Hi.

I've had GSA 4160b for about two months and after 20 succsessful burns (tdk DVD-R and DVD+Rs used) it started giving "Focus or tracking errors". After wasting about 20 dvds, and my time on updating the firmware, version of Nero etc... I took the drive to the service and they confirmed it was defected and decided to give me a GSA 4163B which will arrive on Monday (Today is Friday as I'm writing).

Anyway, I'm excited but also scared that the same thing might happen.

1. Do you think the same thing could happen? Yes, I hear you say "how the hell can we know" but as I've searched through the forums, I realized the problem was a common one with 4160 and 4081. So I thought maybe that might be a model-specific case. Anyway, before writing at least 20 successful burns I won't be able to confirm the drive is good, I guess.

2. How much better is 4163B from 4160B do you think? What should I expect?

3. The guy in the service said I should install the drive as master instead of slave. Do you think this is important?

4. The same guy in the service said (when compiling a data disc) I should start the burning with "maximum speed" option enabled (using NERO) and then insret the disc when prompted and so the drive will analyze the disc and choose the right speed for it. Would you advice me to do so?

5. The same guy said I should always select "ISO 9660 only" as the file system. What does these selections in the Nero software mean, and which ones should I select? Also these preferences are not found in Nero Express, so shouldn't I burn in the Express mode?

Thanks in advance to those who take the time to answer these questions.

Have I posted this in the wrong place? I don't understand why no one answers... Are my questions so absurd?

1. Shouldn't happen. 4163B seem to be a solid drive.
2. I have no direct experience but everything I burn on the LG (see my sig.) is a very high quality burn.
3. Only when you are updating firmware.
4. It won't matter what you set unless you go lower than the highest firmware burn speed and then it will go slower. Most LG settings seem to go at max allowed. Watch out for any that allow faster than the disc calls for as you will get lower quality burns.
5. I agree, this is a standard that is recognized by most drives. The only problem with this advice is when you use DVD-RAM and then you want to use it again in a stand alone recorder such as a Panasonic. It expects to see UDF. I think Express Mode does this automatically. You can check out the file mode in CDSpeed as well as the maximum allowed burn speed.

You just caught us on a busy weekend.

Thanks a lot for your valuable replies.