Has multi-burner firmware EVER been upgraded?

Message

pufftissue · #1 Post by **pufftissue** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:04 am

1. I upgraded a dell 700m nec drive with firmware on the net that when done gave it the perfect trifecta: dual layer, +/- r, rw capability. Does that or any Matshita uj-811 or 812 ultrabay slim multi-burner drive have even a reasonable hope of having a firmware released to enable +R, +RW, and dual layer capability? It IS ONLY a firmware fix, right, i.e., no new hardware required?

2. What am I missing out on practically by buying a multi-burner that doesn't have the +r capacity? Rationally, I think I'm missing out on absolutely nothing, but intuitively I want that security of having +r, esp since my personal experience suggests that +r is now more plentiful than -r.
I will be ok not having dual layer since the discs are so freaking expensive, but again, in 2 years or so everyone will have dual layer, and I know I will still be "stuck" with this T42 laptop.

MadeInJapan · #2 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:20 am

Look around and find a UJ-835...I believe that has + capability...or go with another brand all together. Even if the burner isn't "made" for Thinkpads, as long as it's 12.5mm thick it will work....you might have to cut a piece of the face plate but it's not that big a deal...to fit in ultrabay2000.

pufftissue · #3 Post by **pufftissue** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:32 am

MadeInJapan wrote:Look around and find a UJ-835...I believe that has + capability...or go with another brand all together. Even if the burner isn't "made" for Thinkpads, as long as it's 12.5mm thick it will work....you might have to cut a piece of the face plate but it's not that big a deal...to fit in ultrabay2000.

WHOAH NELLY, there. I thought I had to have 9.5mm thick drive, and that is the source of all the woes regarding outrageously price dvd burner drives for our thin T42s.
You are telling me I can take any 12.5 mm thick dvd burner drive and use it in my T42?

Skywing · #4 Post by **Skywing** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 10:07 am

you cant get just ANY drive for the Ultrabay Slim, it is a 9.5mm optical drive and the ONLY one on the market right now is the UJ-812 that it comes with

JHEM · #5 Post by **JHEM** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 10:28 am

pufftissue wrote:You are telling me I can take any 12.5 mm thick dvd burner drive and use it in my T42?

He was referring specifically to the Ultrabay 2000, not the Ultrabay Slim.

We T4X owners are rather screwed at the moment as there is only one DVD burner that fits in the Ultrabay Slim and that's the less than spectacular performing (although spectacularly expensive!) UJ-812.

There are other offerings in the wings from different manufacturers, including a 16X double layer -/+ burner, but don't expect any of them to be readily available to the retail market anytime soon, nor for them to be markedly cheaper.

The best bet for DVD burning with the current crop of Thinkpads at the moment, and in the foreseeable future, is an external USB2.0 one.

Regards,

James

skanky · #6 Post by **skanky** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 10:29 am

pufftissue wrote:
MadeInJapan wrote:Look around and find a UJ-835...I believe that has + capability...or go with another brand all together. Even if the burner isn't "made" for Thinkpads, as long as it's 12.5mm thick it will work....you might have to cut a piece of the face plate but it's not that big a deal...to fit in ultrabay2000.
WHOAH NELLY, there. I thought I had to have 9.5mm thick drive, and that is the source of all the woes regarding outrageously price dvd burner drives for our thin T42s.
You are telling me I can take any 12.5 mm thick dvd burner drive and use it in my T42?

nope, you have to get a ultrabay slim drive for a T4x machines. older ultrabay drives wont work..

DrSmile · #7 Post by **DrSmile** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:50 pm

I have been waiting for this type of +rw drive for a year now. It's a little upsetting when all the other laptop manufacturers offer this capability and have offered it for over a year.

Maybe Lenovo will address this problem...

sbc · #8 Post by **sbc** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 1:13 pm

Woah, I had no idea of this. I thought the whole point of the bay drive was to be interchangeable and easy upgrade access in the future. Hmmmph, can't win for losing.

Leon · #9 Post by **Leon** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 2:39 pm

what's the diff between the Ultrabay Slim & the Ultrabay 2000?

KillaByte · #10 Post by **KillaByte** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 4:25 pm

Leon wrote:what's the diff between the Ultrabay Slim & the Ultrabay 2000?

3 millimeters

MadeInJapan · #11 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:11 pm

Been away and just got back to see the discussion about the size difference of the bays in the T20series~T30 series, and the T40series. Anyway, yes, there is a difference and I'm sorry I didn't catch the fact you were wanting the 9mm one. Just so happens I have one of those elusive UJ-812, but it came out of a Toshiba laptop so it has a silver faceplate...but if anyone wants it, I'll let it go for $150 plus shipping. Just paint the faceplate black and no one (except you) will know the difference. I will say that with the RecordNow software it burns both CD's and DVD's very very well. It's by far the most impressive drive available for the ThinkPad, higher level series right now. Don't think you can find it for less than $200 anywhere, if you can even find one. I tested it and it works, so will guaranty no DOA or money back....be be cautioned that it also only burns the "-" format and not the "+"

I'm sure you're wondering why I have this drive. Wish I could use it in my laptop but it's too slim and I already have the slot loading UJ-815 which I'm very happy with. The previous owner of the Toshiba that bit the dust, dropped it and cracked the screen and killed the HDD....all other parts work....but the laptop is from Japan (Dynabook CX series) which is not available over here. I'm taking the parts out of it and hope to sell what I can, including the 1.6 Pentium 4 (Centrino), the B/G wireless card and antena, the bluetooth daughter card and it's antena and a few other goodies.

tromba · #12 Post by **tromba** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:29 pm

JHEM wrote:
pufftissue wrote:
The best bet for DVD burning with the current crop of Thinkpads at the moment, and in the foreseeable future, is an external USB2.0 one.

So I've been looking at purchasing a T42 and definitely DO use a DVD burner. I had a 12" powerbook and for that function, it was great. I've had friends that have had lots of trouble with external DVD drives, but that was mostly years ago.

Given the cost of the IBM multidrive, the external is an appealing idea. Would firewire (have to buy the card, of course) offer any advantage over USB2? Will external work well? Any particular brand recommendations?

ZPrime · #13 Post by **ZPrime** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:44 am

MadeInJapan wrote:Wish I could use it in my laptop but it's too slim and I already have the slot loading UJ-815 which I'm very happy with.

Where did you get this drive, and what are the specs on it? I'd absolutely LOVE to have slot-loading on my thinkpad; the tray *always* gets in the way when I'm trying to put in a CD. Is the UJ-815 a cdrw/DVDrom?

MadeInJapan · #14 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 10:42 pm

UJ-815 is a slot loading DVDRW (True Multiburner). The series of slot loaders are the 815, 825 and 835. I bought 2 of the 815's at Akihabara, in Tokyo when I was there in Oct. Only paid $100 each for them. I've looked on the web and found just a few in this country...including eBay, but they don't last long...very hard to find. These are also made for PowerBooks so for them, unfortunately there is no faceplate...goes inside the laptop with the edge of the notebook itself being the faceplate.

The one I have: http://www.panasonic-industrial.com/ser ... 111927_l2/
Other ones
(825) Nice...burns both formats ($179 at this site...decent price, I think): http://www.dfwdepot.com/osc/product_inf ... cts_id=139
(835) Nicest...burns both formats at good speed:
http://www.panasonic-industrial.com/ser ... 111930_l2/

By the way, cutting the faceplate to fit the Ultrabay2000 was no problem at all! Only disadvantage is that you can't use the mini CD/DVD's.

Another by-the-way: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... eName=WDVW
This one is at $84.00 right now...wonder if it has the faceplate with it? Definitley a steal if it does.

DrSmile · #15 Post by **DrSmile** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:25 am

Just to reiterate, the drives listed in the post above WILL NOT FIT the T40 or higher series laptops as they are Ultrabay 2000, not Ultrabay Slim.

There is NO +r or +rw burner available for our late model T series laptops.

n3il · #16 Post by **n3il** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 4:52 am

Depends what "T series" machines you are referring to!!

MadeInJapan · #17 Post by **MadeInJapan** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 6:57 am

Right...the ones I mention will fit the T20's, T30's and the X30's. Not sure about the others....they are 12.5/12.7mm form factor and the T40's need 9mm to work.

On further investigation, I believe that you are correct....there is no +/- drive that is 9mm. If anyone finds one, they should list it here....I'll continue my search too and post if I come across one. So, it seems that USB/External drive is the only answer for the T40 series owners as of late.

DrSmile · #18 Post by **DrSmile** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:15 am

Corrected my post. I just don't want people reading the thread and then purchase the wrong drive for their T40+, seeing how expensive even the Ultrabay 2000 ones are.

Has multi-burner firmware EVER been upgraded?

Has multi-burner firmware EVER been upgraded?

Who is online