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

**dubbz** · 09-22-2005, 04:38 PM

Well, thanks to ckamin I'm writing this from Knoppix and Konqueror. Seems like "knoppix dma" did the trick.

**justThisGuy** · 09-22-2005, 05:18 PM

Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

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?

12x on both 16x DVD -R and +R since the drive has some trouble at 16x (see the http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92 forum). BTW - That forum has some other examples of people having problems:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=149095

etc

**Harry Kuhman** · 09-22-2005, 05:26 PM

Originally Posted by justThisGuy

12x on both 16x DVD -R and +R since the drive has some trouble at 16x

if the dma switch doesn't resolve all problems for you, I would drop down to a slow speed burn (even 2 or 2.4x) . We see a lot of problems, including burns that seem to work but boot slower that expected on high speed CD burns, and I know my Benq drive doesn't burn DVDs well at high speeds, no matter what it and the media are rated.

**dubbz** · 09-22-2005, 08:25 PM

Be careful when burning DVD-R media at 2.4x. I did that with my BENQ drive and got a lot of PI errors in Nero's Disc Quality Test. Burning at 4x actually had much better results (which I did the last time I tried).

(This seems to be a problem with DVD-R, not DVD+R)

**ckamin** · 09-23-2005, 05:35 AM

Be careful when burning DVD-R media at 2.4x. I did that with my BENQ drive and got a lot of PI errors in Nero's Disc Quality Test. Burning at 4x actually had much better results (which I did the last time I tried).

(This seems to be a problem with DVD-R, not DVD+R)

I still believe that there are some firmware issues with these drives. Be sure to update to the latest from the drive manufacturer. The issue of SLOW burning speed is one I can't stress enough. It has everything to do with the accuracy of the completed disc. It may very well be that these drives may not burn certain brands/types of media well at one particular speed or the other. The fact that you stated you had issues with DVD-R at 2.4X leads me to believe something is very wrong. 2.4X is a speed that is basically used with DVD+R media only. If it is an issue burning DVD-R at 2.4X, I would have to agree that it may not work well. I use 2X on DVD-R mostly, but usually not over 4X for any DVD I burn, for ANY format. I hold CD-R to 8X or less, as settings permit. I have posted elsewhere about the mechanics of slow burning, but suffice it to say it is highly recommended. If you are burning at 12X or 16X and not having problems, it is probably just a matter of time until you do. It has been well documented, and my personal experience, that burning any disc at slower speeds enhances the compatibility with more drives and the accuracy of the disc. It is amazing how someone will wait HOURS for a DVD iso to download, but will not be patient enough to let it burn to disc for a few extra minutes.

I'm glad that the DMA cheatcode worked out. DMA is the only thing that I can recall causing symptoms such as those described in this thread. I believe that DMA is turned off by default on the newer versions of Knoppix and may be enabled on some other Live versions of Linux. It would be interesting to know if it worked for the others that were having this concern also. Thank you dubbz for posting your success.

**onesandzeros** · 10-02-2005, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by ckamin

Has anyone tried to enable DMA? Cheatcode is "Knoppix dma".

Yep, starting up with "knoppix dma screen=1280x1024 depth=24" does it for me using a benq 1640 (I don't know the firmware version, sorry). I was experiencing the cloop.ko error on a 4.0.2 dvd burned at 8x with the same benq drive, downloaded using bt.

I want to add that using this drive, I also could not boot 3.8.2 and 3.9 cds burned with a different burner (a 52x benq cdrw). However, my previous dvdrom drive, a Liteon 163 I think, could boot both of those without any trouble.

So, for whatever reason, enabling DMA is the way to go.

By the way, thanks to the Knoppix people for all their work. The 4.0.2 dvd's software complement looks... thorough, heh.

Chris

**ckamin** · 10-02-2005, 07:03 AM

Yep, starting up with "knoppix dma screen=1280x1024 depth=24" does it for me using a benq 1640

Thanks for the feedback! It appears that these two drives are affected adversely by disabling DMA in the later versions of Knoppix. I'm not exactly sure when DMA was disabled, but I think it was around Version 3.7. That would explain your issues with 3.8.2 and 3.9 previously. The vast majority of the drives in use today do not appear to have these same type of issues. I guess we now know what to do if one comes along.

By the way, thanks to the Knoppix people for all their work. The 4.0.2 dvd's software complement looks... thorough, heh.

I will say that it appears to be an exceptional update. There is enough there to keep me exploring it for some time to come. I just hope that one day I would know what most of it is AND does! The best part is, it appears to work rather well for what I have tried so far. No troubles, no errors, no worries. Just great stuff! ( AND no "Monopoly" to deal with or support!)