I have a Pioneer 105 on a xp 2500 athon 2.0 ghz with 512 ram. running on XP. I burn several disk without a problem at 1x. But sometimes wish it was faster. Should I just stay with what is working or try to see if I can get it to burn faster. The reason I am asking is because Ritek 1x disk are getting harder to fine and are close to the price of 4x. Don't want to mess with a good thing. Let me what you think. Also how do I check the firmware. I just opened the box and installed did not do anything else.

if it aint broke dont fix it.

i would leave it.

To check firmware in XP :

Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information/Components/CD-ROM

This will list all optical drives and firmware in use.

You can also check it in Nero's Toolkit/Nero InfoTool just look in the Ahead folder.

Whether to fix it or not is your decision, but there is a lot of wisdom in lhys09915's comment.

You should be able to manage 2 x on Riteks, without a problem, but 4 X may need a f/w update.

I'm just using up my last batch of 1x - already have a new batch of 4x ready to go. You're right 4x are not much more than 1x nowadays. Might as well go with Ritek 4x from now on. With that there is really no big push to flash to hacked FW.

I just tried checking the firmware using this method:

Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information/Components/CD-ROM

but it did not display the firmware. Is there some other way to check it in xp besides the nero tool. I do not have that installed.

Also I have using the follow ritek discs ( Ritek 1X DVD-R - Upgradable to 2X ! ).

Should my PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-105 be buring these at 2x and how long should it take. I just tried to burn one at 2x and it says it should take 30 mins for this movie but still took about an hour. Plays fine but took about an hour.

Just buy the Ritek 4X and don't mess with the drive.........really!

Try esbuy or meritline. Both sell Ritek4X as the house brand.

Originally posted by hen1040
Also I have using the follow ritek discs ( Ritek 1X DVD-R - Upgradable to 2X ! ).

Should my PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-105 be buring these at 2x and how long should it take. I just tried to burn one at 2x and it says it should take 30 mins for this movie but still took about an hour. Plays fine but took about an hour.

You will need to upgrade to the 2x4all firmware hack if you want to burn them at 2x. It is a very stable firmware though. I have been using the 1x/2x Riteks on my Cendyne105 (Pioneer105 with a different label on the box) with the 2x4all firmware hack and have been having great success with 2x burns. I can get a 25 pack of Ritek DVD-R discs from www.rima.com for $1.30 a disc (+shipping) whereas the 4x Ritek Discs in a 25 pack cost $2.00(+shipping) so in my opinion there is still enough of a difference to make it worth it to have the 2x4all firmware hack and burning them at 2x. There is still around an $18 difference per 25 pack between the two.

www.esbuy.com ritek 4X 25 pack $45.00 no shipping. 100 pack, $176.00 no shipping

$45 no shipping? How long have you been dealing with these guys Templar and can you verify that these discs are in fact Ritek? (Sorry but I have seen some places claim to have Ritek but they weren't actually Ritek). I might go with that next time around.

Originally posted by jesterrace777
$45 no shipping? How long have you been dealing with these guys Templar and can you verify that these discs are in fact Ritek? (Sorry but I have seen some places claim to have Ritek but they weren't actually Ritek). I might go with that next time around.

I've been dealing with them for 2 years, and bought 2 of my 3 my drives there also. They are really ritek. Exactly the same packaging if you buy riteks anywhere else. Actually, they were 43.50 last week. They compete wit www.meritline.com on pricing I think. Always the same, and no shipping. Sometimes, you can find coupon codes on www.currentcodes.com for meritline that make them even cheaper. A couple of months ago, I got 6 25 packs for 200 bucks and no shipping.

Wow that's great. Thanks for the heads up on that deal as I think I will go with them the next time I order as even Rima is slowly going up in price for the G03 Riteks (1x/2x). For Philenfield I don't think that the firmware hack is exclusive for Windows XP users but I could be wrong. Could someone with another OS verify this.

Originally posted by hen1040
I just tried checking the firmware using this method:

Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information/Components/CD-ROM

but it did not display the firmware. Is there some other way to check it in xp besides the nero tool. I do not have that installed.

It's the number following the Drive No.
In the example below, my drive is the Pioneer 104 and the firmware is 1.31

PNP Device ID IDE\CDROMPIONEER_DVD-RW__DVR-104_________________1.31____\
424D44463043363530345734204C202020202020

I am using Windows XP Pro, shouldn't be any different if you have Home Edition I wouldn't think.