try opening the tray when the drive was in your old machine?

Also, what happens if you start up the computer with only the power connector plugged into the 40125W (leave the IDE cable and audio cable, if applicable, disconnected). This is perfectly safe.

#18

I’m not sure I would call the 40125 drive “brand new”. :wink:
Apart from the power supply, I can’t think of anything else either. I would disconnect all non-essential hardware from the 12v lines and try it then.

#19

Originally posted by CDRecorder
Did you try opening the tray when the drive was in your old machine?

Yeah I used the manual pin eject method while it was in the other computer when I booted it into Windows. I also placed an audio CD in then pushed it shut and nothing happened…no spin up or lights…just nothing.

Originally posted by CDRecorder
Also, what happens if you start up the computer with only the power connector plugged into the 40125W (leave the IDE cable and audio cable, if applicable, disconnected). This is perfectly safe.

I will give that a go next CDRecorder.:wink:

Originally posted by rdgrimes
I’m not sure I would call the 40125 drive “brand new”.
…I’m a pretty sensible guy rdgrimes:bigsmile: I just meant I accept the consequences inherent in the science behind electronics even if it may not be convenient. :slight_smile:

#20

Originally posted by CDRecorder

I’m confused about what that has to do with me scanning my burned CDs on the burner that burned them, though. :confused:
Nothing’s wrong with that.
Although back to my case, I didn’t burn the data presented in the above pictures with the LTR52246S.
I’m afraid some are just hard to accept the fact that
the newer (LiteOn) drives are both better readers & writers.
That’s it. That’s what I meant when asking you about your scans.