BenQ1640 is DOA, RMA or Fix ?

~~BuyHoney86~~ · 11-09-2005, 06:46 PM

A little more than a month ago, I recieved a BenQ1640 (OEM) new from NewEgg. Used it to install Win2000 Pro on one machine, and it had chronic problems for almost a month before I theorized that the O/S was corrupted by the BenQ (during install). Reinstalled the O/S with another device, and have not had a problem with that machine ever since.

Moved the BenQ to a second machine, and it immediately had problems, so I concluded that BenQ was the cause of the problems for both machines.

The problems are quite strange however, so I thought I would share them here on the chance that the device can be fixed.

I have an RMA from NewEgg which will expire in about 7 days, so the time to discuss & possibly fix the device is finite. (Great service from NewEgg, BTW. They gave me an RMA even though the 30-day warranty was 5 days expired)

The "strange" problems are as follows:

On arrival, the BenQ was recognized normally on the Win2000 machine, and functioned well-enough to install the O/S, although there were several errors during the install. It was these that caused me to suspect either the BenQ, the Hard Drive or the O/S disk was the cause of the chronic problems.

But the O/S installed normally with another device, using the same disk and the same Hard Drive, and continues to function without problem to the present time.

When the BenQ was moved to the XP machine, I found:

The BenQ was recognized in BIOS, either as (Secondary) Master or Slave
WinXP PnP found & installed the device "normally"
The device is listed in Device Manager>System
The device is listed under "My Computer>C: (boot)>Properties>Hardware" and under this "hardware" tab, it has it's own "Properties" that looks perfectly normal.

But it doesn't have it's own Icon in "My Computer", inserted media is not recognized and the device cannot be accessed in any way that I can think of.

So even though I have an RMA I can use for remediation, this situation was so odd that I thought folks might want to poke around with it.

**Terrister** · 11-10-2005, 07:17 AM

I think you should return. Sounds like you got a bad drive.

**please** · 11-10-2005, 09:51 AM

@ BunHoney86
I agree with Terrister. The BenQ 1640 can be a great drive, but if you get a bad one, just send it back and don't waste time messing with it. I have been lucky, as I have 3 BenQ 1620s and I love them all. They have burned everything I threw at them with speed and accuracy and quality. My favorite drive for problem-free burning...unless you get a defective one. Thanks for posting some of its telltale signs as that may help others with similar problems in the future.

**keymaker** · 11-10-2005, 04:53 PM

i agree too, return the POS drive.

~~BuyHoney86~~ · 11-11-2005, 10:51 PM

Sent it off this afternoon. RMA expires on the 21st, and UPS ground will take until the 15th. With a 6-day window, I didn't want to lose the chance while working to fix a drive that arrived defective.

(Secret: I flashed the firmware before sending it off. Didn't help. Hope that doesn't cause problems with the RMA...)

Fingers crossed.

UPS wanted $10.00 for Ground. So RMA is not a thing I'd like to make a regular habit of.

Read a post from CD Freaks. Guy said he's order about 4 of them, and 3 of the 4 have had RMA trouble. Don't know if I can believe it, but some people seem to think a high defect rate for 1640's is normal.

My 1620 was a breeze. Hope the 1640 doesn't change my opinion.

11-09-2005, 06:46 PM	#1 (permalink)
~~BuyHoney86~~ Register user Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 34 OS: WinXP?	BenQ1640 is DOA, RMA or Fix ? A little more than a month ago, I recieved a BenQ1640 (OEM) new from NewEgg. Used it to install Win2000 Pro on one machine, and it had chronic problems for almost a month before I theorized that the O/S was corrupted by the BenQ (during install). Reinstalled the O/S with another device, and have not had a problem with that machine ever since. Moved the BenQ to a second machine, and it immediately had problems, so I concluded that BenQ was the cause of the problems for both machines. The problems are quite strange however, so I thought I would share them here on the chance that the device can be fixed. I have an RMA from NewEgg which will expire in about 7 days, so the time to discuss & possibly fix the device is finite. (Great service from NewEgg, BTW. They gave me an RMA even though the 30-day warranty was 5 days expired) The "strange" problems are as follows: On arrival, the BenQ was recognized normally on the Win2000 machine, and functioned well-enough to install the O/S, although there were several errors during the install. It was these that caused me to suspect either the BenQ, the Hard Drive or the O/S disk was the cause of the chronic problems. But the O/S installed normally with another device, using the same disk and the same Hard Drive, and continues to function without problem to the present time. When the BenQ was moved to the XP machine, I found: The BenQ was recognized in BIOS, either as (Secondary) Master or Slave WinXP PnP found & installed the device "normally" The device is listed in Device Manager>System The device is listed under "My Computer>C: (boot)>Properties>Hardware" and under this "hardware" tab, it has it's own "Properties" that looks perfectly normal. But it doesn't have it's own Icon in "My Computer", inserted media is not recognized and the device cannot be accessed in any way that I can think of. So even though I have an RMA I can use for remediation, this situation was so odd that I thought folks might want to poke around with it.

11-10-2005, 07:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
Terrister Moderator Hardware Forum Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: West Georgia, USA Posts: 7,098 OS: Xp	I think you should return. Sounds like you got a bad drive. __________________

11-10-2005, 09:51 AM	#3 (permalink)
please Tech Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,185 OS: WinXP SP2	@ BunHoney86 I agree with Terrister. The BenQ 1640 can be a great drive, but if you get a bad one, just send it back and don't waste time messing with it. I have been lucky, as I have 3 BenQ 1620s and I love them all. They have burned everything I threw at them with speed and accuracy and quality. My favorite drive for problem-free burning...unless you get a defective one. Thanks for posting some of its telltale signs as that may help others with similar problems in the future. __________________ P4P800E-D:~:P4 3.0C@3.75GHz:~:Zal7000AlCu:~:OCZ4001024ELDCPER2-K@250MHz 2.5-3-3-7 WinXP SP2>2X160GB Samsung SATA ICH5R RAID1:~:2x80GB Samsung SATA Promise RAID0 ATI A-I-W X800XT~SB Audigy2 ZS~2X BenQ1620~Antec SLK3700AMB~Antec SmartPower2.0 500W

11-10-2005, 04:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
keymaker Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,154 OS: windows xp	i agree too, return the POS drive. __________________ AVG Spybot SpywareBlaster Adware CCleaner Diskeeper ZoneAlarm

11-11-2005, 10:51 PM	#5 (permalink)
~~BuyHoney86~~ Register user Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kalifornia Posts: 34 OS: WinXP?	RMA'd Sent it off this afternoon. RMA expires on the 21st, and UPS ground will take until the 15th. With a 6-day window, I didn't want to lose the chance while working to fix a drive that arrived defective. (Secret: I flashed the firmware before sending it off. Didn't help. Hope that doesn't cause problems with the RMA...) Fingers crossed. UPS wanted $10.00 for Ground. So RMA is not a thing I'd like to make a regular habit of. Read a post from CD Freaks. Guy said he's order about 4 of them, and 3 of the 4 have had RMA trouble. Don't know if I can believe it, but some people seem to think a high defect rate for 1640's is normal. My 1620 was a breeze. Hope the 1640 doesn't change my opinion.