CDWR and DVD setup: which controlers??

[EliC]

I am putting a Magic 8x DVD and an Acer 8/4/32 cdwr in my new computer. I also have a Maxtor 20GB harddrive that supports ATA 66. I want to be able to copy a cd from the DVD drive directly. If I put one on the controller with the the HD it will slow the HD down, right.

Can I put both the DVD and the CDWR on the same controller?

Will I be able to do a direct copy with them on the same controller?

[JimG]

OK, first question: Are you going to have the Maxtor HD operate on ATA 66? If so, this requires a special IDE interface that may be on the motherboard, or you may need a controller card that plugs into a PCI slot. However, this will be good, because you will have the two IDE channels free (ATA 66 requires special driver, and will not interfere with the two normal IDE channels). Plug the DVD drive into one, and the CD-RW into the other.
If you don't want that, you can put either the DVD or CD-RW on the same IDE channel as the HD (assuming you're not using ATA 66). Make sure the HD is the master drive, and the other is a slave. It will be slower, but I wouldn't put the DVD and CD-RW on the same channel. I think that would be much slower.

[Eli]

Keep in mind that the computer can only use one device on an IDE channel at a time, so putting both the CDRW and the DVD on the same channel is a bad idea. If you want to go straight from the DVD to the CDRW (good luck with that), they need to be on seperate channels. Good luck.

[EliC]

good luck with that? why?

I do have a mb that will support ATA66, so I did not plan on getting another card. What settup should I use without slowing my HD??

Is the HD only slowed when the other device on the same controller is being used?

-This is totally bumming me. I was going to get a SCSI writer but I couldnt find the one I wanted and now I am stuck with this one that is going to slow my whole system down http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif
Help!!!

[EliC]

Note: when I said I wanted to go staight from the DVD to the CDWR I of course meant that I would be using the CD functionality of the DVD player in case there was any confusion. Is this what you where refering to Eli?

[Eli]

I mean that going straight from the CD player (be it a CD-rom drive or a DVD drive) to a CDR(W) on an IDE system usually isn't reliable. I personally have a 24x drive set as primary slave and a CDRW set as secondary master. Going right from the reader to the burner does work sometimes, but it's much more reliable if you make an image of the CD to the hard drive first. It only adds a few minutes to the process and it's worth it if there's less chance of an unsuccessful burn.

[Ke01]

Your problem is very simple, you should have to controllers on board (primary & secondary or IDE0 & IDE1), IDE allows for 2 devices per controller, keep your HD on Primary controller, hook up your 2 CDR and DVD on the secondary controller (first check to see if 1 of those devices needs to be set too master), then jumper which-ever device accordingly, Make sure to read and write all your Movies from your CDRW, set the copy at 1X speed it will take longer (1.5 Hours) but it will be crytal clear, also never use a CDRW CD to make the copy as most DVD do not play well from them..
1)check controllers
2)Put both CD's on same data cable
3)Check for a device that needs Mastering

Ke01:>

[EliC]

What does everyone else have to say about this. 2 ppl have already said not to put the CDWR and the DVD on the same controller. Does anyone know for sure?

[Eli]

Again, definitely put them on different IDE channels. Think about it. If they're on the same channel, the computer will read from one, then write to the other. While it's writing, it cannot read from the reader, so it will quickly run out of data to write (causing a buffer underrun, or something along those lines). Then while it's reading, the writer is just sitting there spinning, completely out of data. A bad idea. This is also why you should try and keep the hard drive on a different channel than the writer, as having both the writer and the hard drive on the same channel can cause the same problems. I think that made sense... lol

[EliC]

Eli, thanks. This is exactly what I thought but others here seemed to be indicating otherwise. I am going to try to sell my unopened Acer burner and get a SCSI one. I already have a SCSI card and dont want to invest in an IDE card.

BTW, does anyone know who sells a HP 9210i 8/4/32 Internal SCSI CDWR?

[Banti]

Don't know if this matters, but a friend of mine never had a good burn from dvd to cdr/cdrw. The dvd laser was to picky and would not like a less the new source cd. If there was a small scratch/dust/imperfection of ANY kind his CDR disk would be ruined. I personally do not have a CD burner, so you can ignore this... if you want...

Banti

[EliC]

That is really wierd because it is my understanding that most DVD players actually have 2 laser, 1 for DVD and 1 for CD. Apperently Sony has recently developed a dual laser but I dont know if is in any products yet.

[Mattyb]

I hate to drag out this topic, but I also just purchased a CD-writer and already had a DVD installed. With the CD writer came the adaptec easy Cd program and the Direct Cd program. I upgraded the program to Adaptec EasyCD Writer 4.0 Deluxe. I can copy music CD's, and store data on the CD. My question is, How come I can not copy any of my games? I get error messages like: Can't read cd Data error., Is the correct cd inserted in Drive X:\?, What is the prefered software program for copying games and DVD movies? Also the DirectCD will allow my to utilize the Burner as a hard drive by formating the disc then you copy and finally organize disk, But in the Easy CD writer program it never asks to format disk does the program do it automatically? I am a rook when it comes copying on disc so any info would be helpful! Thanks

Mattyb