LG GSA-4040B "Focus on tracking error"

[gyula]

Hi,

I'm experiencing some trouble with the above mentioned burner. First I was not able to burn the MAM-E DVD-R (Mediacode: MCIG01, rated 4x) at 4x speed (Nero 6.0.0.15 was not even showing the possibility to burn at 4x speed). But I thought the media is perhaps low quality so I finally managed to get some TDK 4x DVD-R (TYG01 from Taiyo Yuden). Now Nero would allow me to burn at 4x speed. Unfortunately as I start a writing simulation at 4x speed I get right at the beginning (the writing process has not even started) a "Focus on tracking error". At 2x speed looks everything ok. Nero CD-DVD Speed says when trying to make a test "No additional sense information" and stops the test run. I even tried to run a burning simulation under linux, but also got some input/output error messages.
The burner came with firmware A104, but I've already flashed it to A300 (from the canadian LG site) because of the MAM-E problem, which was not solved by that.
Now I'm not able to try the original firmware, but I flashed back to A101 and the results were the same. It seems this drive is really not able to burn at a higher speed than 2x. Could it be that I only got a bad batch of TDK disks or should I try return the drive (I'm just over the 14 days:-( ) ?

Thanks for any help !

Gyula

[seaegg]

Personally I'd return it and get a Pioneer DVR-106 OEM and save yourself some money and headaches.

[Peter_Mann]

I can guarantee you that I write at 4 X with Memorex DVD+R, rated 4X with Nero 6.0.0.15 on my 4040B (A300 firmware)

My Verbatim DVD-R experience has been disapointing.

Could the 4040B be problematic with DVD-R ? Sounds crazy but.....

Peter

[gyula]

Thanks for the answer. You are probably right, but I want to use the DVD-RAM functionality for system backups. That was the reason why I've chosen the LG and not the Pioneer. I know DVD+/-RW can also be used for system backup, but if you think about it, you will see, that DVD-RAM is much better for that purpose, even if the writing speed is lower.

[gyula]

@Peter_Mann
What was your problem with Verbatim DVD-R ? I got some hints that I should buy that media and test the drive again. Could you write any DVD-R at 4x speed. I also have some Verbatim DVD+R (rated 4x) , but not yet tried them.

[Peter_Mann]

gyula,

I can't tell you what the problem is with those Verbatim DVD-R discs.
I burnt 7 good DVD backups but 4 bad.

What I DO know:
1-The 4040B is new with firmware that isn't yet 'proven'

2-Nero 6.0.0.15 is also new software, may have bugs.

3-It's really a pain testing every DVD I write in 4 DVD drives to check compatability.

4-When I say I burnt 3 bad discs I mean that even the 4040b had errors when trying to read them (as did my brand new LG GDR-8162 DVD-ROM)
The errors are always in the second half of the DVD usually about 2/3 of the way through. The software reading the disc freezes, and the DVD-ROM thrashes about 'looking'.

5- Both my Pioneer DVD 113/115 have a hard time reading all of the DVD-R discs I've written (usually at the 2/3rds point). My old Hitachi GD-2500 reads many of them, my new LG GDR-8162B reads all well except the 4 'bad' ones. Most of the DVD+R discs I've written do well in the Pioneer drives, all read perfectly in the Hitachi drive & of course the new LG drive.

I hate these compatability issues....

Peter

[CyberG99]

Well get this!

With my 4040B I can write DVD-R at 4X no problems (maxell, ritek, pioneer) AND they all work in my standalone player and DVD-ROMs, but I can't write DVD+R (memorex) discs! The DVD-RAM function also works great!

I've burned 10 DVD-R discs at 4X and they all work flawlessly. The five DVD+R that I burned at 2X/4X, had only 1 that actually worked and was readable by any drive, the other four weren't.

[Peter_Mann]

CyberG99,
dewd!

That is amazingly bizarre!
What software/ firmware you using?

I swear my Memorex DVD+R are ALL good and were written in Nero 6.0.0.15. My firmware is A300.

...now YOU get this:

I brought a few good discs +R, -R and the 4 'bad ones over to a friends house for a trial on his cheap samsung DVD/VHS combo stand-alone since I have no stand-alone player.

3 out of the 4 'bad' discs played PERFECTLY...(F**K !). Even the ones that WOULD NOT play back in the 4040B !!!!!!!

I read elsewhere that LG is preping a new firmware release. Something tells me that the drive was shipped with immature firmware and that better firmware would solve many of these issues.

Cheers man,
Peter

[myckee]

I have only had positive results burning +R with my 4040B flashed to the A300 firmware. Over 25 burns and not one 'coaster'.

[gyula]

I did some further testing with running a real write process and produced my first coaster with the TDK DVD-R.
But the situation seems to be even worse. After this I burnt a Verbatim DVD+R (rated 4x). Nero said that it would start the burn process at 4x speed. But unfortunately it took over 31 minutes to burn about 4 GB data. So it was even slower that 2x speed. I've already burnt 4,4 GB in 23 minutes to a DVD+R disc rated 2,4x.
I'm sure it was not because of the buffer underrun protection since the buffer level was allways above 20 % and I run a speed measurement before burning the data. Nero said 22,2 x (30636 kB/s) for the data reading speed (the lowest value was above 15x). It is no wonder since I put all the data onto an empty partition, so there was parcticaly no fragmentation.
I've no other idea. I'll try to get another type of DVD-R 4x media, but now I think there is a problem with the drive.

[gyula]

I have no luck. I've today talked about ten PC shops in my city and finally could find two offering 4x DVD-R media, branded Sentinel (Mediacode: OPTODISK001) and Princo. I've bought from both two types. Unfortunately my LG don't want to write them at 4x speed, Nero only offers 2x as maximum writing speed. I don't really wonder since for example Princo has a lot of compatibility issues and Optodisk is not a well known manufacturer. Anybody already tried one of the two types with an LG ?

[Bluekkis]

I read somwhere that LG is soon releasing a new firmware upgrade that should fix some compatibility issues with 4x media... I'll look around if I can find it..

(was it somewhere here... can't remember... just too many forums I've read lately ^_^)

[Peter_Mann]

gyula,
Why do you have to burn with DVD-R?
Try some DVD+R instead.

I think this LG 4040B is VERY problematic with DVD-R.

Only today I burnt a film that plays back 7/8 of the way through before crapping out on my LG GDR-8162B DVD-ROM....but won't even load to play on the 4040B , the drive I wrote it with !!! Of course I was foolish enough to try this on a Memorex DVD-R disc.

OTOH, I'll bet good money that if I take this disc over to my friends house and play it on her common Samsung stand-alone.....it'll play back perfectly.

Ian.
We have a real problem with these new LG drives (both the 4040B and the GDR-8162B). What worries me is that market preasure is becoming so great what with Plextor breathing down everyones neck with their 8X drive that LG won't spend the time to fix the firmware on these drives properly.

I'm ready to panic and return the 4040B while I'm still in my 30 day period !

Peter

[lgmayka]

To be fair, all reports indicate that the LG GSA-4040B *does* burn RitekG04 4x DVD-R disks correctly and speedily. I just bought a 25-pack of the ugly-orange ones from Allmediaoutlet.com for $39 shipped:

http://www.allmediaoutlet.com/productDe ... kitNbr=383

[Peter_Mann]

How do I identify the Ritek discs?

DVD Decrypter says this about the MEMOREX DVD-R:
------------------------------------
Device Information:
Current Profile: DVD-R

Disc Information:
Status: Empty
Erasable: No
Free Sectors: 2,298,496
Free Space: 4,707,319,808 bytes
Free Time: 510:48:46 (MM:SS:FF)

Pre-recorded Information:
Manufacturer ID: PRODISCG02

Physical Format Information:
Book Type: DVD-R
Part Version: 5
Disc Size: 120mm
Maximum Read Rate: Not Specified
Number of Layers: 1
Track Path: Parallel Track Path (PTP)
Linear Density: 0.267 um/bit
Track Density: 0.74 um/track
---------------------------------------------

...and to be fair, I'm sick and tired of this BS.
Yeah, I'm relativly new to writing but it's not as though this technology was born yesterday. LG sold this writer as a DVD MULTIFORMAT writer and clearly, it's not doing the job in any consistantly reliable fashion across brand of media.
If LG had said look, you have to buy Ritek DVD-R's then it would have been fair. I'm not buying unbranded discs here.....and at 2X !
Verbatim, Memorex, Maxell...THERE SHOULD BE LITTLE OR NO PROBLEM.
LG has sold a writer that was not ready for prime time.

With all respect,
Peter

[lgmayka]

The manufacturer ID (or media ID, or media code) should be RITEKG04 for genuine Ritek 4x DVD-R disks. Your Memorex DVD-Rs have PRODISCG02.

I myself bought Memorex 4x DVD-Rs, and they were CMCxxx and would only burn at 2x. Luckily I was able to return them for a refund. I also bought FujiFilm 4x DVD-Rs, but they turned out to be mislabeled by FujiFilm itself! Genuine FujiFilm 4x DVD-Rs have code TYG01, I think, whereas my disks have code TAIYOYUDEN, which are known to be only 2x disks. Unfortunately, I did not figure out this mislabeling until more than 14 days had elapsed, and I could not get a refund.

Is all this incompatibility painful? Yes, and in fact it is a powerful argument in favor of the DVD+R format. Reportedly, almost all 4x DVD+Rs will indeed burn at 4x in almost any 4x DVD+R writer. I myself can burn Memorex 4x DVD+Rs, at full 4x speed, in the GSA-4040B drive. But of course, such DVD+Rs won't play in my Toshiba SD-1200 DVD player. Do I really want to hand out, to family and friends, disks that won't play in their players?

[gyula]

I totally agree Peter_Man. I'm writing CD-R since more than 6 years now. I've used many different CD-R(W) drives and it was practically my hobby to try as much different media types as possible, but never see so much problems like now with these DVD-/+R, althought sometimes I bought for testing some really strange looking CD-R. The whole DVD-/+R thing is not that new anymore. I assumed, that manufacturer test there drives before releasing. It is possible that my LG is broken, but as I can see there are recently a lot of people looking for help with there LG drives.
I do not only want to burn DVD-R but if I bought a multiformat drive I want to be able to use it for any formats it supports. And if the manufacturer says 4x is the maximum burning speed, the drive should be able to produce it (at least on TDK DVD-R which is given in the manual on the first place as a recommended media).
Sometimes I wish I bought an NEC 1300A. I know that drive is also far from perfect, but it seems to me much more compatible with 4x media than the LG , that way I even had saved some money for quality media.

[Peter_Mann]

Does anyone know who or what are:
PRODISCG02 ?

[gyula]

PRODISCG02 are from Prodisc Technology Inc. Look at the following link. Although it is written in german, but the information on that page could be understandable also without any knowledge of that language.

http://www.instantinfo.de/detaildvd.php?ID=1911

[gyula]

I've just received the Verbatim DVD-R media (certified at 4x) and run a simulation and they seem to work at 4x speed. At lest the simulation worked for me. Does that mean that the LG only likes Verbatim DVD-R 4x media or I just got a faulty batch of TDK disks? I know the best way would be to test the TDK media in an other burner at 4x speed. Unfortunately I cannot do that. Anybody having similar problems with TDK DVD-R media ?
Any news about the next firmware upgrade for the 4040B ?

[fobakter]

I've just received the Verbatim DVD-R media (certified at 4x) and run a simulation and they seem to work at 4x speed. At lest the simulation worked for me. Does that mean that the LG only likes Verbatim DVD-R 4x media or I just got a faulty batch of TDK disks? I know the best way would be to test the TDK media in an other burner at 4x speed. Unfortunately I cannot do that. Anybody having similar problems with TDK DVD-R media ?
Any news about the next firmware upgrade for the 4040B ?

Hi Gyula,

Don't know what about the TDK media, I'm using Verbatim disks, and I have no problems with them. Also I'm a Mitsubishi fun AFAIK the new firmware upgrade will be released in the next week. But who knows...

[gyula]

Now I'm very disappointed again. After the success with the Verbatim DVD-R 4x I thought everything were all right. No I received some PrimeDisc DVD-R 4x (Ritek G04). Unfortunately Nero and B's Recorder Gold 5 give the same error message as I try to burn the discs at 4x speed ("No seek complete" for Nero and "Disk error <Error No. 2a030200>" for B's Recorder). What can I do now ? Is it worth waiting for the next firmware ? Is it possible that the drive is faulty ? Unfortunately I couldn't get any answer from LG as I wrote them about my problem.