My DVD drive is dead... Was only 1 day old

[NikhilVerma]

Well I just got a new Sony DVD writer ... I plugged it into my PC .... I wrote a DVD and after that it failed ...

Failed as in ... it DOES write DVDs but u can't read those DVD's afterwards ... But I am not here to ask about the DVD writer ... I am pretty sure that there is something in my PC which has killed the drive. Because previously .... Another ASUS DVD writer I had lasted only 1 week before I had the same troubles with it !

What can be so wrong in my system that it somehow makes a DVD writer die ?

some things to notice are ....

1) I didn't get this problem until the day I attached an Ati X1600 Pro card on my PC

2) I have a 400W SMPS Frontech. Do I need a more powerful SMPS ? I calculated the wattage requirements of my PC from HERE and it came out to be 340 W something.

What is supposedly wrong here ? I don't want to ruin another DVD writer now ... Plus I have to write over 100 GB of data ... I really need some help regarding this issue. All the DVD writes I attached to this PC had the same problem. They can write DVD's but give error on reading. Sometimes they can't write at all and Nero gives Power Calibration error.

This time I took my writer to another PC and there it failed too .... What should I do ?

[dissel]

I don't think that the problem come from your SMPS....but it always advisable to use a good branded one....but it so not important in your case i think so.

Are you remove the Ati X1600 Pro and try to write error free DVD ?

If not,check that first....as you point out that is a major problem.

try to change different IDE port(If you have secondary IDE port) and IDE cable for your DVD-writer.
Make sure it is detected in the right IDE channel in the bios.

And at last check the DMA Channel....though all modern system automatically configure it.
Hope your DVD-Media is right...I mean a branded one.

[Sourabh]

Have you tried disabling default XP's IMAPI Service? Control Panel>Admin Tools>Services>IMAPI>Properties>Startup-disabled

Though this issue may not be related with the SMPS, but you are definitely stretching it to the limits. X1600 Pro should be very power hungry in itself and the Frontech SMPS would be no match for it. Check the Ampere rating on 12v rail. You should consider getting a better one, now that they are quite cheap.

As for the old asus drive, do you still have it? The drive just doesn't die like that. After you solve this issue, plug the old drive in if you still have it and figure.

[kalpik]

I think its the PSU only. DVD Writers are very sensitive to PSU.

[NikhilVerma]

I have send the ASUS drive for replacement as it's under warranty ... That's no problem I will get a new one ... But still I would get the same problem... I had another idea of using 2 SMPS so that there is no problem with power distribution but that seems too complicated ... So maybe I would try to get a better SMPS ... But I couldn't find a good SMPS in my city.... Would try to hunt some more now

I did disable the IMAPI service though...

And the ampere rating on 12V rail is 17A ... how much should it be in a good SMPS ?

[assasin]

Yaeh i too think dat prob is wit PSU.Since u got a Power Calibration error i think ur lens' calibration data is corrupted.

[NikhilVerma]

ok then a little change of question ... Which is the best SMPS I can get for around 1500 /- .... I can't afford more than that right now ... I want something around 450~500W

[Tushar.bar]

i ball

[NikhilVerma]

emmm iball which one ? I cudn't find any info on their site ...

[Sourabh]

Well, why not get an external casing for the dvd writer? It costs around 700 and makes use of external power. Bad in general due to external power, but a blessing in disguise for you. If your system runs fine minus the optical drive, I see no reason why you should upgrade your SMPS. Dont get into the mess. Since you have the drive ready, just getting a casing would be the easier way out. It wont be a bad option coz you would be left with two optical drives in the near future anyways.

[NikhilVerma]

hey thanks for all your help guys !

I have 2 choices ... Either use 2 SMPS or go for external casing ... But the thing is I already have an extra 400W SMPS So I would go for that ... yeah my PC will look ugly as hell now ... But it's allright ...

[kalpik]

@Sourabh: But in my opinion external cases just suck.. They can never give you the same performance.

[Sourabh]

However pathetic they may be, something is always better than nothing. For those who have laptops without DVD writers, that is the only viable option. Considering how cheap they are, you can swap them with inside your desktop systems too. I just gave its suggestion due to the power issues as they run on external power. Considering Nikhil's primary intent was to burn the 100GB data asap, I thought of it as a simple solution over getting a new SMPS.

[ymhatre]

This thread made me stormed into many confusion...
Firstly, is it possible to have two SMPS connected on a single Rig...
The thing is SMPS need to be get started to give Power supply, and it only get start after we Push the Start button of Cabinet....
If you need to surpass this situation then you need to do some "Karagiri" (work out on it)
It may be done by cutting the few wire from the main power connector of the PSU ( one which is used to give power to mobo ie 24/20 pin connector) then joint few wire so that it remains always on...even if CPU is off which is been powered by other SMPS.

@ NikhilVerma
Firstly 400 watt Frontech in real sense dont deliver 400 watt. Its lesser than 350watt actual

Secondly dont even think of opting for iball PSU..they suck by real time

So being in India choice is left only to two giants..
Antec which is totally not affordable...and other is VIP

I myself use VIP P4 300 watt(rated) PSU...
well Even on this PSU, i connect X1900GT, HDD, LED lights, and DVD writter.
Dont be surprised by 300 watt mentioned...its actual power rating is somewhat 451 watt with 18amps on 12V...so no doubtly it supports a GPU which needs minimum of 400watt with 25 amps on 12 v.
you may confirm it from here

At 1500 budget...trade in your present PSU for about 200 Rs so @ 1700 you culd get VIP 400Watt(rated) PSU which has the capacity to deliver 500Watt with 20amps on 12 V

[janitha]

Local power supplies delivering more than its rated output? Simply unbelievable!

[ymhatre]

VIP may seem to be local...but dont under estimmate it...Its far more better than others in terms of price and quality .....and well the thinkdigit lab also use VIP for their 24/7 run

[janitha]

May be. But I don't think any brand will deliver more than the claimed wattage.

[samrulez]

Stay away from i ball,Zebronics etc etc....for low end you can go with VIP or CorsIT ....that another nice SMPS for 1.3k......with 25 amps across +12v rail..
For high end you may get Antec,CM,OCZ etc etc....

[ymhatre]

Originally Posted by janitha

But I don't think any brand will deliver more than the claimed wattage.

Well my SMPS is ratted 300 Watt.... But sure it do handle X1900GT with DVD writer.......When Calculated the recomended PSU level is 404 Watts...Butt sure my PSU does handle it...Cuz its said to deliver 451 Watt