my friend has a A04 but he cant burn at 2x with 2x DvDrs it looks like its going to burn then after about 2 sec it fails and gives a error message, but it doesnt burn anything on the disc i told him that his computer or ide drives isnt fast enough.he has an 800mzh AMD with 64mb of ram.what could it be

what brand of dvd-r ?
what firmware?
what error message?
has he tried 1x burning?

i get the same problem but on x1 media using 2x4all firmware hack for A03. x2 media seems fine though. I reckon the drive is getting tired. :-( u could also try cleaning your lens.

it happens on any 2x or 4x dvdrs it writes at 1x ok, he had the 1.40 firmware then try the 1.41 the A04 is only about 3 months old he had the same problem with his A03 it would only write at 1x and he try burning with nero & prassi primo, prassi i cant remember what the error message was

Have a look here :

http://www.cdrom-guide.com/cgi/Ultimate.cgi/showthread.php?threadid=249444

I Dont think its a firmware problem, im using the 1.40 and it works 100% he was using the 1.40 and it wouldnt burn at 2x so he tryed the 1.41 and that dont work

if you say its ok at 1x then its probably the discs/firmware, are you using any of the rpc-1 1.40 2x 4 all or 2x 4 ritek hacked f/wares???
is it a sense error????

its not the hack firmware, got the firmwares from pioneers website he was using the same firmware as me. when he got his first writer A03 it wouldnt burn at 2x we even try verbatim 2x dvdrs still wont burn

pioneer official firmware restricted a whole lot of media being burned at 2x (on dvr a03/4 burners) irrespective of the media being 2x or not, this is still the case, if your media isnt one of the select few that pioneer supports then tough------ until the firmware was re-engineered so to speak, now these limitations (and more) are lifted with these non-pioneer firmwares.
check out:-
http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php
for all your firmware needs.
although flashing back from official 1.41 may be a problem, you will have to research it.

but if its a firmware problem why can i burn at 2x and he cant, we had the same firmware 1.40 we used the same dvdrs i will try the A04 in my computer and if it burns at 2x then its his computer.

if you think about it that way, then why do pioneer change firmware at all for a04`s and dont just stick to original???.
a04`s or oem 104`s vary in manufacturing dates that also has a bearing, not to mention re-badged drives.
so trying it in your computer still may not resolve the problem for him
i use 1.40 2x 4all with no problem at all, some have loads of problems with it, others swear by 1.31 etc.
but i also now stick to genuine 2x ritek or 2x verbs because the media is generally more at fault than the firmware.

Sounds like the lens needs a clean - has he noticed pick-ups to be slower too?
If a clean doesn't fix it, recalibration should...