my Px708a has gotten a problem ..

hen I put a copied dvd-r in the px708a , it takes a good 5-10 minutes to be initialize (once recognized they work fine ), if there recorded from the px708a or another writer , on many different makes of dvd-r, but orginals work fine , so do cd's copied or orginal , it's only backup copies of dvd that I have problems with , this never used to be the case , it used to work fine ,

has anyone got any ideas , why this has begun to happen ???

First, I would check the system. Have you install anything lately? What's your system spec?

First question is what brands of dvd media are you using? If you're using cheap dvd media that is where you could have problems with the dvd discs not being able to be read back.

PLEXTOR 708A DVDRW
PIONEER 107D DVDRW
LITEON 811 DVDRW
BENQ 1620 DVDRW
TOSHIBA (2)1612 DVD-ROM
PLEXTOR 48X24X48 CDRW
PENT 4 HT 3.00C, 800 FSB, PENT 4 2.40 533 FSB
ASUS MOBO's P4P800SE (2)
1GB CRUCIAL PC3200 MEMORY, 1GB CRUCIAL PC2700
WESTERN DIGITAL 36GB RAPTOR HARD DRIVE
MAXTOR 200 GB HARD DRIVE
MAXTOR (2)250 GB HARD DRIVEs
MAXTOR 200 GB SATA HARD DRIVE
MAXTOR (2)120 GB HARD DRIVEs
MAXTOR 60 GB HARD DRIVE
ANTEC TRUE POWER430 WATT
ANTEC SLK2650 CASE, ANTEC SLK2600AMB CASE
CANOPUS ADVC-100 ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER
MAXTOR ATA -133 PCI CONTROLLER CARD

It doesn't mater what type of media it is , it seems tobe all types ,

and my system spec is ..

AMD AthlonXP-M 2600+
2 x 256 pc3200 Twinmos In Dual channel
Plextor 40x12x40A CD Burner ,
Plextor 708A X8 DVDR burner ,
Seagate 160 gb 7200rpm,
Maxtor 80gb 7200rpm,
Maxtor 80gb 7200rpm,
Seagate 80gb 7200rpm,
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9600XT 256mb video card ,
xp sp2

what firmware are you using? 1.08? it would be helpful if you told us what brand of media you are using. with plextor dvd burners it is best to use the RECOMMENDED BRANDS of MEDIA that Plextor supports. here is the link for the RECOMMENDED BRANDS of media that Plextor supports.
http://www.plextor.com/english/support/media_708.html

there is also a compatible brands that Plextor supports but it doesn't mean they will work. rule of thumb is use good quality brands of media like MAXELL DVD-R with media codes MXLG02 or TYG01 (which is TAIYO YUDEN), IMATION DVD+R (RICOH). use DVDINFO PRO or DVD IDENTIFIER to find out the exact media ID. a brand name like MAXELL also will use media ID like RITEK G04 which is not good quality dvd media.

PLEXTOR 708A DVDRW
PIONEER 107D DVDRW
LITEON 811 DVDRW
BENQ 1620 DVDRW
TOSHIBA (2) 1612 DVD-ROM
PLEXTOR 48X24X48 CDRW
PENT 4 HT 3.00C. 800 FSB, PENT 2.40 533 FSB
ASUS MOBO'S P4P800SE (2)
1GB CRUCIAL PC32OO DUAL CHANNEL MEMORY, 1GB CRUCIAL PC27OO
WESTERN DIGITAL 36GB SATA RAPTOR HARD DRIVE
MAXTOR 200GB HARD DRIVE
MAXTOR (2) 250GB HARD DRIVES
MAXTOR 200GB SATA HARD DRIVE
MAXTOR (2) 120GB HARD DRIVES
MAXTOR 60GB HARD DRIVE
ANTEC TRUE POWER 480 WATT POWER SUPPLY
ANTEC TRUE POWER 430 WATT POWER SUPPLY
CANOPUS ADVC-100 ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER
MAXTOR ATA-133 PCI CONTROLLER CARDS

Well i thought i'd let you guys know , i rma'ed the old plex , and recieved a brand spanking new 708a which work fine .....

plextor Two year* full-warranty is well worth the extra money for the drive ....