I have an old external USB / Fireware case that I would like to put my dw1655 in. I have seen a lot of people talk about which chipsets are in external cases, but is there some way to determine which one I have?

I have searched around in WinXP but it only shows my current drive in there and does not list the chip. I am going to open the case but thought there may be a way to do in it in the OS or with some tool.

Thanks for any help.

When you plug it in an icon will light up in the system tray. Usually, for firewire, it will tell you the chip when you click on the icon; possibly in the system information concerning devices as well. I just open the case and look at the chip. Usually it will have something one of us here will recognize, such as Cypress, ALI, Prolific, or Oxford.

Thanks. You just jogged my memory and I did remember seeing Prolific when I used firewire. In this particular computer I only have USB and I did not see the same thing.

I opened up the case and finally found a PL-3507-03395A. I just checked the Prolific website and tried the lastest FW and the updater did not want to flash this unit. I believe it is too old. If I read the current ROM information correctly it is 2003.10.31.012 which I think means 2003.

Based on other posts on the forum I do not think I will get very good performance but I may give it a try. Currently I am using my old Sony DRU-500A in it but that drive is 4x max and has a 8MB buffer.

Did you try any of the older fw updates first? You may have to install the previous updates before you can install the most recent revision.

The Prolific 3507 is one of the best chipsets made for optical drives. Other than LG and the BenQ 1640, most drives will hit at least 12X which is the best speed for most 16X media anyway.

When you flash, it need to be through USB as most firewire connections are only 4 wire and you need 6 wire to flash. Also, Prolific will not flash if there are any other USB connections so try with the drive alone.

The 3507A are not firmware upgradable. Only the B & C revisions were.

The A chipset had a seperate firmware chip that has to be removed to be programed.

Yep, I tried everyone that they had there. I even tried flashing with the same ROM I dumped off of the drive.

The ROM writer had no problems dumping the current ROM to file so all connections seem OK. The was the only USB device I had.

I saw this in the notes but did not know how to tell if I had "A". Perhaps the 03395A was the indicator. Or maybe they did not label the first chipset "A".

For now I have moved my DRU-710A into the case since I use it mostly for scanning and odd jobs now. It seems to burn at 8x no problem in this setup but the reading was a little slower. I thought it might actually be the other way around.

Thanks for everyone's help. I am on the hunt for a new external enclosure now.

Go here, there are two good Plumax enclosures.

http://www.dealsonic.com/plpmblcousb22.html

Thanks for the tip. I have not used dealsonic before, do they have good service?

qwakrz
I notice you have the BenQ DW1655 in Prolific External USB2 & Firewire case. Could you please tell me if it is the model PM-525C2-PPB. I purchased the DW 1655 and attempted it in a Kingwin case that I had previously used for Pioneer Burner - of course didn't work. Am in Canada and haven't been able to find compatible enclosure and US companies want $48. US shipping for international orders (a lot won't even ship outside US). Found the above enclosure on Ebay for $57.05 US with free shipping (although normal price is $29.99 US). Don't want to end up with another enclosure that won't work with the DW1655 - if I can't find enclosure that works with it will have to sell as I don't think I can return it to Future Shop. Thanks for any help.

I have used them three times and they seem as good as Newegg.

Worst case, you could always get a member here to order from Dealsonic and ship to Canada. I would be happy to, and the risk to you is $40-$50. In a few weeks, I will have my 1655 and I have both Plumax cases to test out if you are patient.

chas0039 Yes! That would be wonderful - I can wait - at least then I would know if it works. Thanks - that's very kind of you.

Thank you.