[Leareth]

I have a LaCie DVD-RW drive (external USB) Afer checking things out a bit it is an NEC drive, apparently.

USBSTOR\CdRom_NEC____DVD_RW_ND-3520AW3.07

Problem is I have lost the driver disc ( I think my younger brother stole it and used it for target practice) and I have been searching for hours to find an appropriate driver for this device so i can burn dvds again.

it will recognize but not play dvds, and each tim I put a dvd in its designation changes from DVD to CD player. Also even though it is listed as DVD RW drive (F, it says below that CD drive.
It reverts back as soon as I remove the blank.

Someone please help me, I have to clean my HDs so I can reformat.

 

[Elvandil]

No driver should be needed. The OS has all you need.

Is there a flash update available for that drive? What CD-burning programs do you have installed?

 

[Leareth]

The OS is the problem. it runs it plug-n-play style and registers it as a cd drive, rather than a DVD drive.
the OS does NOT have a driver for every bit of hardware you could connect to your system, it has general ones, which usually work, but sometimes cause issues, ( like this one.)

As for Flashing the rom I updated to 3.07 which is the latest update available, currently.

i need to clean out my data so i can reinstall my OS because the registry is conflicting with my copy of nero. It tells me that my subscription has expired, and will not allow me to continue.

This is an issue with windows not recognizing it as a DVD recorder. Im not trying to be snappy, but i got my Associates in Computer Network administration last year, so i have some idea what im talking about, but after spending most of the day looking, i cannot find anything resembling a driver for this device, and this is after checking the LaCie site, NEC, and several driver-sites.

Im just hoping someone can point out something I missed, or suggest another site I have not found, or(dare i say) send me the appropriate driver.

 

[kiwiguy]

What you observe is normal.

Windows XP has a native CD burner, it does not have a native DVD burner.

When you put a blank writeable DVD and look at Windows Explorer, the DVD drive suddenly becomes a CD Drive. Happens here, always has, but the reason is as above, XP itself does not understand the writeable DVD media.

Take the writeable media out and it becomes a DVD again.

But Nero et al will recognise it and will burn OK.

 

[Leareth]

Aye, that is indeed the case. My problem is thus, Nero will not install. Due to a registry error it continues to tell me that my subscription or trial has expired ( I bought the prog after trying it) I believe this is due to a recent virus that i have taken care of already.

I want to remove my data from the C: drive that i wish to keep, but my secondary drive is already full! Thus i need to burn it to DVD, as it would take me numerous CDRs to back up all of the stuff I have to save.

 

[kiwiguy]

So you have now accepted that a driver is not required I assume?

freeware dvd burner

to Google will give you many free options, and as your self professed level is "advanced" I will not bother with links. Unless you have some committment to Nero only for this task.

 

[JohnWill]

Come on kiwiguy, be a sport.

DeepBurner

CDburnerXP

ImgBurn

BurnAtOnce

 

[kiwiguy]

You are feeling generous today John?.

As the poster was obviously well qualified and knowledgeable based on his response to Elvandil in post #3, I did feel that links would have been unrequired, but perhaps, on reflection and re-reading the posts, your generosity is probably valuable.

 

[Brum]

I have seen a simmilar problem with the NEC burner. This particular burner is an older one though however. I believe the number on it was ND-2100AD. It came with an Hp desktop computer.

The problem with this one is that it can read dvds and play dvds, but when any type of video format is burned to a DVD-R disc there is an error. What stumps me even more is that it can burn a DVD-R disc in data format. Nero is installed on the computer and it does not help. I looked for a flash upgrade for the ROM on the NEC website. I found one for the ND-2100 series. When I tried flashing the ROM, I recieved the error message " this flash upgrade cannot find the compatible hardware," suggesting that I downloaded an upgrade for the wrong dvd burner. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

 

[RootbeaR]

From the horses mouth, HP and Nero do not play together well. That's what HP told me anyway. Nero 7.

 

[Leareth]

Its an NEC 3520 external drive with USB link, as I said.

In response, if googling for a generic DVD driver would have helped I would have posted, but I may have been to specifice in my searching. i will try again.

I did not intend to come off so snappish, but I was indeed quite frustrated at being unabe to locate a simple driver file after searching for it for several hours, so I apologize.

Thank you for the links, i will check them out and post here reporting either success or failure to burn DVDs using windows (sadly inefficient) drag and drop burning, so i can finally reinstall my OS.

 

[Leareth]

a freeware dvd burner.. ye gods.. I feel quite dense all of the sudden. hopefully this will work.

Were it not for the fact that im more hardware oriented, rather than scripting/programming I would probably have Linux on my system.

 

[Leareth]

I may just keep this awhile, rather than reinstall to get Nero back
Easy interface, functional.

 

[vicks]

Have you tried www.driverguide.com?
Site is free but you must register to download.
Vicks

 

[RootbeaR]

I thought you meant your external drive was NEC, not your computer.

 

[JohnWill]

Have you tried www.driverguide.com?
Site is free but you must register to download.
Vicks

No drivers are required for USB mass storage or optical drives. DriveGuide is not a solution.

 

[Leareth]

Muh as I hate to admit it (simply bcause anything stated in such cut-and-dry absolutes annoys me) after looking at driverguide I do not see any driver to assist. I am not sure then, what was on the cd that was included with the drive to make windows play nice with it, but its missing and i cannot locate it.

Thank you for your help, everyone.

The freeware burner works great, I feel stupid for not having thought of it myself.

My computer is a home-build kit, with upgrades and mods aded in by me. The drive in question is marketed by LaCie but uses an NEC drive.

 

[Brum]

Usually an "instalation disc" that comes with a DVD-RW doesn't have a driver on it. In fact, I just looked at the one for my SONY DRU 810A. The only thing on it was a very terrrible version of Nero. I bet it was just a software program.

And just becuase we are on the subject, I would like to note that a new monitor I bought came with an installation disc. I Couldn't figure out why on earth a monitor came with an installation disc so I had to try it. When I used the disc, I had one option, "Installation Software." When I clicked it my computer unistalled Adobe Acrobate Reader 8.0.7 and reinstalled Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0.5. When it was done, an installation guide on how to install the monitor poped up on the screen. I thought it was the most hilariuos thing I had ever seen. Especially since you need a monitor to read the directions.

 

[JohnWill]

Actually, while I don't load them, monitors actually have "drivers". They're really .INF files to define specific color characteristics.

 

[Brum]

Hmm, I didn't know that.