Plextor PX-708A woes

[rprusso]

Hi all! This is my first post here. I apologize if this issue has allready been discussed here but I couldn’t find anything on it here. I’ve used a Plextor PX-708A drive without problems since December of 2003. About 2 weeks ago I updated the firmware from version 1.01 to 1.08. I’ll forever regret that decision. Ever since the firmware update my drive will not recognize ANY CD media, read or write. It DOES still read and write DVD media with no problems. The Plextor drive was originally installed as a slave with a Nec 1450 CDrom drive as Master on the secondary IDE port, despite everything I’ve read about recommending it be Master with no slave. It worked flawlesly until the firmware update. I have reconfigured the drives in every possible way to no avail. It is currently the Master drive with the Nec drive as slave on secondary IDE port, and yes I did try it with no other drive installed to no avail. The Nec drive also stoped reading CD media and I resolved that problem by doing the following, which I found in a post in another forum:

[B]Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
Locate the UpperFilters value under the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
Locate the LowerFilters value under the same key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
Quit Registry Editor.NOTE: After you remove the Upperfilters value and the Lowerfilters value, if you notice lost functionality in a particular program, such as CD recording software, you may need to reinstall that software. If the problem recurs, consult with the software vendor for assistance. [/B]

I thought this was magic! lol It worked on the Nec drive but had no effect on the PX-708A. In the last 2 weeks I have tried everything, including software and hardware trouble shooting to no avail. The drive worked flawlessly before the firmware update and I can’t go back to version 1.01. I’ve tried every version from 1.02 to 1.09. 1.09 is currently installed. Tech support has been terrible. They have told me on 2 separate calls that they have never heard of this problem. One tech support rep suggested I revert to version 1.01, which according to Plextor engineers is impossible. As far as Plextor is concerned I’m sol and they suggested I buy a new drive. I suspect a software problem with probably the registry but if it’s a hardware problem, Plextor’s firmware upgrade caused it. Does anyone have any information on resolving this problem? I’ve spent all of my spare time in the past 2 weeks with this issue.

[DVD_ADDICT]

try the self diagnostic test on the drive which is in the manual. what are your computer specs? it would be helpful if you listed your computer hardware, software and what operating system you’re using. try using a new ide cable on the 708a. the last resort would be to reinstall windows with the least amount of software installed then test the 708a drive again. if it all fails then the drive could be failing.

[rprusso]

As I said, my drive was working perfectly before I updated the firmware. I have tried everything, I’ve spent money on new media and cables. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled software, uninstalled drives and ide secondary ide channel from devise manager. The bottom line is, the firmware update did something to render my drive unusable with cd media. I know I’m not the only one this has happen to but I’ve yet to find a solution short of replacing the drive. I’m very frustrated and it’s very suspicious that the only firmware version that you can’t re-install is the one that my drive worked with. The drive passes the self test with dvd media but does not pass with cd media.

[DVD_ADDICT]

I asked what operating system and computer hardware you’re using. It would be helpful if you posted it because it would be easier to help you out. There are many variables in dvd burning which includes hardware and software. As I stated the last resort would be to reinstall windows and load the least amount of software just to test the drive out. There are known software/hardware conflicts so it’s important to know what your computer components are such as motherboard and operating system. What burning software are you using? If you’ve used NERO BURN did you use the NERO CLEAN TOOL after you uninstalled and reinstalled it? Information like that is important to know in order to help you.

[rprusso]

I was using Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 which was bundled with my drive. I have done a clean uninstall and currently have no burning software installed. Following are my system stats. Understand that the only thing that changed on my system was updateing the firmware. I have had no problems with my drive untill I updated the firmware.

SiSoftware Sandra

Mainboard
Manufacturer : First International Computer, Inc.
MP Support : No
Model : VB-601
Version : 1.3
Serial Number : Serial number xxxxxx
System BIOS : 03/08/1999-i440BX-2A69KF09C-00
Chipset : Intel 440BX/DX/ZX

Memory Controller
Error Detection Method : Parity
Error Correction Capability : None
Number of Memory Slots : 4
Maximum Installable Memory : 1GB
Maximum Module Size : 256MB
Supported SDRAM Speeds : PC66, PC100, PC133
Supported Memory Types : DIMM, SDRAM
Supported Memory Voltages : +3.3V

Physical/BIOS Memory Banks
DIMM1 (RASL-0 RASL-1) : 256MB DIMM SDRAM double-bank
DIMM2 (RASL-2 RASL-3) : 256MB DIMM SDRAM double-bank
DIMM3 (RASL-4 RASL-5) : 256MB DIMM SDRAM double-bank
DIMM4 : Empty

Chipset 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82443BX/ZX 440BX/ZX CPU to PCI Bridge (AGP Implemented)
Bus(es) : ISA AGP PCI USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)
Maximum FSB Speed / Max Memory Speed : 1x 100MHz / 1x 100MHz
Width : 64-bit
IO Queue Depth : 4 request(s)

Logical/Chipset 1 Memory Banks
Bank 0 : 128MB SDRAM 3-3-3-0
Bank 1 : 128MB SDRAM 3-3-3-0
Bank 2 : 128MB SDRAM 3-3-3-0
Bank 3 : 128MB SDRAM 3-3-3-0
Bank 4 : 128MB SDRAM 3-3-3-0
Bank 5 : 128MB SDRAM 3-3-3-0
Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)
Multiplier : 1/1x
Width : 64-bit
Refresh Rate : 15.60µs
Power Save Mode : No
Fixed Hole Present : No

AGP Bus(es) on Hub 1
Version : 1.00
Speed : 2x 66MHz (132MHz data rate)
Multiplier : 2/3x
Side Band Enabled : Yes
Aperture Size : 128MB

PCI Bus(es) on Hub 1
Version : 2.10
Number of Bridges : 1
PCI Bus 0 : PCI (33MHz)
Multiplier : 1/3x

LPC Hub Controller 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82371EB/MB PIIX4E/M ISA Bridge
ACPI Power Management Enabled : Yes
Multiplier : 1/4x
Speed : 8MHz
DMA Multiplier : 1/2x
DMA Speed : 4MHz

USB Controller 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82371AB/EB/MB PIIX4/E/M USB Controller
Version : 1.10
Interface : UHCI
Channels : 2
Speed : 48MHz
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps)
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

USB Controller 2
Model : Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi) ALI M5237 OpenHCI USB Controller
Version : 1.00
Interface : OHCI
Channels : 2
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps)
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

USB Controller 3
Model : Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi) ALI M5237 OpenHCI USB Controller
Version : 1.00
Interface : OHCI
Channels : 2
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps)
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

USB Controller 4
Model : Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi) ALI M5237 OpenHCI USB Controller
Version : 1.00
Interface : OHCI
Channels : 2
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps)
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

USB Controller 5
Model : Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi) USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller
Version : 2.00
Specification : 1.00
Interface : EHCI
Channels : 6
Companion Controllers : 3
Supported Speed(s) : Low (1.5Mbps) Full (12Mbps) High (480Mbps)
Addressing Support : 32-bit
Legacy Emulation Enabled : No

FireWire/1394 Controller 1
Model : Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi) ALI M5253 p1394 OHCI 1.1 Controller
Version : 1.10
Interface : OHCI
Enhanced Support : Yes
Channels : 64
Speed : 400MHz

System SMBus Controller 1
Model : Intel/SW PIIX4/OSBx SMBus
Advanced TCO Mode Enabled : No
Slave Device Enabled : Yes
PEC Support : No
Speed : 16kHz

Expansion Slot(s)
ISA : ISA 16-bit +5V Full-Length
ISA : ISA 16-bit +5V Full-Length
PCI (8h) : PCI 32-bit +5V Full-Length Used (Creative Labs SB0220 SBLive! 5.1 Digital)
PCI (9h) : PCI 32-bit +5V Full-Length Available (Acer Labs Incorporated (ALi) ALI M5237 OpenHCI USB Controller)
PCI (Ah) : PCI 32-bit +5V Full-Length Available (Microsoft Corp ??? (0002))
PCI (Bh) : PCI 32-bit +5V Full-Length Available (Lucent/Agere Systems (Was: AT&T MicroElectronics) LT WinModem 56k Data+Fax+Voice+Dsvd)
PCI (Ch) : PCI 32-bit +5V Full-Length Available

Port Connector
PRIMARY IDE : None - ATA / None
SECONDARY IDE : None - ATA / None
FLOPPY : 8251 FIFO - Floppy Disk / None
COM1 : Serial Port 16450 - None / DB-9 pin male
COM2 : Serial Port 16450 - None / DB-9 pin male
LPT : Parallel Port ECP/EPP - None / DB-25 pin female
KB : Keyboard - None / PS/2

Processor
Model : Intel® Pentium® III
Speed : 702MHz
Performance Rating : PR842 (estimated)
Type : Standard
L2 On-board Cache : 256kB ECC Synchronous, ATC, 8-way set, 32 byte line size

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA AGP PCI USB FireWire/1394 i2c/SMBus
MP Support : No
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : Award Software International, Inc. 4.51 PG
System : System Manufacturer Product Name
Mainboard : First International Computer, Inc. VB-601
Total Memory : 768MB SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Intel Corporation 82443BX/ZX 440BX/ZX CPU to PCI Bridge (AGP Implemented)
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 768MB SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Plug and Play Monitor
Adapter : GeCube RADEON 9200 SE 128MB Game Buster (DNA 2.2.4.3a)
Adapter : GeCube RADEON 9200 SE 128MB Game Buster - Secondary (DNA 2.2.4.3a)
Imaging Device : Canon MP390

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : Maxtor 6E030L0 (29GB)
Hard Disk : Canon MP Memory Card USB Device
CD-ROM/DVD : NEC CD-ROM DRIVE:282
CD-ROM/DVD : PLEXTOR DVDR PX-708A (CD 63X Rd, 31X Wr) (DVD 8X Rd, 4X Wr)

Logical Storage Devices
1.44MB 3.5" (A:) : N/A
Ntfs_vol1 (C:) : 19GB (9.3GB, 50% Free Space) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (E:) : N/A
Removable Drive (F:) : N/A
Ntfs2 (G:) : 10GB (9.9GB, 99% Free Space) (NTFS)

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 3 COM / 0 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : ALi PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Intel® 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Composite Device
USB Controller/Hub : USB Printing Support
USB Controller/Hub : USB Mass Storage Device
USB Controller/Hub : Canon MP390 FAX
FireWire/1394 Controller/Hub : OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
Keyboard : PC/AT PS/2 Keyboard (84-Key)
Mouse : Logitech-compatible Mouse PS/2

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : Creative SB Live! series
Device : Creative Game Port

Communication Device(s)
Device : Lucent Win Modem #2

Printers and Faxes
Model : Canon MP390 Series Printer
Model : Canon MP390 FAX
Model : Canon Bubble-Jet BJC-600

Power Management
AC Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Home (Win32 x86) 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)

Network Services
Adapter : Microsoft® PCI Adapter MN-130

SiSoftware Sandra

General Information
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Home (Win32 x86) 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)
Full Name : Microsoft Windows XP 5.1.2600 : Service Pack 2
Kernel Type : Uniprocessor Free
Number of Licenced Processors : 1
BackOffice Components : No
Small Business Components : No
Terminal Services Components : No
Product ID : 55285-013-3744296-21378
Product Key : FHJVP-Y4YXM-D6QMK-4J9WP-RWCX4

Activation Status
Activation Required : No

Data Execution Prevention (DEP)
Supported by CPU : No
Applications Protected : No
Drivers Protected : No

Default Key Applications
Web Browser : Internet Explorer 6.00.2900.2180
E-mail : Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
News Reader : Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
Media Player : Windows Media Player 10.00.00.3802
Internet Call : NetMeeting 5.01.2600.2180
Address Book : Address Book 6.00.2900.2180

Session Settings

Display Scheme : Windows Standard
Time Since Start-Up : 1 hour(s) 45 minutes(s) 32 seconds(s)

OS Properties
Debug Version : No
Security Present : No
Remote Terminal Session : No

Boot Features
Boot Type : Normal

Automatic Update
Active Service : Yes
Status : Disabled

Installed Windows Updates
Microsoft Windows Journal Viewer (Windows XP) : Updates, Windows XP family (7MB)
ATI Technologies, Inc - Video - GeCube RADEON 9200 SE 128MB Game Buster : Drivers, Windows XP family (5.7MB)
ATI Technologies, Inc - Video - GeCube RADEON 9200 SE 128MB Game Buster - Secondary : Drivers, Windows XP family (5.7MB)

Available Windows Updates
Microsoft Windows Journal Viewer (Windows XP) : Updates, Windows XP family (7MB)
ATI Technologies, Inc - Video - GeCube RADEON 9200 SE 128MB Game Buster : Drivers, Windows XP family (5.7MB)
ATI Technologies, Inc - Video - GeCube RADEON 9200 SE 128MB Game Buster - Secondary : Drivers, Windows XP family (5.7MB)

Regional Settings
User Default Locale : 1033
Country : United States
Language : English (United States)
Currency : $
Time Zone : Pacific Daylight Time
ANSI Code Page : 1252
OEM Code Page : 437

Operating System Folders
Windows Folder : C:\WINDOWS
System Folder : C:\WINDOWS\system32
Application Data Path : C:\Documents and Settings\Rick\Desktop
Programs Path : C:\Program Files
Programs Path : C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\System32\Wbem;C:\Program Files\Common Files\Roxio Shared\DLLShared;C:\Program Files\ATI Technologies\ATI Control Panel
Temporary Folder : C:\WINDOWS\TEMP

[DVD_ADDICT]

in my opinion EASY CD/DVD CREATOR is crappy software for DVD burning. i don’t understand why plextor USA bundles their drives with EASYCD/DVD. the software is known to create software/hardware conflicts. i would try using another burning software like NERO BURN which has a trial version you could try out. it’s been reported that having EASY CD/DVD and NERO BURN installed on the same pc will cause conflicts. If you’re going to install the trial version of NERO BURN make sure you don’t have the EASY CD/DVD CREATOR installed and make sure all registry entries of EASY CD/DVD are deleted in the windows registry.

[rprusso]

It’s almost as though nothing I’ve said has been contemplated. I used the PX-108 with the same hardware and software successfully since December 2003. Whether the burn software is considered inferior or not, it worked and the drive worked with firmware version 1.01. The drive read every audio cd I ever fed it and it burned everything successfully, cd and dvd media. What’s not being addressed is why it worked up to and until the firmware update 2 weeks ago and now it will not read cd media. I have seen multiple past, current and ongoing reports of problems after firmware updates. You, like Plextor tech support continue to evade the issue and send end users off on wild goose chases involving hours and days of lost productivity trying to reinvent the wheel. THE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WORKED FLAWLESSLY UNTIL THE MOMENT THE FIRMWARE UPDATE WAS APPLIED. I would like to know why this would happen and how to solve it. Also I would like to know why firmware version 1.01 can not be re-applied when every other version after it can.

[DVD_ADDICT]

You, like Plextor tech support continue to evade the issue and send end users off on wild goose chases involving hours and days of lost productivity trying to reinvent the wheel. THE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE WORKED FLAWLESSLY UNTIL THE MOMENT THE FIRMWARE UPDATE WAS APPLIED. I would like to know why this would happen and how to solve it. Also I would like to know why firmware version 1.01 can not be re-applied when every other version after it

For someone new on this forum site you seem to be very rude by assuming I was evading the issues like the Plextor tech support. I was merely giving you suggestions and tried to help you out. I don’t know why you can’t go back to a older firmware. So with that in mind you’re on your own buddy. Good Luck on getting assistance from anyone else on this forum site.

[rprusso]

I’m sorry you took offense. I was not trying to be rude, perhaps exhibiting frustration since I was pretty clear about the issue and that I have tried everything under the sun to no avail. It just seemed to me that you were not reading everything I posted. The issue is the firmware update. My hope was that enough time has elapsed since the PX-708A has been released that most problems have been resolved and that someone on this forum could share there solution with me. Please accept my apology for offending you. I am at my wits end with this situation and can’t afford or justify purchasing another drive right now. It’s beyond my comprehension why a firmware update would render my drive unusable with cd media.

[rprusso]

I’ve spent a couple of hours searching other threads in this forum and have found lots of other PX-708A’s have suffered the same fate with the only resolution being RMA back to Plextor. Plextor has had to know about this problem for some time now and there is no warnings to end users on their firmware update page. If I’d seen a warning indicating known issues with firmware updates on PX-708A drives I would have never applied the update and I would still have a working drive today. This really irritates me and at this point I guess I’m just blowing off steam. It’s so hard for me to accept that a firmware update can disable a laser. Isn’t it possible another update could re-enable it? I know I’m fighting a losing battle here. Someone pitty me and put me out of my misery. Can someone suggest a good affordable cd burner, since my Plextor reads and writes dvd’s I just can’t throw it away. lol Plextor’s closed lip on this issue really burns me up.

[Cyker]

Is it possible to try the drive in another system?

You could also try forcing Windows to redetect the drives:
Delete the drives in Device Manager then shut down the compy and disconnect both drives.

Boot into Windows again, let it load up then shut it down again.

Re-connect both drives and hope it works…

[Jonny_doe]

why can’t you put firmware from version 1.01 back on it m8 ???
I can help u out with all the firmwares for this drive , let me know if you need any

[rprusso]

Looks like all my bitching and moaning has paid off. Plextor is going to replace my drive with a PX-712A. I’m publicly apologizing for bashing Plextor tech support. I’ll have to get up to speed on the PX-712A now. Thanks to all of you who maintain this site and thanks for the suggestions.

[moen]

Good luck with your new drive, but with the old, it seems that you are the one in several thousands that have irreversibly bad luck with firmware upgrades. A friend of mine had a similar occurence…he updated from the original to 1.06,and his burned would not work after that. But Plextor also replaced his unit.

Right after you update firmware you should run a good Registry cleaner, because sometimes there are values from the original firmware that is not reased, and then the value for the new firmware conflicts with the old value and that can cause your burner to be unreliable. for many reasons, you should run a reg cleaner regularly.

[drpino]

PX-708UF (TLA0002)
on-the-fly burn in Plextools Pro 2.21
FW 1.09

scans done in Premium. 2 C2s but read transfer is fine all the way to 52X.

[system]

I have been using it. outlook express missing folders and recover dbx more stable and secure than other programs.