Problem with 8400 Dimension

[nick]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi,
I was wondering if some of you folks could clue me in on what might be
wrong with a brand new computer I received from Dell. I purchased a
Dell 8400 Media Centre with 3.4 GHZ, 1 Gb memory, 250 HD, 48x cd-rw
and 16 dvd_+rw. Unfortunately, the disc drives are not working
properly. I have tested the cd burner 10 times and 9 out of ten times,
the simple act of burning a disc caused the system to freeze up. As
regards the dvd burner, I have tested it 5 times using high quality 4x
dvd-r's and dvd+r. While it works, it reads and writes much, much
slower than should be the case. What should take around 15 minutes to
burn, takes over 40 minutes. I have checked all the settings and tried
both the Record Now that was installed on my computer, as well as
Nero. Nothing helps. I have used lots of systems with similar specs,
including a Dell I purchased for my mom this summer, and none of them
had this problem with the drives.
Tech support and customer service have been monumentally unhelpful
thus far and was wondering if anyone knew what might be going on.
Is it a motherboard problem ?
Are there any issues with Windows XP Media Edition that could be
impairing the performance of the drive ?
Did they install inferior disc drives (the cd writer seems to be some
no-name drive and the dvd drive is an NEC) ?
Are there any known problems with having a cd-rw in one bay and a
dvd-rw in the other ?

Any help you can offer will be of assistance as I pester Dell for some
service on this matter

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

.. --------------------------------------
Mike Richter, were you born with
"Scam Artist" emblazoned on your face?
--------------------------------------

Go into the BIOS and see if all the drives are recognized.

Control Panel, System, Hardware, Device Manager, IDE ATA/ATAPI
controllers. Double click Primary IDE Channel, Advanced Settings.
Current transfer modes should be all DMA.

If any mode is PIO, right-click Primary IDE Channel and choose
Uninstall, and reboot.

nick wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I was wondering if some of you folks could clue me in on what might be
> wrong with a brand new computer I received from Dell. I purchased a
> Dell 8400 Media Centre with 3.4 GHZ, 1 Gb memory, 250 HD, 48x cd-rw
> and 16 dvd_+rw. Unfortunately, the disc drives are not working
> properly. I have tested the cd burner 10 times and 9 out of ten times,
> the simple act of burning a disc caused the system to freeze up. As
> regards the dvd burner, I have tested it 5 times using high quality 4x
> dvd-r's and dvd+r. While it works, it reads and writes much, much
> slower than should be the case. What should take around 15 minutes to
> burn, takes over 40 minutes. I have checked all the settings and tried
> both the Record Now that was installed on my computer, as well as
> Nero. Nothing helps. I have used lots of systems with similar specs,
> including a Dell I purchased for my mom this summer, and none of them
> had this problem with the drives.
> Tech support and customer service have been monumentally unhelpful
> thus far and was wondering if anyone knew what might be going on.
> Is it a motherboard problem ?
> Are there any issues with Windows XP Media Edition that could be
> impairing the performance of the drive ?
> Did they install inferior disc drives (the cd writer seems to be some
> no-name drive and the dvd drive is an NEC) ?
> Are there any known problems with having a cd-rw in one bay and a
> dvd-rw in the other ?
>
> Any help you can offer will be of assistance as I pester Dell for some
> service on this matter
>
> Thanks

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If you are w/i the 30 day period send it back...no sense starting off with a
buggy computer. The "service" may string you along until you are stuck with
it.

"nick" <kpanko98@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:671abb28.0412080921.27c46ea2@posting.google.com...
> Hi,
> I was wondering if some of you folks could clue me in on what might be
> wrong with a brand new computer I received from Dell. I purchased a
> Dell 8400 Media Centre with 3.4 GHZ, 1 Gb memory, 250 HD, 48x cd-rw
> and 16 dvd_+rw. Unfortunately, the disc drives are not working
> properly. I have tested the cd burner 10 times and 9 out of ten times,
> the simple act of burning a disc caused the system to freeze up. As
> regards the dvd burner, I have tested it 5 times using high quality 4x
> dvd-r's and dvd+r. While it works, it reads and writes much, much
> slower than should be the case. What should take around 15 minutes to
> burn, takes over 40 minutes. I have checked all the settings and tried
> both the Record Now that was installed on my computer, as well as
> Nero. Nothing helps. I have used lots of systems with similar specs,
> including a Dell I purchased for my mom this summer, and none of them
> had this problem with the drives.
> Tech support and customer service have been monumentally unhelpful
> thus far and was wondering if anyone knew what might be going on.
> Is it a motherboard problem ?
> Are there any issues with Windows XP Media Edition that could be
> impairing the performance of the drive ?
> Did they install inferior disc drives (the cd writer seems to be some
> no-name drive and the dvd drive is an NEC) ?
> Are there any known problems with having a cd-rw in one bay and a
> dvd-rw in the other ?
>
> Any help you can offer will be of assistance as I pester Dell for some
> service on this matter
>
> Thanks

 

[Tellme]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Dell has had a multitude of problems with the Phillips cd burner. If
you have that one installed go to the Dell site and see if the
upgraded firmware helps.

It also will not burn a cdvd-R cd no matter what you do. Use the +R
media and see if that solves the problem. If not call TS and have them
replace the burner.

I had to replace mine as did some other people I know. None of us can
burn to a CDDVD-R but can to +R. It is faster now and does not freeze
up.

Dell is aware of the problem but so far nothing has been done about
it. They did post the new firmware which does not solve the total
problem.


>properly. I have tested the cd burner 10 times and 9 out of ten times,
>the simple act of burning a disc caused the system to freeze up. As
>regards the dvd burner, I have tested it 5 times using high quality 4x
>dvd-r's and dvd+r. While it works, it reads and writes much, much
>slower than should be the case. What should take around 15 minutes to
>burn, takes over 40 minutes. I have checked all the settings and tried
>both the Record Now that was installed on my computer, as well as
>Nero. Nothing helps. I have used lots of systems with similar specs,
>including a Dell I purchased for my mom this summer, and none of them
>had this problem with the drives.
>Tech support and customer service have been monumentally unhelpful
>thus far and was wondering if anyone knew what might be going on.
>Is it a motherboard problem ?
>Are there any issues with Windows XP Media Edition that could be
>impairing the performance of the drive ?
>Did they install inferior disc drives (the cd writer seems to be some
>no-name drive and the dvd drive is an NEC) ?
>Are there any known problems with having a cd-rw in one bay and a
>dvd-rw in the other ?
>
>Any help you can offer will be of assistance as I pester Dell for some
>service on this matter
>
>Thanks

 

[Molly]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If the problems continue, I would call tell and ask to have the burners
replaced.
"tellme" <whois@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:s8dhr01lostdbptahoussfutu06046p6lc@4ax.com...
> Dell has had a multitude of problems with the Phillips cd burner. If
> you have that one installed go to the Dell site and see if the
> upgraded firmware helps.
>
> It also will not burn a cdvd-R cd no matter what you do. Use the +R
> media and see if that solves the problem. If not call TS and have them
> replace the burner.
>
> I had to replace mine as did some other people I know. None of us can
> burn to a CDDVD-R but can to +R. It is faster now and does not freeze
> up.
>
> Dell is aware of the problem but so far nothing has been done about
> it. They did post the new firmware which does not solve the total
> problem.
>
>
>>properly. I have tested the cd burner 10 times and 9 out of ten times,
>>the simple act of burning a disc caused the system to freeze up. As
>>regards the dvd burner, I have tested it 5 times using high quality 4x
>>dvd-r's and dvd+r. While it works, it reads and writes much, much
>>slower than should be the case. What should take around 15 minutes to
>>burn, takes over 40 minutes. I have checked all the settings and tried
>>both the Record Now that was installed on my computer, as well as
>>Nero. Nothing helps. I have used lots of systems with similar specs,
>>including a Dell I purchased for my mom this summer, and none of them
>>had this problem with the drives.
>>Tech support and customer service have been monumentally unhelpful
>>thus far and was wondering if anyone knew what might be going on.
>>Is it a motherboard problem ?
>>Are there any issues with Windows XP Media Edition that could be
>>impairing the performance of the drive ?
>>Did they install inferior disc drives (the cd writer seems to be some
>>no-name drive and the dvd drive is an NEC) ?
>>Are there any known problems with having a cd-rw in one bay and a
>>dvd-rw in the other ?
>>
>>Any help you can offer will be of assistance as I pester Dell for some
>>service on this matter
>>
>>Thanks
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi,
Thanks to all who took the trouble to respond to my post. I ultimately
returned my computer in a fit of disgust and disaffection, washing my
hands of Dell's doubletalk. I was really fed up with the insufferably
bad service I was subjected to. I know that is typical of this
industry, but I just found it too grating to deal with this time. When
you buy an expensive computer that arrives with a buggy dvd burner and
then get treated like a pariah for presuming to request a system that
actually works efficiently, well, it just makes you want to spend your
hard-earned elsewhere. On top of that, it seemed to me that Dell is
currently going through some major problems with the dvd burners it is
sending out. Worse still, no one there would even acknowledge that
there were issues that needed to be addressed. I talked to a string of
customer care and tech people who gave me no confidence that waiting
close to two months for a replacement computer (backorder due to
unavailability of certain parts)would resolve the problem. I had a
strong fear that I would end up getting a substitute system that had
the exact same issues and, because so much time had elapsed, I would be
unable to return it at no cost to me.
If you are thinking about buying from Dell, check your dvd_+rw drive
right away. Mine was an NEC and it could not burn a dvd_r or dvd+r at
anything but 1x, irrespective of the media used. And if I tried to burn
a cd with it, it was coaster time. We checked everything that could be
checked and all roads lead to a dud burner. The prospect of getting the
exact same thing sent to again was not too confidence-building. I hope
other people have better luck with their new systems.



Cathy De Viney wrote:
> If you are w/i the 30 day period send it back...no sense starting off
with a
> buggy computer. The "service" may string you along until you are
stuck with
> it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I am sorry to hear about your experience. But I feel that I have to say
that I got 3.6 GHz Dim 8400 with XP Pro and NEC 3450A burner, rest of
config is irrelevant, and I was able to burn DVD+R at 8x using NERO. It
took about 8-10 min to burn 4.2 GB ISO image. No problems whatsoever.

I also want to add that RITEK R03 media that is sold as 8x was only
recognized and burned at 4x with this burner. 15 minutes for the whole
DVD.

The media that burned at 8x was Sony DVD+R I got from Staples.

I also bought some 8x Verbatim DVD+R, and they are recognized as 8x (I
didn't burn any yet)

 

[Jim]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Glad to hear you were smart enough to request a full backing out of the
order. I've had great luck with Dell computers over the years and don't
begrudge anyone their right to complete satisfaction. I too would have
worried about being sent something that was received back by them and
recycled to someone like you as a new part. Again I'm extremely happywith
myDells and am not trying to slam them.

Jim

<kpanko98@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1104005299.654665.196400@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> Hi,
> Thanks to all who took the trouble to respond to my post. I ultimately
> returned my computer in a fit of disgust and disaffection, washing my
> hands of Dell's doubletalk. I was really fed up with the insufferably
> bad service I was subjected to. I know that is typical of this
> industry, but I just found it too grating to deal with this time. When
> you buy an expensive computer that arrives with a buggy dvd burner and
> then get treated like a pariah for presuming to request a system that
> actually works efficiently, well, it just makes you want to spend your
> hard-earned elsewhere. On top of that, it seemed to me that Dell is
> currently going through some major problems with the dvd burners it is
> sending out. Worse still, no one there would even acknowledge that
> there were issues that needed to be addressed. I talked to a string of
> customer care and tech people who gave me no confidence that waiting
> close to two months for a replacement computer (backorder due to
> unavailability of certain parts)would resolve the problem. I had a
> strong fear that I would end up getting a substitute system that had
> the exact same issues and, because so much time had elapsed, I would be
> unable to return it at no cost to me.
> If you are thinking about buying from Dell, check your dvd_+rw drive
> right away. Mine was an NEC and it could not burn a dvd_r or dvd+r at
> anything but 1x, irrespective of the media used. And if I tried to burn
> a cd with it, it was coaster time. We checked everything that could be
> checked and all roads lead to a dud burner. The prospect of getting the
> exact same thing sent to again was not too confidence-building. I hope
> other people have better luck with their new systems.
>
>
>
> Cathy De Viney wrote:
>> If you are w/i the 30 day period send it back...no sense starting off
> with a
>> buggy computer. The "service" may string you along until you are
> stuck with
>> it.
>

 

[Tellme]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On 25 Dec 2004 12:08:19 -0800, kpanko98@yahoo.com wrote:

>Hi,
>Thanks to all who took the trouble to respond to my post. I ultimately
>returned my computer in a fit of disgust and disaffection, washing my
>hands of Dell's doubletalk. I was really fed up with the insufferably
>bad service I was subjected to. I know that is typical of this
>industry, but I just found it too grating to deal with this time. When
>you buy an expensive computer that arrives with a buggy dvd burner and
>then get treated like a pariah for presuming to request a system that
>actually works efficiently, well, it just makes you want to spend your
>hard-earned elsewhere. On top of that, it seemed to me that Dell is
>currently going through some major problems with the dvd burners it is
>sending out. Worse still, no one there would even acknowledge that
>there were issues that needed to be addressed. I talked to a string of
>customer care and tech people who gave me no confidence that waiting
>close to two months for a replacement computer (backorder due to
>unavailability of certain parts)would resolve the problem. I had a
>strong fear that I would end up getting a substitute system that had
>the exact same issues and, because so much time had elapsed, I would be
>unable to return it at no cost to me.
>If you are thinking about buying from Dell, check your dvd_+rw drive
>right away. Mine was an NEC and it could not burn a dvd_r or dvd+r at
>anything but 1x, irrespective of the media used. And if I tried to burn
>a cd with it, it was coaster time. We checked everything that could be
>checked and all roads lead to a dud burner. The prospect of getting the
>exact same thing sent to again was not too confidence-building. I hope
>other people have better luck with their new systems.
>
>
>
>Cathy De Viney wrote:
>> If you are w/i the 30 day period send it back...no sense starting off
>with a
>> buggy computer. The "service" may string you along until you are
>stuck with
>> it.
The same thing is occurring with the Phillips cd-rw. It will only burn
to dvdcd+

Sorry you had such a hard time. Hope you get something that works.