1 Reply by Anamon

(10 replies, posted in General discussion)

Agent47 wrote:

If you are going to dump CDs you should invest in a CD-only plextor. They have the best read rates. For DVDs, there is zero reason to use a plextor, any dvd drive can dump those discs properly. DVD PX models are trash amd the laser is known for wearing out. If you plan on dumping CDs they should not be recommended ever, yet people still preach buying 716 or 760 drives for dumping cds. No, full stop.

I don't feel like I've been duped, the warnings about dead lasers on the compatibility list are very direct big_smile it was a purchase of opportunity, since I occasionally look for Plextor listings, and I know that in the rare instance that one does show up in the area, it's a minimum of $150. I assume people who kept those drives around are aware of how sought-after they are. So when one from the "maybe you'll get lucky" list showed up for 10 bucks, I took my chances.

Personally I wouldn't pay three digits for a "good" CD-only Plextor – when dumping for my own archive, I have less strict standards, and so far I never had a disc that I couldn't create a proper, functional copy with using my BH16NS55. But I do like the Redump project, and the idea of being able to contribute to it, so I thought if a tenner might give me the chance to, why not try.

If I didn't see tinkering with the drive as an interesting and educative thing in itself, I would probably decide differently, but for now I like the idea of: if I can keep getting replacement lasers, and manage to swap them out, it might be worth a try even if they're cheap knockoffs that give out quickly themselves and I have to open the drive up once a year. roll

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2 Reply by Anamon

(10 replies, posted in General discussion)

I see – limited options, here.

Since the Plextor was a Hail Mary purchase anyway, so to say, I might just try tinkering with it a little out of curiosity. The guy I got it from would've trashed it if he hadn't found a seller, and I only got it for dumping, meaning that it would probably await the same fate if I can't use it for that. So, might as well open the sucker up and see if I can turn that $10 purchase into something I can get something worthwhile out of.

I think at first I'll try to see if I can clean the lens a little – I doubt that this is the problem, given it still reads DVDs, and from my understanding, DVDs are more sensitive to that than CDs (which is also what makes me wonder exactly how these lasers are dying, as in my case, that it can completely bork CD reading while leaving DVD reading ability seemingly undiminished).

Unfortunately I don't have any spare drives lying around, and I'd be hesitant to buy extra old drives at auction, because I assume they all had their years of use, and if they contain the same laser assembly, they'll have had the same reliability problems.

Online, I found only one vendor selling SF-DB10s. They claim they're original, but everything about the listing tells me they're probably not. But it's not like I have anything to lose, right? If I manage to physically replace the thing, I'll have at least practiced my repair skills a little. If the drive then doesn't work, it's not any less useful to me than it is right now. And if I do manage, I guess I'll have found a way to keep the drive in working order for the forseeable future (or however long I will be able to procure more SF-DB10s).

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3 Reply by Anamon

(10 replies, posted in General discussion)

Thanks for the reply!

Yes, it does 4 batches of a sequence of 4 "noises" before stopping the drive and flashing amber.

It's certainly possible that it's a coincidence it happened right at the time of the firmware upgrade. Just my mind is saying, what are the odds of a drive this old dying 15 minutes after I bring it home big_smile I considered the possibility that the drive wouldn't work or I would fail to create proper dumps with it, but not with it teasing me by working for just long enough to get my hopes up!

I do have a BH16NS55 which, if I understand the compatibility list correctly, should also work once flashed with the BW-16D1HT firmware. But I was hesitant to try that, since I use the drive for other work as well. I did toy with the idea of getting a second one since they're for sale here everywhere, but that would be around $75, and having to add a second internal drive, using up my last 5.25" bay, and still not having a guarantee it will work. That was a bit too much expense, effort and risk for me "just" for doing dumps. Getting a PX-712UF for $10 seemed like a great low-risk option.

I might try the laser replacement thing, if just for kicks. Redump is really the only reason I got this drive, so if I'm not going to be able to do dumps with it, it's just going to take up space.

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4 Topic by Anamon

(10 replies, posted in General discussion)

Hi everyone,

I found a PX-712UF for cheap this week, and hoped that it would finally allow me to start contributing. The drive worked fine when I initially tested it after getting it, but after doing the v1.09 firmware update requested by DIC, it now seems to no longer read CDs, only DVDs.

Here's the full story:

When I first set up the drive (USB connection, Windows 10 machine) I tested it with a handful of CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs I had lying around. The drive read all of them flawlessly. I then tried to do my first dump with DIC, but the tool complained that it wouldn't dump from the drive since it had the v1.02 firmware installed, and I should update it to the latest version 1.09.

I downloaded the firmware updater from the link on the Wiki, and the update seemed to go smoothly. However, when I inserted the CD I tried dumping again, the drive wouldn't recognise it anymore. It audibly tried detecting the disc four times, before going into the "two orange LED flashes" error mode. I tried the other CDs that worked fine before the firmware upgrade, and none of them were recognised anymore either. I then tried the DVDs again – and they all still read flawlessly. The drive immediately detects them, seems to read them at full speed, and I can even dump them with DIC.

Since the drive sucessfully read CDs on every try before the firmware upgrade, and not a single time anymore after it, I figured it had to do with the firmware. I downgraded it back to v1.02 to try (which would defeat the purpose of wanting to use the drive for dumping, but whatever). But still: I can't get it to recognise a single CD-ROM anymore. DVDs always work fine.



What could be the problem here? Of course I've read the notes about the 712's reputation of having its lasers die young, but I'm a bit skeptical about this being the problem given how the success rate went from 100% to 0% the second I upgraded the firmware, and the fact that it doesn't seem to have any problems with DVDs whatsoever (or does the 712 have separate lasers?). Could I have semi-bricked the drive when flashing the firmware? Could it just need a lens cleaning? Or are these symptoms actually consistent with the laser dying?
The guy who sold the drive to me asked me about what system I plan to connect it to – he said that the drive was very unreliable for him whenever he tried using it on a Windows 8 or 10 machine, but that he managed to back up all of his old discs flawlessly once he connected it to an old XP computer. My intuition tells me that this couldn't possibly be it, and that the failure happens before anything the Windows driver could influence gets involved. But maybe I'm wrong?

I'd appreciate any helpful experiences or knowledge you might have! Thanks smile

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