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Plextor 712a - Any better than before?

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Plextor 712a - Any better than before?

Postby Paudman on Thu Sep 16, 2004 3:35 pm

hi all - guess who just bought this drive after a rave review in PC Advisor magazine only to find out it doesn't recognise any blank DVDs when I insert them! It shows up on 'my computer' as a 'DVDRW' but on insertion of a disc it changes to 'CD drive' and I can't record to DVD or even format the disc - is this the fault of the disc (Packard Bell DVD+R 2.4speed) as stated in later posts or something in my own machine being incompatible? I've downloaded the latest firmware to no avail. Is it simply a matter of buying better quality DVDs or should I delve deeper into my PC settings? Incidentally, it plays DVDs perfectly...
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Postby Ian on Thu Sep 16, 2004 3:39 pm

What software are you using to burn your DVD's?
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Re: Plextor 712a - Any better than before?

Postby Rich on Thu Sep 16, 2004 6:46 pm

Paudman wrote:...it doesn't recognise any blank DVDs when I insert them!


Hi, after inserting a blank disk you might try using the PLEXTOOLS PRO that came with the drive and select "CD/DVD Info". It should tell you about the blank. If it shows here but not in your application then perhaps the drive is recognizing the disk, just not your software.

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Postby Ian on Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:03 pm

I don't think he has any software installed. It sounds like he's trying to copy the files through Windows Explorer or something.
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Postby Rich on Thu Sep 16, 2004 8:05 pm

Ian wrote:I don't think he has any software installed. It sounds like he's trying to copy the files through Windows Explorer or something.


Oh, that won't work on Thursdays.

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Postby Wesociety on Thu Sep 16, 2004 9:06 pm

Ian wrote:I don't think he has any software installed.

:o
Yah... DVD burning software is a good thing!
Microsoft hasn't taken over the entire planet (yet).
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Postby dolphinius_rex on Fri Sep 17, 2004 2:33 am

wesociety wrote:
Ian wrote:I don't think he has any software installed.

:o
Yah... DVD burning software is a good thing!
Microsoft hasn't taken over the entire planet (yet).


Yeah, I hear they are trying to get an early start on the Moon, and future Mars expeditions. Supposedly anti-trust laws are only in affect within our own atmosphere :wink:
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Postby Rich on Fri Sep 17, 2004 12:05 pm

dolphinius_rex wrote:
wesociety wrote:
Ian wrote:I don't think he has any software installed.

:o
Yah... DVD burning software is a good thing!
Microsoft hasn't taken over the entire planet (yet).


Yeah, I hear they are trying to get an early start on the Moon, and future Mars expeditions. Supposedly anti-trust laws are only in affect within our own atmosphere :wink:


Just watch they don't go after Uranis! :sick:

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Yes folks I do have software

Postby Paudman on Fri Sep 17, 2004 3:50 pm

Re the Plextor 712a not recognising the blank DVDs - I normally use Toast 6 Titanium plus the drive came with Plextools, Nero 6 and InCD - however, this is irrelevant since all of these, plus even the computer itself and presumably Windows doesn't even recognise that there's a blank DVD in the drive.
Pentium 3.4, Gigabyte GA1000 mother, Plextor712a DVDRW, Pioneer DVD rom, Panasonic CDRW plus - thank God - I have an Apple Mac to help me escape from that list of s**t.
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Postby Ian on Fri Sep 17, 2004 4:30 pm

Isn't Toast for the Mac?
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Postby aviationwiz on Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:25 pm

Ian wrote:Isn't Toast for the Mac?


Yeah, check his sig:

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Yep - Toast and the Mac... my salvation

Postby Paudman on Sat Sep 18, 2004 6:24 am

Yep, I use Toast on the Mac which is probably why I'm new to Nero and all the other Windows programs... anyway: Nero states ' the drive is currently empty' even though there's now a Prodisc 4.7 4X DVD sitting in it. Refreshing the drive detection doesn't work either.
Can you get Toast for the PC?
Pentium 3.4, Gigabyte GA1000 mother, Plextor712a DVDRW, Pioneer DVD rom, Panasonic CDRW plus - thank God - I have an Apple Mac to help me escape from that list of s**t.
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Postby Wesociety on Sat Sep 18, 2004 5:22 pm

Are you sure that you are selecting DVD from the drop down list box in NERO ??
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Got it now.. I think!!

Postby Paudman on Sun Sep 19, 2004 6:37 am

Tried Prodisc DVDs in the Plextor and while Windows still doesn't recognise the drive as a DVDRW once media is inserted, Nero does and enables me to burn ok with no problems. Whilst I'm happy the drive is now working - and it's FAST - I'm as usual less than impressed with Windows....
Pentium 3.4, Gigabyte GA1000 mother, Plextor712a DVDRW, Pioneer DVD rom, Panasonic CDRW plus - thank God - I have an Apple Mac to help me escape from that list of s**t.
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Re: Got it now.. I think!!

Postby Rich on Sun Sep 19, 2004 1:27 pm

Paudman wrote:Tried Prodisc DVDs in the Plextor and while Windows still doesn't recognise the drive as a DVDRW


I'm pretty sure Windows won't recoginze a blank DVD-RW until you use your packet writer to format it. In this case INCD. I could be wrong, but try inserting the DVD-RW and format it with INCD. Then Windows should recognize it.

I'm going from Roxio to Nero, I just purchased the license key a couple months back. So what I remember was with roxio.

Anyway, try that and see.

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