Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
• Your drive can't use a particular type of media, or it performs much more slowly with
one type of media than other types/brands of media.
• Your drive can't play some types of burned discs or movies.
• Your writing software doesn't recognize the drive as a rewritable drive.
• You want to use faster media than what the drive was originally designed to use.
• Your BD drive can't play back some BD movies.
Becauseanyfirmwareupdaterunsariskoffailureandafailedfirmwareupdatecanrender
your drive useless (I've seen it happen), you shouldn't install firmware updates casually.
However, as the preceding examples indicate, in many cases an upgrade is recommended.
Because many rewritable drives have special characteristics, disc-burning programs may
require updates to work. Get the update from the software vendor, or use the software
provided with the drive.
Determining Which Drive Model and Firmware Are Installed
Before you can determine whether you need a firmware update for your rewritable drive,
you need to know your drive model and which firmware version it's using. This is espe-
cially important if you use a drive that is an OEM product produced by a vendor other
than the one that packaged the drive for resale.
To determine the firmware revision using the Windows Device Manager, follow this pro-
cedure:
1.
Right-click My Computer and select Properties.
2.
Click the Device Manager tab.
3.
Click the plus sign (+) next to DVD/CD-ROM in the list of device types.
4.
Double-click the rewritable drive icon to display its properties sheet.
5.
With older Windows versions, click the Settings tab; the firmware version and drive
name will be displayed.
6.
On Windows XP or later, click the Details tab and select Hardware Ids. The firmware
revisionisusuallydisplayedwithseveralunderscoresoneithersideofitaspartofthe
hardware IDs listed. For example, my Lite-On SHW-160P6S DVD drive uses firm-
ware version PS0C, displayed as _______________PS0C_______________.
Afteryouhavethisinformation, youcangotoyourrewritable drivevendor'swebsite and
see whether a firmware update is available and what the benefits of installing the latest
version would be.
