16x DVD burner won't burn at 16x - looking for help

[Albigger]

Hey guys, new to the DVD-burning world, got a 16x Dual Layer DVD drive for xmas, from best buy - brand says DYNEX, model DX-DVDRW16.


Long story short, I have tried twice to burn at 16x and both times has failed almost immediately with a 'write error.' Using two different media, first was Verbatim DVD+R and second is RiDATA DVD+R (yes both rated at 16x discs). Using Nero for burning. I also updated the firmware to the latest for this drive.


Have burned successfully 4 discs at 12x speed. Have read the "how to burn a dvd" sticky in this forum.

So what gives? Suggestions? Thanks for any help.

[bchur83]

I wouldn't recommend burning at 16X anyway. Too much of a chance for errors at that speed. I personally keep my burning under 8x. Which is still wicked fast.

Are you doing other stuff while burning? You could be causing a buffer underrun.

[Albigger]

I wouldn't recommend burning at 16X anyway. Too much of a chance for errors at that speed. I personally keep my burning under 8x. Which is still wicked fast.

That's true. I guess 8-12x isn't so bad really, just wondered if there was something I was doing wrong.


Are you doing other stuff while burning? You could be causing a buffer underrun.

Not usually, just browsing the net. I have a dual cpu system, and it doesn't seem like it slows when I'm burning. I would'nt be gaming or anything like that.

[Quick69GTO]

I have two 16X burners (Pioneer and a BenQ).
Both required a 40 pin 80 conductor (hard drive) cable to burn at 16X.
Try changing the cable to a ATA 100/133 cable.
In the device manager the burner should show as a Ultra DMA Mode 4 device.

[Beginner]

albigger, nero also has an option under "drivespeed" i think were you can manually set the burn speed.

another think to check is updated official firmware or 3rd party firmware for you burner. my favorite is 3rd party because it will make your drive rpc1 region and bypass your drives riplock from 2-4x to a higher speed.

[Nilo]

There is not on problem about burning 16x media at 16x, as long as the media is good brand and the burner too.
Chance is you got yourself a not so good drive. If you can, try changing it for a good LG or BenQ drive. They will surely get great 16x burns, better than 4x, 8x or 12x ones provided by any other drives.

[Jojo1971]

ive been burning at 16x with my NEC-3540A and NEC-3550A since the day i got them, with Verbatim DVD-R 16x media- so far never had a problem...

like the other guy said: "There is not on problem about burning 16x media at 16x, as long as the media is good brand and the burner too. ".....

BTW, i was a Lite-On for 5 yrs before i finally got convinced by NEC drives...