A31 DVD Burner upgrade strange problem

[j.welter]

Hi, its me again with some strange problem

Well I upgraded my A31 some years ago with a Toshiba DVD Burner (cutting out this rectangle at the right front bezel side, mounting the plastic guides.) It worked without problems, but it does not accept DVD media that is 16x compatible. No chance to burn on it at whatever speed.

So I got an Plextor PX-608AL Slim Line Slot In Burner.

It is recognized at startup. It is showed in Explorer and Hardware Manager. Everything OK so far. When I insert an DVD or CD nothing happens. When I reboot with the DVD or CD in the burner, I can access it and everything works fine.

When I eject the media XP does not recognize it. After a reboot everything is OK again.

So I cannot reboot after each DVD swap

What I tested:
- burner works in a newer Notebook (Fujitsu-Siemens)
- burner works on an USB to PATA Adapter at the A31
- I cannot take out the Floppy at the left side (it is somehow seized) so I tested at the right bay.
- I did the PIN 47 trick to set it to Master and Slave. Nothing changes
- Plextor support tells me that perhaps it is a cable select problem (no because of the fixed setting to either does not change anything)
- The Plextor is the same like an Pioneer device. I tested that too with the same result.
- I did an BIOS upgrade for the A31.


So what do you think? I am stumped.

Regards
Juergen

[sjthinkpader]

Could be a cable select issue. It will be interesting to see if it works in the left bay. These two are on different IDE channels. With the KB bezel off, there is a short lever just above the left speaker that may not be aligned correctly with the release tab.

You may want to try a different firmware in the drive.

Firmware
Note: Use at your own risk. Drive may not work after flashing.

[j.welter]

Well I dissassembled my TP and found the reason why I could not take out the bay content From the top I saw a screw that was blocking the mechanism. And obviously it is intented to do so

I noticed that there is a screw missing on the bottom one side some time ago (at the side where the bay is working...)


I tried the burner in the left bay and the system hangs at the startscreen where the IBM logo is shown. I tried Master, Slave and Cable Select no difference.

Meanwhile I tried a Matshita UJ841 in the right bay and it worked.

So I guess the Plextor is simply incompatible to the TP.

Can anybody recommend a good slim burner that works with 16x media and a ThinkPad?


Regards
Juergen

[sjthinkpader]

My preference is Panasonic and Toshiba, Teac to a minor extend.