Knoppix 4.0 makes my dvd-drive BenQ DW-1640 crash!

**justThisGuy** · 08-31-2005, 06:55 PM

on a Benq 1640 (BSJB) on an Intel D845PEBT2 motherboard.

It works great under Windows 2000 (reading and writing disks works fine).

Interestingly enough I can boot an old version of Knoppix (kernel 2.4). It won't boot later knoppix's or a Suse 9.3 or Ubuntu 5.04 installer. (*I can't even boot off the LiveCD*)

I installed Ubuntu 5.04 by adding an old CD drive to my machine, but now if I try and read dvd's on the benq I get the following error, especially when I try and read longer files:

hdc: cdrom_read_intr: Bad transfer size 65534
This drive is not supported by this version of the driver
end_request: I/O error, dev hdc, sector 28360
Buffer I/O error on device hdc, logical block 7090
hdc: status error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest }
hdc: status error: error=0x00
hdc: drive not ready for command
hdc: status error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest }
hdc: status error: error=0x00
hdc: drive not ready for command
hdc: status error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest }
hdc: status error: error=0x00
hdc: drive not ready for command
hdc: status error: status=0x58 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest }
hdc: status error: error=0x00
hdc: drive not ready for command
hdc: ATAPI reset complete

Anyone have an idea of why the transfer size might be so odd? Its almost a full word (FFFE) - perhaps there's some sort of overflow condition?

**pixxelle** · 08-31-2005, 11:16 PM

I put a plain vanilla CDR into my machine (Dell Optiplex GX260) and was able to boot into and install Ubuntu 5.04. I can also boot into Live Knoppix (3.8.1) with the older drive as it should.

I cannot play any DVD's with the Plextor 740A drive, although it will play audio (I have mostly the Gnome desktop). If I try to play a DVD, Ubuntu freezes so hard I have to shut down ungracefully.

Soooo, I'm not sure what I'm going to do for now with that drive. I haven't had the time to really play with other aspects like burning data and/or audio CD's. The Plextor drive does mount and even has correct info listed as to what it is, but DVD's? No. And I can't boot with it.

**ckamin** · 09-18-2005, 06:38 AM

Problem still persists, anybody can give any more hint? All I can say Ubuntu Live CD works!

One issue that some drives seem to have is media compatiblility. Some types of media, dyes, etc. work better in some drives than in others. I have encountered many issues where a drive will burn both DVD+ and DVD- media, but has trouble reading from one or the other. Try a different brand that is recommended by the drive manufacturer as compatible. The firmware is sometimes the culprit, but may never be upgraded to fix whatever errors you might be encountering. Burning speed IS an issue. You might appear to have a good burn at a higher speed, but reading that disc in ALL drives may not be a reality. Just because a disc works in ONE system does not mean that ALL systems SHOULD or WILL read that disc without errors. Cheap media, even some that claim to be "Name-Brand" is usually a big issue. There is a lot of sub-standard media on the market and if you got a "Good Deal" on it, there obviously was a reason. You can sometimes even see the errors on the media and uneven dye distribution.

To see if you can resolve your problem:

Try a different type of media than what you used before. A CD of retail or better quality, recommended by the drive manufacturer as compatible. DVD+R instead of -R, or vice versa, of a brand recommended by the drive manufacturer.

Burn the disc at the slowest speed possible. 1X is not too slow. See my post here for more: http://www.knoppix.net/forum/viewtop...751&highlight=

Be certain that you have the latest firmware update for your drive.

Be certain that the drive and media is clean and free of peanut butter and jelly fingerprints or the like.

Sometimes drives and systems have certain needs regarding jumper settings and cables. IE cable select/80 pin IDE cable supporting cable select option. Master or slave may make a difference when installed with other drives on the same controller or cable.

There very well could be an issue with Knoppix regarding certain drive/driver compatibilities. I have not heard of any, but that does not mean one does not exist. I would search the forums to see if there are others experiencing the same issues with those drives. I would try to reason that if Knoppix is affected, a similar debian based distro would encounter the same or similar errors with like versions/kernels. I do not have a Benq drive in my collection, so I could not try to duplicate your concern to investigate it further.

**AGraybosch** · 09-20-2005, 01:44 AM

Got the same exact problem with the same drive BENQ 1640... /dev/hda insmod: error inserting '/modules/cloop.ko' -1 bad file number. After the error the drive spins until I reboot and remove the DVD. I haven't tried the same DVD in any other drive but the burn was clean from Nero.

**AGraybosch** · 09-21-2005, 06:09 AM

No problems at all with the CD version.

**Harry Kuhman** · 09-21-2005, 06:13 AM

Originally Posted by AGraybosch

Got the same exact problem with the same drive BENQ 1640...

Oh, well in that case we'll post the fix. We wern't going to tell the other guy what was wrong, but since you have the exact same problem we'll go ahead and reveal the secret. Just give use a little time to write up the information in extreme detail.

**dubbz** · 09-21-2005, 10:40 PM

Is this some kind of problem with the BENQ DW-1640?

I get the same message when trying to boot the Live DVD (well, except that mine is hdb, not hda or hdc).

- Used BitTorrent to download it
- Did an extra md5 check ('just in case'... well, you never know *cough*)
- Burned with Nero 6 (at 2.4X, Verbatim DVD-R 16X media)
- Got the 'bad file number' error, system halts.
- Did a md5 check of all the files on the DVD (using the md5sum file in KNOPPIX dir), and all files check out fine.
- I tried to use 'knoppix testcd', but it doesn't get past the 'bad file number' part.

It's hooked up to a Shuttle SN25P (AMD64, nForce4). Firmware version on the DW-1640 is 'BSLB'.

Edit: For those with similar issues; What kind of media have you used? DVD-R or DVD+R? After googling a bit, I suspect that it might have some issues with DVD-R media, but I don't have any empty DVD+R at hand, so I can't check for myself.

**justThisGuy** · 09-22-2005, 07:22 AM

I can burn a disk with a different drive and it still fails when the Benq tries to boot off it under linux.

Better yet I can burn a disk with the Benq under windows that scans fine, boots fine in another DVD drive and the Benq still can't boot off it.

There's pretty clearly a problem between the Benq and a lot of 2.6 kernels running on various motherboards. Google "benq 1640 linux" or "plextor 740a dvd linux error" and see what you find. There are increasing numbers of problem reports coming out. Hopefully someone with some kernel hacking experience will notice...

**Harry Kuhman** · 09-22-2005, 08:27 AM

Originally Posted by justThisGuy

Better yet I can burn a disk with the Benq under windows that scans fine, boots fine in another DVD drive and the Benq still can't boot off it....

At what speed do you burn these discs?

**ckamin** · 09-22-2005, 10:29 AM

Assuming that the boot process gets far enough, Has anyone tried to enable DMA? Cheatcode is "Knoppix dma", if I remember correctly. I have experienced many issues with older Plextor drives under Windows wiithout DMA turned on. If I can remember correctly, there were a couple of occasions where the drive was basically locked and spinning until a hard reboot. I was not sure at the time if it was a software issue or the DMA not being enabled for some strange reason, but updating the burning software and turning on DMA seemed to cure it. Could it be possible that these drives have some issues under Linux in that regard? Just a SWAG, but might be worth the time to explore it.

There are increasing numbers of problem reports coming out. Hopefully someone with some kernel hacking experience will notice...

Has anyone done some verification and workup and reported this as a bug?

A quick look at BOTH the Plextor AND the BENQ sites did not provide any reason to believe that they claim these drives support Linux in any fashion. Plextor did have a page claiming that ALL of their CD-R/RW drives were supported in Linux, but there is no mention of the DVD drives. The Manuals/Specifications for the drives do not show Linux to be listed as a compatible Operating System. A quick search did not reveal any information on this issue either. Has anyone contacted the Drive manufacturers for assistance? They might nave more information available on their drive's issues with Linux or should be made aware of them.