i know this is an unusual request but my liteon drive 40125w has been producing some coasters recently , i have had quite a few returns and never had such problems when i run only plextors , now i even burn the discs at 24 and still get errors , its only the odd disk but still not good enough , i have latest firmware and drivers and updayes and software and still no joy .
Now as far as i can see i would have trouble convincing the place i bought it from something was wrong as they could easily say it was media or something else , so i thought if there was a way of breaking the writer i could get a new replacement that should work fine .

Hopefully someone can help here .

I have been burning datasafe 40x silver premium and datasafe blue dye 24x discs , i can burn these a treat with my plextor and get no errors on the disc , but i always get the odd disk with errors using the liteon . When i burned the blue dye datasafes i sometmes get a dark shaded area 1/3 of the way out from the start of the burn and usually when i get this dark area its full of read errors , the discs are fine as the plex burns them perfect .

Any suggestions on how to fix this or make my drive defective so i can return it ?

I wouldn't reccommend making it defective (this activity is probably against the forum rules!)...

Take it back to the shop. DEMAND a refund. If they say no refuse to leave the shop until they can burn a sucessful CD with your writer!

i cant see it being against forum rules , but you never know .
Anyway i bought it online and i will have to return it through rma and they might just send it back and i have lost out on postal charges . I would love to just send it back and get a replacement but i cant see it being that simple given the nature of the problem .

Just out of sheer curiousity... are you sure it actually the writer causing trouble, not your burning software?
I have had a dozen of toasted up cd's while using the latest Nero version. Nothing seemed to work, untill, in last request, i decided downgrade. Worked like old times again...

http://www.ewandew.com/sig/Awiz.gif

someone suggested this to me before but at the time my liteon was crashing at the end of burns and i was using the latest nero then so i too downgraded to 5.5.7.8 and no more crashes but still have errors on some disks .
I also have had odd bad burns using clone cd 4.0.1.6 .

Is there a better way to test the drive to be sure it burning as well as it should ?

rabby2

You dont say how long you have had the drive or where you purchased from,if you have no faith in the supplier try contacting LiteOn direct by email

"RMA Service
Please contact your reseller or distributor to get the fastest RMA service. Individual request to our regional service center may delay serivce, and there may be a fee for Return Service, depending on warranty status. Contact us only when you are not satisfied from local".

I had trouble with a 2410b which I purchased from Dabs and dealt with LiteOn direct

Smiffy

I bought from dabs on 13/06/02 , but i as you now they are not promt to reply to emails , as you know they could easily blame another piece of hardware or my pc system or setup .
My plextor is fine using the same softwares and discs , so i reckon it is the liteon burner but proving that to dabs might be difficult .

I just thought making the drive defective would make it easier for me to get a replacement .

Hi m8

Yes I know exactly what Dabs are like when it comes to support,they like taking your money but they are sh$te when it comes to customer services. The drive has got 12 months warranty so try getting into contact with LiteOn direct. I spoke to their technical services manager in Belgium (I think it was Belgium or may have been Holland) and he was very very helpful after I explained the situ with Dabs. I wish I could give you more details but I had a cleanout of Outlook and deleted all the emails etc. :(

Smiffy

take it in the bath with you then dry it on a radiator that should bugger it

lol i take it i should remove it from the pc first ,

smithy i appreciate your advice but the thought of emails phone calls etc annoys me , thats why breaking the writer properly is more tempting .

I might email dabs and see what they say , will give it more thought .

Hi m8

Yes the process is long winded but if you do decide to uhmm 'doctor it' you'll still have to email or make a tel call to report the fault wont you...?

alternatives, flash with the wrong firmware and plead ignorance, open the tray and try and snap one of the tray gears so the door does'nt close,break a pin on the IDE connector, remove from pc and drop it, whatever you do m8 you've got to report it so you could try my suggestion,see what they say and if no joy take the alternative approach.

Smiffy

Try burning at 8x speed anything above 12x IMO is no good.

I know that isnt your problem but if you burn at any higher IMO you should expect errors. Its been proven that cdr are no good for the higher speeds.

Its not quite the same but I used a 12v power supply across the pins where the sim card goes to get a replacement mobile phone when Orange who were being funny about replacing it. You have plenty of pins to go at on the IDE connector!

When I was having problems with my Plextor (bought from Insight, on line)
The replacement was sorted out through Plextor sent by courier who did the exchange on the doorstep.

You should first get in contact with lite-on. (Organ grinder and monkeys come to mind)

JokerUK:clown:

if your still wanting to damage the writer you could try this in not sure if it works on cdrom drives but it works on laptop hard drives. pass avoltage accros the ide pins you could use a 9v battery and 2 wires. if you use a 12v supply from the pc make sure that you disconnect the hard drive as a power surge will probably happen and you may lose data from the hard drive