CD Burner is burning/reading much slower than usual

Mr. Ksoft · 07-16-2006, 07:06 AM

Hi, I have recently burned a few CD's on my burner (HP Lightscribe drive) and I noticed that it's going a LOT slower than it should. When I first got the computer, I was able to burn a full 80 minute audio CD in about 15 minutes. Now, it takes about 20 minutes to burn a 30 minute CD. I am unsure what's caused the slowdown, as I am using the same discs as I used when I got it. The discs in question are 48x ones.

My drive supports up to 40x burning, but it won't go there. According to the programs I've tried burning things in (Sonic RecordNow and Alcohol 120%) my burn speed never climbs over 4x, whereas it used to go up to 40x. So, something is definitely wrong if it can no longer burn at its maximum.

Also, I noticed in games that when it has to read files like movies off the drive, they won't run smooth at all. They keep stopping while it waits for the drive to get the data. My game loading times have jumped a bit, and installs take forever.

I've heard that when Windows detects read errors on discs (which I've had a few), it automatically lowers the drive's maximum speed and can only be changed back via a registry hack. Is this true? I can't find the info again...

If anyone can help me with getting the drive back to speed, please reply.

**twajetmech** · 07-16-2006, 11:24 AM

Have you considered flashing the cdrw firmware to the latest update, and cd-r media can deteriorate over time (especially in warm weather) you could also try new media. Your burn speeds will vary based on the errors detected during the process, I don't believe that its permanent since my own cdrw's change their speeds depending on the media I use to burn. I highly reccomend Taiyo Yuden media. despite the drives ability to burn at 40X they usually don't burn that fast all the time

07-16-2006, 07:06 AM	#1 (permalink)
Mr. Ksoft Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 32 OS: Main Computer: Windows XP MCE2005. Other computer: Kubuntu 7.04 My System	CD Burner is burning/reading much slower than usual Hi, I have recently burned a few CD's on my burner (HP Lightscribe drive) and I noticed that it's going a LOT slower than it should. When I first got the computer, I was able to burn a full 80 minute audio CD in about 15 minutes. Now, it takes about 20 minutes to burn a 30 minute CD. I am unsure what's caused the slowdown, as I am using the same discs as I used when I got it. The discs in question are 48x ones. My drive supports up to 40x burning, but it won't go there. According to the programs I've tried burning things in (Sonic RecordNow and Alcohol 120%) my burn speed never climbs over 4x, whereas it used to go up to 40x. So, something is definitely wrong if it can no longer burn at its maximum. Also, I noticed in games that when it has to read files like movies off the drive, they won't run smooth at all. They keep stopping while it waits for the drive to get the data. My game loading times have jumped a bit, and installs take forever. I've heard that when Windows detects read errors on discs (which I've had a few), it automatically lowers the drive's maximum speed and can only be changed back via a registry hack. Is this true? I can't find the info again... If anyone can help me with getting the drive back to speed, please reply.

07-16-2006, 11:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
twajetmech I helped the forums. Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: LGA, NYC Posts: 2,388 OS: XP-Pro Sp2 & XP-Pro Sp2 Tablet Edition, Vista Ultimate My System	Have you considered flashing the cdrw firmware to the latest update, and cd-r media can deteriorate over time (especially in warm weather) you could also try new media. Your burn speeds will vary based on the errors detected during the process, I don't believe that its permanent since my own cdrw's change their speeds depending on the media I use to burn. I highly reccomend Taiyo Yuden media. despite the drives ability to burn at 40X they usually don't burn that fast all the time __________________ PSU Selection/Info // Bench test // Thermal Paste // Memory Selection // Bios Beep Codes // CPU-Z// Posting System Specs