Gateway PC ... probably all the cheapest hw in there, writer & hdd on one IDE cable, possibly 40wires, thats the way those beasts are built afaik from experiences with a friend´s pc.

hello all..I'm new so be gentle...I purchased the BENQ 1620 about a week ago as a BARE unit..Which probably was my 1st mistake. 2nd I'm not the brightest when it comes to my pc.. But with that said I removed a NEC 1200ad which worked ok..But the problems I've had with the BENQ leaves me trully frustrated..I've wasted at least 15 discs on this unit and will be returning it ASAP.
I'm thinking about having them replaced it with a brand new one with installation software and that may solve the problem..If not another unit, maybe the NEC 3250a.

Any recommedations would be greatly appreciated

I'm sorry you find the brand name of my pc such a distraction that my questions are not worthy of an answer.
Usually the *experts* on a forum are there to actually offer help.

Did you follow the link I have posted to check your DMA settings ?

You mean an OEM drive? If it was just a burner wrapped in plastic, without a fancy box and no mounting hardware you likely bought an OEM drive (ie, non-retail version of the burner). Buying "a BARE unit" (OEM drive) is perfectly fine. No mistake at all on your part.

You are not alone. BenQ seems to have been going through a quality control problem recently. There are many, many threads in this forum that cover this topic. If you need pointers in the forum to find those threads, let me know...

This review seems to have been lost at cdfreaks. I can only find the conclusion page at the internet archive. Is there anywhere else I could find the entire review?

Never mind - it seems to be here in it's entirety:
http://web.archive.org/web/200412041.../article/159/1