Plextor 708UF CD-R media recognition problem

In article ,
SleeperMan wrote:
Mike S. typed:

In article ,
SleeperMan wrote:
Mike S. typed:

In article ,
nospam wrote:


"Mike S." wrote in message
...

My new (manufactured February 2004) Plextor 708 external fails to
recognize some common CD-R media. It is unpredictable and spotty;
usually cheap (e.g. CMC Magnetics) media that are initialized
properly by other drives (including older Plextors).

No problems with burning discs once accepted and no issues with
and DVD media in my collection.

Has anyone experienced this? Firmware is current (1.06).


I have this drive and haven't had any problems with it when it
comes to media. I should state that I am a cheap ******* when it
comes to CD-R. If they cost more than $18 for 100 I don't buy
them. So far no problems with any of the cheap crap I have fed it.

Jerry

Well, I brought the drive back to the store and got an exchange. The
new one was manufactured in March 2004 (1 month later) and already
came with the current 1.06 firmware (TLA# 0206). Trouble is .. it's
still picky
about CD-R media.

For instance, I have a stack of TDK 48X discs, manufactured by (you
guessed it) CMC Magnetics, that the drive will not read - period. It
won't initialize on blanks, and it WILL NOT READ THOSE DISCS BURNED
BY OTHER DRIVES, including those burned by my Plextor Premium. Huh?

I don't really =need= to use this drive for CD-R, but it's damned
annoying - and very surprising - to see a Plextor so picky about
media.

You should be anything but surprised. Plextor has always been known
to be picky about media. I have Premium CDRW drive and 80 % of
CDR's (all stated 48x or 52x) is burning below that speed - either
with 40x or some even with 32x speed. When i check C1/C2 errors, i
see that somewhere when speed falls, number of C1 increases and then
decreases again. So, i guess that burned CDR is of better quality
because of that speed fall. Every Plextor drive have a list of
preffered CDR's. First of all they reccomend TY. Plextor CDR's are
TY. Also some others, if you look at them. So, you better stick to
that ones.

I guess our definitions of "picky" are different in this context.

I am aware that to get best burns on a Plextor it is advisable to
stick with recommended media.

I was not prepared for a Plextor drive failing to recognize a disc at
all (burned or blank), especially one that is written successfully by
another Plextor product. I have actually used these discs on a
variety of burners (including 2 other Plextor CD-RW models) at home,
in the office, and on the road. The PX-708 is the **only** drive
that will not see these discs at all; to me there must be something
wrong with this picture.

I have had a running email dialog with Plextor tech support over the
last 3 days or so ... in the last round they suggested I run Q check
on the media with my Premium drive and report back ... to be
continued. I was so focused on the possibility that the drive could
be defective that I neglected some of the media tests at my disposal.

well, i didn't experience that any CDR wouldn't be recognized. But, at
Premium drive latest firmware is 1.05. And with it i can't burn with 52x to
ANY CDR! while if i go back to 1.04, i can at least to some media. So, not
at last, it can be firmware defect...
IN my experience Plextor support is not too much of a help... I hope you'll
solve the problem.


I sent 4 of the problem discs to Plextor; 2 blanks, one written on my
Premium drive, and one written on a cheap BTC drive that's inside a
standalone CD duplicator. The discs also had recognition problems on their
test 708A drive. They ran the discs on their analyzer and emailed me the
results including all the graphs. Their conclusion: "crap media".

Because of more complex focusing mechanism they accept that a CD/DVD combo
drive may be less tolerant of marginal media than a CD drive.

In other words have two drives. One for DVD and one for CD-R. Already have
that. In fact I have 4 Plextor drives. 2 DVD+/-R and 2 CD-RW.

I guess those discs must have been really crappy. I buy the cheapest discs I
can find and have so far not had a single problem.

Maybe there were made in Iran by Mexican immigrants? 8^). Its kind of like
going to a Chinese restaurant only to find out later the cook is Mexican.
Yes, I have had that happen.

Jerry
"Mike S." wrote in message
...

In article ,
SleeperMan wrote:
Mike S. typed:

In article ,
SleeperMan wrote:
Mike S. typed:

In article ,
nospam wrote:


"Mike S." wrote in message
...

My new (manufactured February 2004) Plextor 708 external fails to
recognize some common CD-R media. It is unpredictable and spotty;
usually cheap (e.g. CMC Magnetics) media that are initialized
properly by other drives (including older Plextors).

No problems with burning discs once accepted and no issues with
and DVD media in my collection.

Has anyone experienced this? Firmware is current (1.06).


I have this drive and haven't had any problems with it when it
comes to media. I should state that I am a cheap ******* when it
comes to CD-R. If they cost more than $18 for 100 I don't buy
them. So far no problems with any of the cheap crap I have fed it.

Jerry

Well, I brought the drive back to the store and got an exchange. The
new one was manufactured in March 2004 (1 month later) and already
came with the current 1.06 firmware (TLA# 0206). Trouble is .. it's
still picky
about CD-R media.

For instance, I have a stack of TDK 48X discs, manufactured by (you
guessed it) CMC Magnetics, that the drive will not read - period. It
won't initialize on blanks, and it WILL NOT READ THOSE DISCS BURNED
BY OTHER DRIVES, including those burned by my Plextor Premium. Huh?

I don't really =need= to use this drive for CD-R, but it's damned
annoying - and very surprising - to see a Plextor so picky about
media.

You should be anything but surprised. Plextor has always been known
to be picky about media. I have Premium CDRW drive and 80 % of
CDR's (all stated 48x or 52x) is burning below that speed - either
with 40x or some even with 32x speed. When i check C1/C2 errors, i
see that somewhere when speed falls, number of C1 increases and then
decreases again. So, i guess that burned CDR is of better quality
because of that speed fall. Every Plextor drive have a list of
preffered CDR's. First of all they reccomend TY. Plextor CDR's are
TY. Also some others, if you look at them. So, you better stick to
that ones.

I guess our definitions of "picky" are different in this context.

I am aware that to get best burns on a Plextor it is advisable to
stick with recommended media.

I was not prepared for a Plextor drive failing to recognize a disc at
all (burned or blank), especially one that is written successfully by
another Plextor product. I have actually used these discs on a
variety of burners (including 2 other Plextor CD-RW models) at home,
in the office, and on the road. The PX-708 is the **only** drive
that will not see these discs at all; to me there must be something
wrong with this picture.

I have had a running email dialog with Plextor tech support over the
last 3 days or so ... in the last round they suggested I run Q check
on the media with my Premium drive and report back ... to be
continued. I was so focused on the possibility that the drive could
be defective that I neglected some of the media tests at my disposal.

well, i didn't experience that any CDR wouldn't be recognized. But, at
Premium drive latest firmware is 1.05. And with it i can't burn with 52x
to
ANY CDR! while if i go back to 1.04, i can at least to some media. So,
not
at last, it can be firmware defect...
IN my experience Plextor support is not too much of a help... I hope
you'll
solve the problem.


I sent 4 of the problem discs to Plextor; 2 blanks, one written on my
Premium drive, and one written on a cheap BTC drive that's inside a
standalone CD duplicator. The discs also had recognition problems on their
test 708A drive. They ran the discs on their analyzer and emailed me the
results including all the graphs. Their conclusion: "crap media".

Because of more complex focusing mechanism they accept that a CD/DVD combo
drive may be less tolerant of marginal media than a CD drive.