Results & Discussion: TS-L632H and similar slim drives discussion thread

[mciahel]

Hi,

since I am now a proud owner of a TS-L632H, I thought it would ba a good idea to have a "scans and discussion" thread about this drives family here.

Since this drive comes in different flavours, depending on the OEM (Dell, Toshiba, Samsung etc.) it is not only interesting how good the burn quality is, but also the feature set reported by Nero Info Tool, ImgBurn etc.



Please post only information and scans in this thread. In case of trouble with your drive, do a search first, and post in the thread you found (if it is related to your problem) or start a new one if your search was not successful. "I have troubles"-posts in this very thread will be deleted without notification.

[mciahel]

Well, let's start after the introduction above

My drive is part of a Dell notebook and came with D300 firmware, which is the latest at the moment.
The drive supports CD media at 24x max and DVD media at 8x. Detailled specs can be found here: http://support.euro.dell.com/support...14/en/spec.htm

Nero Info Tool 5 reports this:
Properties_Infotool5.png

DVD-RAM support is totally removed (the drive can't even read DVD-RAM discs) although the information about supported DVD-RAM discs is still present in firmware.

EDIT: DVD-RAM support is enabled with firmware D400, released by Dell on April 1st, 2008

MCSE_RAM.png
But at least the firmware seems to be supported by MCSE, including the RPC1 patch

Also, Nero InfoTool reports CD-Text writing as not supported
ImgBurn disagrees about the CD-Text capabilities of this drive.
EDIT: CD Text writing works, so this is a InfoTool bug.

Properties_ImgBurn.png

I am testing at the moment, so we'll see who is right there

After having edited the registry, scanning is possible
The following disc is a Ricoh Ultra Speed branded RICOHJPN R03 (MII)

TSSTcorpDVD+-RW_TS-L632H_D300_15-March-2008_23_28_scan.png ScanOverview_TS-L632H.png
The scan results of my USB connected Liteon SHM-165P6S look like this:
LITE-ON_DVDRW_SHM-165P6S_MS0R_14-March-2008_23_01.png ScanOverview_SHM165.png
Please note that - due to the USB connection - not all errors are gathered, so the scans made with that drive are "too optimistic"

[Bob]

Michael thank you,nice,and not surprising. I use Nero Tools less and less anymore.

[mciahel]

TS-L632H D300 (Dell)
gigatain branded MCC003 (possibly fake MID)
burn speed 8x

[mciahel]

TS-L632H D300 (Dell)
Verbatim branded TYG03
burn speed 8x

[mciahel]

I am testing at the moment, so we'll see who is right there

At the moment it seems as if Nero InfoTool were right. No CD Text. Will do the final test tomorrow - my car stereo supports CD Text.

[mciahel]

Originally Posted by mciahel

At the moment it seems as if Nero InfoTool were right. No CD Text. Will do the final test tomorrow - my car stereo supports CD Text.

Apparently I had some media issue (old, crappy 4x CD-RW disc) - at the moment it looks as if CD-Text is working. Will have to do another test this evening.
EDIT: CD Text writing works.

Also, the drive supports application software controlled bitsetting.
EDIT2: ... but not with Dell OEM firmware

[mtosev]

Originally Posted by mciahel

TS-L632H D300 (Dell)
gigatain branded MCC003 (possibly fake MID)
burn speed 8x

Poor media?

[mciahel]

Hi,

Originally Posted by mtosev

Poor media?

Extremely poor media.

Geniune MCC003 under Verbatim or HP brand is among the best media you can get.
I doubt, these Gigatain are genuine. That's why I wrote "possibly fake MID" in the post you quoted.

Michael

[mciahel]

Some good news:

Dell seem to have read my rants about disabling DVD-RAM support.
On 01-04-2008 (!, no April joke), they released firmware D400, which officially enables DVD-RAM reading and writing.

I say: "Thank You" to Dell, this is highly appreciated
Big Thumbs Up

[mankmeister]

There's also a SC04 firmware released on 25/03/08 but it only appears in the Korean section of Samsung's website and not the English section.

[mciahel]

Hi,

Originally Posted by mankmeister

There's also a SC04 firmware released on 25/03/08 but it only appears in the Korean section of Samsung's website and not the English section.

Thanks, I have seen that. But since I don't know how the SC firmwares are configured (Master/Slave/CS) I did not want to try a crossflash

Michael

[mciahel]

Successfully crossflashed to SN-S082H SB01 firmware.
Not very much improved, at least with the Ricohjpn R03 MiI:

[Bob]

Originally Posted by mciahel

Successfully crossflashed to SN-S082H SB01 firmware.
Not very much improved, at least with the Ricohjpn R03 MiI:

Now your getting your freak on Michael

[andyro78]

Hello, I have a LS-632H in my sager NP5973 but my firmware is TMC0 and i didn't find anything on net about it. It is possible to flash somehow with another firmware? thanks

[mciahel]

Hi and Welcome!

Originally Posted by andyro78

Hello, I have a LS-632H in my sager NP5973 but my firmware is TMC0 and i didn't find anything on net about it.

Quite normal for notebook drives.

It is possible to flash somehow with another firmware? thanks

Yes, it is. Same hardware as Samsung SN-S082H. There are two firmwares existing, one for the drive in "master" configuration, and one for the drive as "slave". Find out how your drive is configured in your own laptop at first. Flashing the wrong firmware renders your drive useless (it can be revived in a desktop computer with additional hardware).

Also, be aware that crossflashing will void your warranty, possibly even the warranty of your entire notebook. So I would recommend crossflashing only, if there is an issue with your drive, that is resolved with other OEM or retail firmware, and if the manufacturer isn't willing to help (put him on your "not buy in future" list), or if you don't mind about warranty anyway.

Michael

[andyro78]

Thanks man, I'll try crossflashing this week and i'll post the results. Hope it will work

[kliu0x52]

I just got a new laptop a couple of days ago, and it looks like this is the drive that I got. There's a D500 firmware posted on Dell's website (edit: I see that's already announced), but I haven't tried it yet. So... this drive uses a MediaTek chipset, right?

Edit 2: Do Samsung drives store calibration data or other drive-specific data outside of the firmware? I know that LiteOn drives can get wonky with burns sometimes and I'd need to restore the EEPROM. Is this something that I have to look out for with Samsung drives (your FAQ didn't say anything about this), and if so, is there a tool for this (I'm assuming no?)

[mciahel]

Hi,

Originally Posted by kliu0x52

(...) So... this drive uses a MediaTek chipset, right?

correct.

Do Samsung drives store calibration data or other drive-specific data outside of the firmware?

No idea. I haven't heard of a separated EEPROM, that can be backed up (and restored) as with Liteon drives. So there is no such tool available. Also, there is no tool to backup the drive's firmware. At least, such is not publicly available.

(your FAQ didn't say anything about this)

Seems, I'll have to add this information then. Thanks for the heads-up

Michael

[johnnyzero]

I've got a TS-L632H and I'd like to change the "booktype" to DVD-ROM for DVD+R and DVD+R DL disks to improve compatibility with older DVD players. Unfortunately, it looks like the normal TSST firmware doesn't support bitsetting.

Does anyone know: if I were to crossflash this drive to a Samsung TS-L632, would that give me bitsetting capability?

btw, it's a Dell OEM model; currently using the the latest D500 firmware from Dell.

Thanks in advance for any help with this.

JohnB

As mentioned in an earlier post, it looks like there are two versions of the SN-S082H fimware - depending on whether the drive is set as Master or Slave. Confusingly, the Samsung site lists the two different firmware versions depending on the Cable Select setting ("CSEL=High" and "CSEL=Low").

Is there an easy way to determine how my drive is configured, and which firmware version to use?

thanks,
JohnB

[mciahel]

Hi and Welcome!

Originally Posted by johnnyzero

I've got a TS-L632H and I'd like to change the "booktype" to DVD-ROM for DVD+R and DVD+R DL disks to improve compatibility with older DVD players. Unfortunately, it looks like the normal TSST firmware doesn't support bitsetting.

Like all recent Samsung drives, application controlled bitsetting is supported. Use either Nero or ImgBurn and you're set. There is no difference between Dell OEM firmware and Samsung retail firmware in this aspect.

Does anyone know: if I were to crossflash this drive to a Samsung TS-L632, would that give me bitsetting capability?

btw, it's a Dell OEM model; currently using the the latest D500 firmware from Dell.

I own exactly the same model, so you might find the answers to your question in this very thread. Just read from the beginning.

As mentioned in an earlier post, it looks like there are two versions of the SN-S082H fimware - depending on whether the drive is set as Master or Slave. Confusingly, the Samsung site lists the two different firmware versions depending on the Cable Select setting ("CSEL=High" and "CSEL=Low").
Is there an easy way to determine how my drive is configured,

Device Manager. "Master" drive is drive 0, "Slave" drive is drive 1 on the controller.

and which firmware version to use?

The question, which Samsung SN-S082H retail firmware does work with Dell OEM TS-L632H, is also answered in this thread.

Michael

[johnnyzero]

Thanks for all the info, Michael. And thanks so much for starting this thread!

Like all recent Samsung drives, application controlled bitsetting is supported. Use either Nero or ImgBurn and you're set. There is no difference between Dell OEM firmware and Samsung retail firmware in this aspect.

Yes, before posting anything here, I had already tried to bitset using ImgBurn (using the Samsung tab), and I always get the following error message:

Unknown (FAILED)
Reason: Invalid Field in CDB

(I've tried this with ImgBurn's "Auto Change Book Type" setting both on & off.)

I suspected that it was failing because the drive wasn't returning the proper brand/manufacturer ID string of some kind - "TSST" instead of "Samsung" or whatever.

So naturally my thought was that changing to Samsung-branded firmware might fix the problem. I had a similar issue with the OptiArc drive on my desktop system. Once I cross-flashed it to the analogous LiteOn firmware, I was then able to bitset no problem using ImgBurn, Nero, or any of the available LiteOn utilities.

In any case, assistance in resolving the bitsetting issue will be much appreciated!

I own exactly the same model, so you might find the answers to your question in this very thread. Just read from the beginning.

Also, the drive supports application software controlled bitsetting.

You're right: I missed that statement in one of your earlier posts. If I had seen that, my original post would have been more like "Ok, since it supposedly supports application software controlled bitsetting, why can't I get it to work for me"?

Device Manager. "Master" drive is drive 0, "Slave" drive is drive 1 on the controller.

Yes, I figured Device Mangler would tell me the Master/Slave info. However, Samsung lists the firmwares as either "CSEL=O" or "CSEL=1" - so which one is which? To me, "CSEL=" usually indicates whether a drive has the Cable Select jumper in place or not; not as an indicator of its Master/Slave status - know what I mean? Kinda confusing...any clarification on this will be much appreciated.

and which firmware version to use?

The question, which Samsung SN-S082H retail firmware does work with Dell OEM TS-L632H, is also answered in this thread.

By "version", I was referring to the Master/Slave issue, not the particular revision of the firmware. I'm assuming I can just use the latest version (revision) listed on Samsung's site (once I can figure out the Master/Slave thing). If this is not correct, please advise.

Thanks again,
JohnB

[mciahel]

Hi,

Originally Posted by johnnyzero

Thanks for all the info, Michael. And thanks so much for starting this thread!

You're welcome

Yes, before posting anything here, I had already tried to bitset using ImgBurn (using the Samsung tab), and I always get the following error message:

Unknown (FAILED)
Reason: Invalid Field in CDB

No fiddling with settings here. Make sure, "Auto Change Book type" is checked, and you're done.
Samsung drives don't replay to bitsetting commands, so you don't get proper feedback - or some error message.

I suspected that it was failing because the drive wasn't returning the proper brand/manufacturer ID string of some kind - "TSST" instead of "Samsung" or whatever.

The TSST string is common with both firmwares.

In any case, assistance in resolving the bitsetting issue will be much appreciated!

Just burn a DVD+R and check with Nero CD/DVD Speed (Disc Info tab).

EDIT: Doesn't work for me either
(Maybe due to Nero InCD that is installed on my box)

Ok, since it supposedly supports application software controlled bitsetting, why can't I get it to work for me"?

Maybe it does work already

Yes, I figured Device Mangler would tell me the Master/Slave info. However, Samsung lists the firmwares as either "CSEL=O" or "CSEL=1" - so which one is which? To me, "CSEL=" usually indicates whether a drive has the Cable Select jumper in place or not; not as an indicator of its Master/Slave status - know what I mean? Kinda confusing...any clarification on this will be much appreciated.

Cable Select means, the drive behaves either as Master or as Slave, depending on its position on the cable. There are two CS modes existing (Hi/Lo, 0/1, normal/inverted etc. depending on drive manufacturer). One determines the drive at the end of the cable as master, the other one makes the drive (on the same position) slave. That's why there are two different firmwares (SBxx and SHxx). The Dell OEM Samsung drive has "CS=Low" setting. The drive is Master on the cable.

By "version", I was referring to the Master/Slave issue, not the particular revision of the firmware.

Well, I consider SB01 and SH01 as different versions. I was successful with SB firmware.

Michael