Ok so first things first:
my rig is as follows:
P4 2.0Ghz
40 Gig HD
256 DDR
Plextor PX712-UF (The External one) USB2.0

So here's my question.....

in doing a few backups of some DVD's im noticing that it takes quite awhile..
about an hour and a half for a full read-down with DVD decryptr and another hour and a half, to 2 hours with clone DVD.... do you guys feel that is a normal speed for a backup? also, im using Memorex 8x CD+R DVD's

let me know what the deal is with that, if you would.

this sounds like this issue should be in the Plextor forum and not Clonedvd. I'm sure you will get better help.

ok thanx

do you have your dma enabled on your system? is the drive in slave/master? these settings will make a difference in the performance of the drive.

The DVDR is an external with USB.... do i have DMA enabled on my hard drive? if thats what you were asking then the answer is yes, but would disabling DMA on my primary or secondary HD would make a difference?

you are using a usb2 port right not a usb one? does the drive enclosure also have firewire..becuase let me tell you your going to have alot of issues with dvd writes at 8 and 12x if not. and yes reading a pressed dvd is limited to 4x on a plextor..so you will get slow ripping times..and if your using deep anaysis it will double your time. best to use decryptor to read the entire dvd to disk then use shrink to master it on the harddrive. this is really a hardware issue and not a software one though.

Jamos.... nice pic, Neverwinter, right?
Yes im using USB 2.0... and yes the enclosure has support for firewire as well (although i thought usb2 was somehting like 230MB/xfer and firewire was significantly slower.... am i wrong about that?!)
ok so reading a pressed DVD, im stuck at 4x, no biggie i guess, and as far as updates go, i've flashed my drive with the newest firmware (v1.03)and im using dvdecryptor to rip to a 20GB WD HD, then i backup to my dvdr.... so where am i going wrong then?
also, whats all this crazy talk about DMA being enabled / disabled on my HD? what would be the better option? at present, my HD settings under XP are (enable DMA if available) or something to that effect.

BTTT....
Can someone please read the last reply i posted and answer some of those questions for me? thank you for any help you can give.

youll get better transfer rates with firewire than usb2 dont believe the usb propaganda..they can burst a bit faster 480 vs. 400 mbit but youll never transfer at that rate. try firewire and see if that helps. also if your using decryptor to write make sure you use 64 bit transfer rate instead of the default 32 bit in io settings. also a 20 meg. harddrive sounds kind of old i beleive a 60 meg. harddrive 7200 rpm was on sale for 25$ last i checked so you may want to seriously consider upgrading your harddrive.

Try installing Plextools Pro 2.16.

Once installed and running insert a DVD, go to Drive Settings/Advanced and tick Speed Read DVD. This will enable the Plextor to Rip CSS Encrypted DVDs at full speed.

Taroth

Taroth: I do have plextools 2.16 and im using the newest firmware for the 712UF. But with BOTH DVDdecrypt and CloneDVD i can only read / write @4x?!
whats the deal with that?! i know that a pressed DVD can basically only be read @ 4x or so, but your saying that Plextools 2.16 will do the same as DVDdecryptor, only faster? if so that would be a beautiful thing..
i saw that there's a new ver of cloneDVD, any ideas if that will increase my speed issues when backing up to a blank?

A Pressed DVD can be read at:

5-12X Dual Layer DVD (DVD9)
6-16X Single Layer DVD (DVD5)

A CSS Protected DVD will only read at 2X until you tick Speed Read DVD in Plextools.

Taroth

Just as a note: Both DVDDecrypter and AnyDVD can control "Plextor Speed Read", in case you don't have PlexTools installed / available / whatever...

ok so now here's the deal. loaded up plextools and set it to speed read the DVD. i also set the DVD read / write speeds to 8x. AND im using 8x DVD+R blanks. DVDcryptr i also set that to use the speed read option.
kept plextools minimised in the background to ensure that those settings would be active while readin/burnin.
after all that, no increase in speed either reading or writing.... it still burned a perfect backup... but the times are 1.5 hour to read, and about 2 hours to write.
any ideas guys?!

2 hours to write is only 0.5X so the drive is not getting it's data fast enough.

Are you sure the USB socket you've plugged the drive into is USB 2.0? maybe try another socket or use firewire.

Also Windows XP needs Service Pack 1 installed for USB 2.0 so install that if you haven't already.

Taroth

i FINALLY figured it out! it was in the system BIOS...apparently on my INTEL MoBo there a setting to vary the xfer rate on the USB sockets to either 12mbps or 480... so i switched the setting up, AND for some reason had to reinstall the USB drivers for XP to recognize the 712UF DVD again....but now all is good. about 7-10 mins for a rip of a pressed DVD and exactly 30 mins to backup....how excellent is that?!

MANY MANY thanx to all who helped with this.... it was driving me CRAZY!

7-10 min rip is real good, but you say 30 min to back up? are you using 2X media?

HAMP: well im using memorex blanks, (some are 4x and some are 8x) with the 4x its 30 mins... with the 8x its about 16mins... does that sound about right, or is that still kinda slow?

that is slow i'm afriad. You are like a step out.

4x should be 16 minutes not 30 (that is 2.4x)

8x should be 8 minutes

After i had a lot of trouble with clonedvd and the write speeds, i decided to change software.

Now i use clonedvd/anydvd to read the disc, and use dvd-decrypter to burn at the proper speed.

ockingshay: you use DVDcryptor to burn?! i didnt know it even had that feature!
so then your saying that i could use dvdecryptor to read it down to my HD and then use it to write it back up to blank, in the same session?

im going to list my specs also, since i have now added a GIG o' RAM to my system, maybe you can tell me where im going wrong...
P4 2.0Ghz
WD 40 Gig HD
1 Gig Corsair DDR 2100
Plextor PX712-UF (The External one) USB2.0

yes decrypter can read and write, however the film will need shrinking in the process to fit on dvd-r, so that is where dvdshrink comes in (also free)

However this takes a lot of time, so the best method i found so far, is to use clonedvd/anydvd to read and then decryptor to write. Tkaes me about 20 mins a film from strat to finish (on average)