all dvds say UNSUPPORTED in DVD Player

[GregiBoy]

You know, with all the time spent on this problem, just going and buying another good drive may have been cheaper and less frustrating.

Jay, take maineman's advice on the media. Do not buy cheap SH1T!

[maineman]

Isn't there some way that he can take it back to the ORIGINAL Plextor firmware that was on it?

Not used to Plextor but a lot of other drives that I have had always had an option to save the existing firmware when using the firmware upgrade utility.

I doubt his eeprom data has been backed up.
It sounds like the drive arrived with the older firmware. I doubt the OP has it and the idiots at Plextor are not making it available...at least not on their normal support/download links.

If he didn't back it up...it's gone...at least as far as I can figure.

[W&B]

The op might get lucky and another member that had the same drive with the "good firmware" could back it up and send it to him in a zip file then he might could re-flash it. I have a plextor PX-850SA and don't think that would work of course. Just a comment on Plex tools, I installed it on my rig when running Vista x64 Ultimate and it conflicted with another drive I had installed at the time and never bothered even using it again (trashed the software)

[AGJ]

You can use ImgBurn to set the book type as well and here is the link to the guide on the ImgBurn forum http://forum.imgburn.com/index.php?showtopic=9992

[jayh1969]

I can "USUALLY" fix the issue's that I come across myself but, t
his puppy stumped the heck out of me.
ALL of you guys are AWESOME!
I will defintlely take all of the knowledge you guys threw at me and put it to good use.
At least thats the plan... LOL
This is the BEST Tech Support I have ever received!

THANKS ALOT GUYS!

[jayh1969]

When you guys get some spare time can you please, give me a list of drives that you know of that have the capability of book typing/bitsetting. I would appreciate it.
You guys are gonna laugh at me but I'm the type of guy that when
something is on sale I stock up...lol which means I have tons of junk DVD +r media....haha

[maineman]

There are tons of good burners out there and you'll get a variety of opinions...but if you just want one recommended, I'd go with an
Sony Optiarc 7240s. It is one of the best DL burners out there and is an outstanding performer for SL media as well.
Just good all around.

I bought 2 of 'em at newegg for under $25 each, free shipping too.
They rock.
Like I said, lottsa good burners out there.
I've owned about 8 LiteOns, Benqs, Samsungs and Sony Optiarcs...and to be honest they've all been solid quality burners, but you really have to research a specific model and get what you need.

The 7240s is going for about $32 now:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030

If you go this route, you'll want to flash it with Liggy's (Liggy and Dee) patched firmware so that you can bitset both SL and DL +R media and the firmware is also RPC1.
This drive has an NEC chipset.

Just let me know and I'll hook you up with a link for the firmware...easy enough to find with google though...

[jayh1969]

I am defintely going to get rid of this Plextor.... been nothing but a headache....
I will be purchasing a new one either sometime this week or next I'll reply to this thread to let ya know....I still have the ole
EXTERNAL MEMOREX that I will be using in the meantime.... this thing has been the best drive I have ever bought to date... it has burnt over 300 discs since I bought it in 2006.
I have always been a type of guy to keep an external burner..haha glad I did....
I will defintely be changing to -R media. Do you recommend that? Will most stand alone dvd players pick up the media as a ROM?
Are you a -R or +R media dude? Sorry for all the questions... I like talking with u your knowledge intrigues me and I luv learning about technology....
Dude you are one awesome guy! You know your stuff! Thanks for all your help! You ROCK!

[jayh1969]

Sorry dude... one more thing my burner has to be IDE... so the Sony you recommended will not work as its SATA
When I ordered this Plextor I had no idea what that meant....
but found and read about the difference quickly...
The Dell I'm using was manufactured in 2006 and I believe that was OEM standards at the time... correct me if I'm wrong

[maineman]

Back in '06, there were plenty of IDE (PATA) interface ODDs around, but there were lots of SATA's too
I'm really hesitant to recommend a burner that I don't have or have used.

IDE burners are still around but becoming more difficult to find...the good ones anyway. Having said that, I'd probably go with a Liteon (forget trying to find a Benq)...something like an LH-20A1H...if you can find one.
You're really going to have to look around and research any particular model.

You know, you can avoid this and pop in a SATA PCI card and get the SATA drive of your choice...

The -R vs. +R debate still goes on, but is less of a rage.
Both are just fine and in truth, most times it makes little difference.
Some burning hardware and playback hardware have restrictions though.

I burn +R only...just my choice. I bitset everything as this provides the best shot at being the most universally compatible, burned media.
Still, like I said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with -R...just don't use it for DL burns.

For SL media, I use YUDEN000 T02 (+R, 8X) almost exclusively.
This is the best SL media on the planet.
I burn some select Verbatim, MCC 004 (+R, 16X) and this is still pretty good stuff.

For DL...only +R Verbatim and preferebaly MIS (made in Singapore).
The MII (made in India used to be crap...it's better now, but if given a choice, go with MIS).
(You have to look on the spindle wrapper to see where it's made).

I use MKM 001 (+R, 2.4-4X) and MKM 003 (+R, 8-10X) MIS only.

Hope this helps

[jayh1969]

Your Knowledge Exceeds My Expectations!
If, I have computer questions I know who to ask......

I know I got off the subject line and you answered my questions
without hesitation and I appreciate that VERY MUCH!

Again, Thanks for ALL Your HELP!