When windows overpowers you...

[Skorpio81]

Good day everyone,

I am about to just throw my pc away and turn to mac(everyone probably has the same feelin when using windows). Ever since I bought my new pc, I've had several problems regarding the DVD-R/DVD-RW. It kept crashing around 54%,98%. At first I thought it was Nero (cause I was nero)..nope wasnt nero, then checked my drivers for the dvd writer, wrong again... Thought I had one of those faulty writers (checked on forums) so I bought a new dvd writer(NEC Nd-3551A). I was so happy when the first cd I burned worked, turned out I was fooled because the next ones all died.... At the end, I just blamed windows and noticed that my *cough* pirated *cough* version of Windows xp pro was at fault because I could only get the important updates regarding security, but I was missing out the imapi stuff ( i think ).

My question is, is it windows? anyone knows where I could get a working version (except the legal way :p) of windows that actually lets me update more than the security stuff.

Or is windows not to blame here?

ps: I've lost about 140 memorex dvds each costing 5sfrs each... I'll let you do the math in your currency :p

Thanks in advance!

[tesco]

Why not try different media?

I'd have tried that before buying a new dvd writer.

[Yoga]

Throw your pc out the window and get a mac. When the mac starts giving you problems, stare at the reflection in the monitor of the individual which is the source of all problems. Then toss him out the window.

[Snee]

Abacus FTW.

[Skorpio81]

But I have another pc with the latest Nero premium and its working fine. Yes, the other has a legitimate Windows Home edition (its a dell, dont hit me! :( )

[Virtualbody1234]

When it crashes, does it give you an error message?

Could you post the full system specs?

[fkdup74]

(everyone probably has the same feelin when using windows)

no, not really
maybe a feeling of fdisk > install Linux, but,
let's-throw-out-a-just-as-powerful-machine-for-way-less-in-favor-of-a-moneypit,
nah....can't say that I've had that feeling :wacko:

[harrycary]

I can only think the problem is the short between the chair and the keyboard.

Give some details instead of embellishments regarding your thoughts about the O/S.

[zapjb]

My guess would be that you bought a sh***y computer. With shiny stat components that aren't worth a d*mn irl. Which leads to my favorite guess. Because with the lack of info, thats all this "help" you're really getting. It's the cheap *ss PSU. Or the lack of RAM (always a good 2nd guess). If you want real help give us real info.:angry: :frusty: :pinch:

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

yea, post more info on the problem :unsure: ........ooohh look, my post count went up by one :yahoo:

[Skorpio81]

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+
Speed : 2.41GHz
Model Number : 4800 (estimated)
Performance Rating : PR7236 (estimated)
Cores per Processor : 2 Unit(s)
Threads per Core : 1 Unit(s)
Type : Dual-Core
Internal Data Cache : 2x 64kB Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way set, 64 byte line size
L2 On-board Cache : 2x 1MB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set, 64 byte line size

Mainboard
Bus(es) : PCI PCIe USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support : 1 Processor(s)
MP APIC : No
System BIOS : Phoenix Technologies, LTD ASUS A8N-E ACPI BIOS Revision 1008
System : System manufacturer System Product Name
Mainboard : ASUSTeK Computer INC. A8N-E
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Athlon 64 / Opteron HyperTransport Technology Configuration
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 1005MHz (2010MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 1GB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 160MHz (320MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : COMPAQ V50 Color Monitor
Adapter : NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : Maxtor 6B200P0 (190GB)
Hard Disk : ST3300831AS (279GB)
CD-ROM/DVD : PLEXTOR DVD-ROM PX-130A (CD 50X Rd) (DVD 6X Rd)
CD-ROM/DVD : _NEC DVD_RW ND-3551A (CD 48X Rd, 48X Wr) (DVD 6X Rd, 6X Wr)
CD-ROM/DVD : SCSIVAX DVD/CD-ROM SCSI CdRom Device (CD 32X Rd) (DVD 4X Rd)

Logical Storage Devices
Hard Disk (C:) : 279GB (118GB, 42% Free Space) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (E:) : N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (F:) : N/A
Hard Disk (G:) : 190GB (11GB, 6% Free Space) (NTFS)

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 1 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : HID-compliant mouse
Human Interface : USB Human Interface Device

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device
Device : Standard Game Port
Device : Realtek AC'97 Audio

Printers and Faxes
Model : Microsoft Office Document Image Writer

Power Management
AC Line Status : On-Line

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

I hope thats enough :[
edit: the plextor is disable
edit2: dont start with the compaq monitor please >_<

[zapjb]

Look I'm tired & there's so much extraneous information. What PSU? What case & how many case fans? What brand & speed & latency RAM?

[Skorpio81]

Case: ThermalTake Dragon with 6 fans
PSU: Antec 480w ATX12v
Ram: Kingston DDR-SDRAM 1gb PC-2700

[Virtualbody1234]

Why so many optical drives? Disconnect all but the DVD burner and try it like that.

What drivers have you installed? List them.

You have 333MHz RAM with a Dual Core CPU? Why?

[zapjb]

All I can say after missing the obvious is, yeah why so many optical drives?

So my surmise is even though that's a good PSU. With all those drives & fans it's not enough.

[Skorpio81]

drivers for my nec-nd3551a: 5.1.2535.0 (nec's website doesnt help much for finding the right drivers)

For the optical drives? well, there's the normal dvd and the new nec dvd-r (the plextor is the one I had before replacing it) I disabled it

[Virtualbody1234]

List all the driver you have installed. Chipset, Sound, Video etc...

About the optical drives. Don't just disable them. Disconnect them. Leave only one DVD burner and try it like that.

You could also try disconnecting extra devices to see if the power supply is overloaded or not. Disconnect all unnessasary fans and even the second HDD.

[Chewie]

You don't clarify whether you're burning CDs or DVDs. I assume you're having trouble burning DVDs.

Not all media are the same and good DVDs at a value price are difficult to find.
Take a look at this page for information on media products and how to tell what you have.
http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm
If your media is listed here as 'landfill material' then it's a safe bet there's where your problem lies.

IME, Memorex haven't made a single decent thing.

[Skorpio81]

Sorry virtual body, cant seem to list every drivers.
Basically (no to sound lazy), only my graphic card and the cd/dvd drives are up-to-date. Other stuff like, the motherboard,sound card and co are still the default drivers. I only disconnected the LED Panel because I dont really need the shiny lights and stuff other than that I doubt the PSU is overloaded cause I still have like 4 extensions left. On my side, I've updated the firmware of the Nec dvd writer and i've yet to test it out. It's late here, I'll give you the feedback tomorrow.. sorry :s

Chewie: thanks for the web, I took a look and noticed the ones I hated the most were actually the best(talking about tkd).

ps: thanks for helping me out here

[fkdup74]

why would you hate TDK? :huh:

they've made quality blank media dating all the way back to cassette tape

believe me, I've used em :lol: :(


anyway, I'm gonna take a wild guess here.....
you have the NEC set up as a slave on one of the IDE channels?
most DVDRW manufacturers recommend a setting of master
my old HP DVD 420 would not burn worth a shit in slave config,
and it was a re-badged NEC
but then, it hardly burned worth a shit period, so I canned it and got my LiteOn :P

[Virtualbody1234]

I doubt the PSU is overloaded cause I still have like 4 extensions left.
I question your logic about not being overloaded because of the unused connectors.


I really think you should install the chipset drivers.


As for DVD+R media brands... I like Verbatim, Maxell and Sony. In that order (and watch out for fakes).

[zapjb]

Exactly VB. OP should run with the bare minimum. But that would be too logical. I guess I'll write those checks to those friendly Nigerians. I still have checks!!!

[peat moss]

Gee so many disks ruined , what was your first clue ? Thats interesting never had a problem myself with media . Mabye buy some some rw's ? Hope you get it sorted . :)

[Virtualbody1234]

That's a very good point, peat.

Buy a rw disk and test to your hearts content. No more wasting money.

[Chewie]

Chewie: thanks for the web, I took a look and noticed the ones I hated the most were actually the best(talking about tkd).

TDK use many dyes and some aren't so good; also beware of fakes.
Run Nero's InfoTool on your discs and see what the disc manufacturer code is. You may find that you have one of their questionable lines.

[peat moss]

That's a very good point, peat.

Buy a rw disk and test to your hearts content. No more wasting money.


Ya VB , Its from my own troubles with older burners , drivers etc. Some times its the simple things . :)

[zapjb]

Hey peat, misspelling again. It's one word. And tons is the suffix not things. :)

[peat moss]

Hey peat, misspelling again. It's one word. And tons is the suffix not things. :)


Only because FF 1.0.5 does n't support my fav. spellchecker , Ah whats a forum member suppose to do ? :lol:

[Skorpio81]

Hello again,

Hope someone is still reading this :x. I am downloading the latest chipset drivers and new BIOS revision(haha, I swear im gonna fuck up the bios :s)

Because ASUS BW is so slow( max 5kbs), i'll have to give you the feedback later on.

ps: Thx for helping me out :01:

[Virtualbody1234]

Just be sure to follow the BIOS update directions precisely.