Optical rive in PIO Mode - nF4 Chipset

Captain Fizz · 9 Oct 2006 at 13:37

Hello folks,

I have an Asus A8n32-SLi D mobo with a LiteOn 16x DVDRW.
Ever since I flashed the firmware to a different version (due to freezing at 99% when burning occasionally) the drive has been in PIO mode.

I have re-installed the motherboard Drivers, tried a different firmware, re-set it to DMA if Available but no matter what I do, the drive is only in PIO mode.

Has anyone else experienced this using an nF4 chipset?
It's getting a tad annoying having an X2 system strugle burnning CD's at 18x.
0_o

Or should I hunt for another firmware? (Stick to a standard one)
The drive functioned perfectly using my Asus A7N8XE-D.

Thanks,
Fizz
(PS I have searched but PIO is not a common thing these days. ^_^ )

jbloggs · 9 Oct 2006 at 15:10

Captain Fizz:

When a DVD rewriter reverts to PIO mode from DMA, it is because the device has experienced 6 or more errors, this can be remedied by simply right clicking the IDE channel (primary or secondary) upon which your optical device is installed and choosing "Uninstall" etc., the channel will disappear, now reboot and the IDE channel will be reinstalled and the device will now have reset to DMA mode.

Hopefully this will sort the issue for you.

Captain Fizz · 9 Oct 2006 at 15:28

Nice one - never actually tried removing the IDE controller. :rolleyes:

Will try that tonight and let you know.

riddlermarc · 9 Oct 2006 at 15:34

I kept getting this on my laptop, the hdd would switch to PIO mode occasionally and the whole machine would eventually grind to a halt.

After hours of fruitless searching I found a reg hack that can help, it will reduce the transfer mode after six consecutive time-out or CRC errors instead of after six cumulative time-out or CRC errors which helped me no end as I would only ever get a couple of consecutive errors at a time.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/817472

Scroll down to the "More Information" section for details.

HTH

Captain Fizz · 9 Oct 2006 at 16:09

Ahh - I should probably also look into WHY the drive is getting multiple read errors too then.
Try to resolve that issue too.

Cheers for the tips - Proper DVD/CD burning ahoy.

EDIT - Worked a treat uninstalling the IDE controller.
If I recieve more read error's I'll try a new firmware again before applying the reg fix.