I just purchased the SH-S183L off Newegg. Let me start off by saying that the pictures they provide of the drive are of an IDE, which is not what you get. You get a SATA (which contridicts one of the Product Reviews).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151145

The first problem I was having was every time I tried to burn a DVD with DVD Shrink. It would scan the DVD quickly and encode it, but as soon as the burning process began it would have a "Communcation Error". It would then make "High Compatability Boarders" automatically and try again. Just after that it would tell me the burning process failed and the disk would be trashed.

Note: Durring all this I was using my newest burnt DVD from my previous burner to experiment with to eliminate the possibility of the DVD being a problem. I replaced my last burning with this because it was slow and had problems recognizing a disk was in the drive.

So I read through the forums and found that if I disabled my SATA Harddrive, and changed the Burner to PIO mode, I could slowly get it to burn. But as soon as I plugged that SATA HD back in, Id get the same problem.

Further reading I found the main source of the problem was my nforce4 chipset drivers so as soon as I went and updated them, I could burn the DVD with my SATA Harddrive in place.

NOW, it seems that the damn thing is extremely touchy when it comes to reading anything; burnt DVDs or Originals. I have tried to copy 3 different DVDs (1 Original 2 Burnt) with DVD Shrink but they wont even get passed the scanning process; which with older and used DVDs isnt too uncommon. This is when I switch over to DVD Decrypter to make an ISO to bring back over to Shrink to continue the process. Usually the only time I ever have a problem with Decrypter is if the DVD is in really bad shape, however, these arent.

Not only does the process stall on DVD Decrypter, but now it shuts down my computer and gives me the blue screen.

If anyone can help or give any suggestions I would really appreciate it. I don't know these things like you do so it took me many hours of research to even get this far. This is my last resort before I send it back. If that is the route I take, can any of you suggest a product from the selection on Newegg?

Thank you in advance for your time and effort. I really appreciate it.

Hi and Welcome!You didn't want a 183, but you wanted a 182 (as stated in the specs)? Then send it back.
And never believe any picture shown on the website of an online shop.

How is your SATA controller configured in BIOS setup. It has to be set to "IDE" or at least a "non-RAID" mode in order to run with optical drives.
You may also uninstall Nvidia IDE drivers (run the Nforce setup from Control Panes -> Add/Remove software to do that) and let Windows install its standard IDE drivers.


Michael

Did you want a Sata Dvd Burner? Because the link you've posted is not for the Samsung 183L drive, it's for the 182 drive. If that's the link you chose to purchase the Samsung 183L drive then you choose the wrong one. This is for the Sata Samsung 183L:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151141

Dvd Decrypter is no longer updated use Imgburn instead to burn your dvd media. Don't use the Dvd Shrink program to automate the burning process for you. Create your iso image or video_ts folder w/dvd shrink then open up Imgburn or Nero to burn the disc.

http://www.imgburn.com/

Sorry, here is the proper link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151141

DVD_ADDICT-

I would create the image with Shrink, however I cant even get past the scanning process (and as I mentioned, Decrypter stalls durring the encoding).
Also without DVD Shrink, how can I compress the file to fit on a DVD? Its the only compression program I have experience with.

mciahel-

The standard windows drivers for the chipset are what were originally installed when I was having my first problems.

How do I tell if my SATA Controller is set to IDE mode in the BIOS? RAID is disabled. Other than that i dont see any SATA options

I just DL'ed ImgBurn and tried making an image with that. At 1% I get constant read errors.

Use Dvd Fab Decrypter to rip the files to your hard drive first. Then use Dvd Shrink to compress the files and then open up Imgburn to burn the disc. Don't let Dvd shrink rip the files for you because that program is no longer updated. Is the dvd disc you're trying to rip is it a commercial dvd disc? If it is then there are probably copy protection encryptions which is why you'll have to use Dvd Fab Decrypter. That's why you're getting read errors. You can still use Dvd Fab Decrypter to rip the files to your hard drive even if it's just a single layer dvd disc.

http://www.dvdfab.com/free.htm
Download the first one.

Ok I got and tried DVD Fab. Just like Dvd Decrypter, and ImgBurn, durring the process it shuts down my computer.

your sata controller is incompatable with the drive

a lot of people had this problem

just send it back and get a parallel drive instead

As mciahel mentioned earlier uninstall the nvidia drivers ide drivers. Uninstall them from control panel....add/remove software...then reboot your pc. Then let windows install the microsoft ide drivers.

Ok, when to add/remove programs and under Nvidia Drivers I uninstalled the IDE drivers. It rebooted my computer and on restart it Found New Hardware: my DvD Burner. Went to DVD FAD to make an ISO, but halfway through again it crashes my computer to BSOD

After rebooting did you check to see it installed microsoft ide drivers? What's the model of your motherboard?

My motherboard is the DFI LanParty UT nf4 SLI-D

How do I check to make sure the microsoft IDE drivers were installed? When I go to the Device Manager under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers there are 3 Primary IDE CHannels 3 Secondary IDE Channels and 3 Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controllers listed. Under the Driver tab for all of them the Driver Provider = Microsoft. Am I checking that correctly?

Must be some protection on the source discs.

I dont think so though. Some of these disks are copies that I have already burnt before using DVD Shrink and DVD Decryptor. I know some Burners have trouble reading burnt disks which is why I have been trying both, just to make sure.

Do you have a pci controller card installed on your computer? Post a pic of your device manager so we can see your IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers. Do you have the Samsung 183L drive hooked up to a Sata Pci controller card or is it installed on the Sata on your motherboard? It can make a difference if your 183L is installed on a pci sata controller card.

I am using the SATA ports on my motherboard. Sorry, what do you mean by a PCI Controller card? Im not sure what that is. Like a card that I can install to give me more SATA ports?

The picture you posted doesn't show the SCSI & RAID controller. In device manager look under SCSI and RAID controller is there anything there? Because I see SCSI CdRom Device. A pci controller card is a card that's installed on one of the pci slots on your motherboard. Usually this is to add hard drives and sometimes it can be used with cdroms, dvdroms & some dvd burners depending on the chipset. I suspect you still may have the nvidia ide drivers installed on your pc.

Ok, I see what you are talking about now. In ran the drivers wizard and it updates it. At least now when I try to make an image with DVD Fab it doesnt crash my computer. *phew* However it still isnt able to get past the read errors where my older burner had done fine. Is this burner just a bad reader? Or is there more to be done?

Btw, thank you guys for you help thus far.

So you got the drive working okay? I have never used the 183L as a reader so I cannot answer that. I have other dvdroms and dvd burners to do the reading. An idea for you could be to replace that SCSI cdrom and buy another dvd burner like a Liteon 18x or 20x dvd burner that can rip fast and read discs that may have with errors or scratches.

Try burning a disc and see if it works okay then report back.

I am not sure what that SCSI CDROM is... The only drive i have in my comp is my new Samsung 183L. I tried removing it but after restart it comes back. Could it be that the Lightscribe Portion is showing up as a different drive? (Ive heard of people having trouble with this drive in Nero, it sees the Burning part but not the Lightscribe)

If getting a better reading drive is the best thing to do, would it be best to just return this one and get one that Reads, Rips, and Burns well? What is the ideal setup? I burn Movies like crazy (well, I used to)

Possibly a virtual CD-ROM drive installed by Deamon Tools, Alcohol or similar software. Sometimes these cause trouble, so for narrowing down any issues, it is not a bad idea to uninstall the associated software.

Michael

You are right. It was because I had Daemon Tools installed. I removed it in case it was causing any current issues, but I still get the same reading errors.

Are you getting reading errors on commercial dvd discs and burnt ones? Don't use Nero Burn to burn dvd media. Use imgburn. Have you successfully burned any dvd media yet? Good that you removed daemon tools because it does cause software conflicts.

I am getting errors with both. Right now I am simply trying to make a disk image and have not even been able to try nero yet.

As I've suggested use Imgburn to burn your dvd media instead of Nero.
What is the media id of those burnt dvd discs that you're trying to rip? If it's low quality dvd media then that can also affect the reading of the disc.