LG CD-RW Underperforming?

[Aldaris2002]

I have an LG GCE-8525B CD-RW with the 1.04 firmware. I've recently noticed that the drive doesn't seem to be burning as fast as it should even though it says it's burning at 52x in Nero, I can hear the drive spin down and write much slower. So I did a transfer rate test in Nero CD-DVD Speed on a Verbatim DataLifePlus 1-52x CD-R and the drive seems to be stuck at 16x CLV. I've attached the graph I got as well as the info from Nero InfoTool. Anyone know how to fix this problem or is it a hardware defect? I have tried reflashing the device with the 1.04 again, but it doesn't seem to help. Would reverting to an older firmware help maybe?




-Any help would be appreciated

[cfitz]

First check your DMA settings:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=7625

cfitz

[Aldaris2002]

The drive is in Ultra DMA Mode 2 like it's supposed to be...

-Thanks

[Bhairav]

IDE cable okay? Also, are you using an NForce2/3/4 system? If so, you might want to ensure that your IDE drivers are the standard MS ones, not the NVidia ones.

[Albinoni]

Does the burning light, which normally indicates RED during a burn/write ever turns ORANGE, i.e your getting constant buffer underuns.

[Aldaris2002]

Bhairav, I haven't checked my IDE cables, just assumed they were ok as it seems to read discs at the correct speed, but good idea, I will check on them. And I don't have a Nforce board.

Albinoni, this LG drive does not have a multiple color LED. It is green always. Though it does flash faster when burning and reading at high speed I think.

-thanks for responding