NEC 4550A DVD burner in Coolmax enclosure can't run on Inspiron 5150

All hardware mentioned and system info are detailed at the end of this
post.


I have Coolmax 5.25" USB/Firewire enclosure which I have so far used
only for 2.5 hard drives on my Inspiron 5150. Everything worked
beautifully till days ago I put in my new internal NEC ND-4550A DVD
burner.

The DVD burner inside the enclosure will show as "Removable Disk" under
My Computer. With DVD-RW media loaded when I click on "Removable Disk"
icon, it will ask, ""The disk in drive G is not formatted. Do you want
to format it now?" When I choose OK, the next message will tell me,
"The disk can not be formatted.". Also with the above setup, the DVD
burner cant be recognized by neither Nero or Alcohol 120%. In short,
the NEC DVD burner just does not run on Inspiron 5150.

I am using Phoenix BIOS A01 that comes with my Inspiron 5150. I am
using the Coolmax enclosure via Fireware interface.

I talked with Inspiron users at Dell forum. The problem does not seem
to an old BIOS problem. I have read the BIOS releases notes for
Inspiron 5150, but so far the notes did not specifically indicate that
higher versions of BIOS would have better support for external
peripherals such as DVD burner.

Can anyone kindly advise what might be causing the problem? What should
I start investigation with?

Thanks for advising.



====Hardware mentioned in this post====
- Coolmax Enclosure (CD-510B-U2F) USB/FIREWIRE 3.5"/5.25" IDE TO USB
http://coolmaxusa.com/productDetails.as...atures&subcategory=combo&category=5.25

- NEC ND-4550A DVD Burner
http://www.cdfreaks.com/article/230


====System Info====
- Dell Inspiron 5150
- BIOS: Phoenix A01
- 1GB RAM
- Windows XP Pro SP2
- Coolmax Enclosure USB/FIREWIRE 3.5"/5.25"

 

is the enclosure the dvd drive sits in powered via the Firewire
connector, or does it have a separate power brick? if the former, it's
possible it's demanding more power than your laptop's happy putting out
via its Firewire port.
If this isn't the cause, it's quite likely you've got a dud drive. Put
it in a desktop PC and see if it works.
Ric

 

The enclosure is powered with a speperate cable leading directly to the
wall. So it is insufficient problem.

About whether or not NEC ND4550A drive is defective...it does not seem
so, as the drive LED light goes on when the enclosure is powered on,
and CD-R/DVD-R rotates. I did this test a couple of times.

The only cause I can think of right now is the firmware of the
enclosure's chipset - Oxford Semiconductor's. But I am not sure about
which type of the chipset is. Anyone who's owned/used Coolmax Enclosure
(CD-510B-COMBO) can advise?

 

....or the drive's faulty. the fact it turns on and goes round means
nothing. it could well turn out to be a strange firmware issue with
the enclosure: but check the most likely things first. put the drive
in a desktop and see if it reads disks.

ric

 

Windows XP does not support writable DVD's. You need either Roxio or
Nero to do this... I lean towards Roxio but both are good. You should
have gotten one or the other with your drive.

 

Thanks ric!

Let me eliminate one possibility first. Does the problem likely have
anything to do with the old Phoenix A01 BIOS on my Inspiron 5150?

I will test the drive on a desktop PC as soon as, as I am on a compny
trip right now...