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Pioneer DVR-104 Experience |
| Jesse Burkhardt |
* Use extreme caution when installing/uninstalling software associated with the Pioneer DVR-104 DVD-RW device on a Windows 2000 machine.
In dealing with the software packages associated with this device, it is imperative that you stay away from the included trial software labelled B's Recorder Gold - it will destroy your computer!
In fact, none of the software distributed with the DVR-104 has any functionality germain to our requirement of DVD data writing.
Our own copy of Roxio 5.0 Platnum should suffice for our DVD data writing interface needs.
I. HUGE CAVEAT - My own experience is summarized as follows:
- I determined that B's Recorder Gold was the only included software with the DVR-104 that could perform a DVD data write, so I instslled it. (Oddly, on a Windows 2000 machine, a reboot was required to use the software. Please note that the software was an evaluation copy, only good for 30 days or 20 DVD writes.)
- After rebooting I began to experiment with it. I tried a trial pre-burn exercise of preparing a directory layout before inserting a DVD.
- In a most unfriendly manner B's Recorder Gold program busted while choking on a larger than 240 character file path in the backup of realestatecafe.com. At the very least I thought that the process should continue and not bail. It takes a while layout 4 G of data. It should skip over the problem create a report and keep going.
- My next course of action was to was to unintall this dog and replace it with Roxio 5.0 Platnum which I had just discovered was capable of performing DVD burns. (The uninstaller was not included, so I used the Control Panel to do this.)
- Apparently a horrendous registry corruption had occurred in either the installation of the uninstallation of B's Recorder Gold. I was no longer able to open the DVD device platter - either via the device's button or the soft eject on the File Explorer.
- I ran Hardware Detection from the Control Panel, and found an error associated with the DVD device. The error stated something to the effect that there was an error in trying to open the DVD door - very helpful. Then when I tried to find the device to uninstall it, it seemed to have disappeared.
- So I rebooted and hoped that the DVD device would be re-detected after coming up. Wrong, all I now see is Disk read error - press <ctl> <alt> <del>.
- I subsequently mucked around in the BIOS setup Boot Options and IDE Options to try an salvage the situation. The system appeared to be fried. It actually turned out that the DVD device ceased to function. Once removed from the computer and once the BIOS was reset to factory defaults the computer resumed normal functioning.
- Firmware: Pioneer strongly recommends upgrading thr unit's firmware to version 1.33. I have found that firmware's flash ROM writer program does not seem to work. At least it claims to fail. This needs more research. (I have also downloaded version 1.32 which fixes the same problem. This particular version with installer may actually not fail as did v1.33.)
- Warning from Pioneer: "The source of the problem is a firmware "bug" in certain Pioneer DVD-R/RW recorders and drives, and not with the high-speed media itself. As a result, use of the new high-speed discs for recording on these particular Pioneer products may cause damage to both the loaded disc and to the drive/recorder."
