Determining Manufacturer/Make of DVD-ROM Player?

[callista]

Hi-

I'm running XP Pro SP3 on an old Dell Dimension 4100.

I've been having problems with my DVD-ROM player for about 2 months now. It plays music CDs most of the time (Creative Sound Card/PlayCenter), but my whole system freezes-up when I try to run mixed media CDs (I don't know about DVDs - I don't use it for DVDs anymore, so the software isn't installed).

I think I have a Samsung SD-612, but I'm not positive. My original Dell receipt tells me only that it's a "12X Max Variable DVD ROM Drive Factory Installed"; Windows "System Information" tells me I have a Samsung SD-612; @ Dell.com with my service tag no., it tells me I have a Samsung SD-616. And there are no markings, labels, etc on the drive itself (I opened up the case).

I've been doing some research on this, and apparently others have had the same problems with the SD-612 that I'm having. They all said they had run a firmware update which solved the problem. And there is a firmware update available for the SD-612 (12X) that "corrects the CD-Text capability of the drive". There is no firmware update available for the SD-616.


I have a few questions about this:

1. Is there some definitive way (maybe an app?) to determine for certain which DVD-ROM player I have?

2. What happens if I run the firmware update for the Samsung SD-612 and it turns out that's not DVD-ROM player I have? Will I totally screw my pc and/or DVD player up?

[Broni]

Open the case and take a look.

[callista]

From original question "And there are no markings, labels, etc on the drive itself (I opened up the case)."

I did open the case. There are no markings at all.

[Linux711]

Maybe look in the BIOS to see if it's listed.

[Broni]

What does Device Manager say?

[callista]

Thanks for the replies Linux & Broni.

Maybe look in the BIOS to see if it's listed.

Bios says it's a Samsung DVD-ROM SD-6.

 

What does Device Manager say?

Device Manager says it's a Samsung DVD-ROM SD-612


I'm pretty sure it is a 612, but...

Does anyone know anything about the reliability of SiSoft SANDRA at determining device info?

[Broni]

I'd trust Device Manager.

[callista]

I'd trust Device Manager.

I agree. But just out of curiosity, what happens if I run the firmware update and it turns out that it's not an SD-612? How badly would that screw my pc and/or DVD player up?

What exactly is a firmware update? I assume it's a bigger deal than just updating a driver?

[Computer_Commando]

The only DVD update that Dell shows for the Dimension 4100 is the SD-616B.  It's likely you have a different model as indicated by Device Manager.
Another way to determine which one is if it's a 12X or 16X drive.  Nero InfoTool might work:  http://www.nero.com/enu/support-nero8-tools-utilities.html

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&os=WLH&osl=en&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P3C_4100&catid=-1&impid=-1

Firmware update is similar to flashing the motherboard BIOS.  This is a hardware modification to the DVD drive.

[callista]

The only DVD update that Dell shows for the Dimension 4100 is the SD-616B.  It's likely you have a different model as indicated by Device Manager.
Another way to determine which one is if it's a 12X or 16X drive.  Nero InfoTool might work:  http://www.nero.com/enu/support-nero8-tools-utilities.html

http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&os=WLH&osl=en&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P3C_4100&catid=-1&impid=-1

Something's been screwy with my computer and the Dell documentation since I got the computer in 2001 (although I didn't know enough about computers at the time to question anything). I bought a Dimension 4100 and the case is definitely a Dimension 4100, but the included paperwork has the 'Description' as: "DIM XPS-Z SERIES, PENTIUM III PROC 866MHZ"

Try finding anything at Dell on the XPS-Z series... Meanwhile, if what I have is a Samsung SD-612, according to Dell.com, they were only used in the "Dimension XPS B___r" whatever that is.

Firmware update is similar to flashing the motherboard BIOS.  This is a hardware modification to the DVD drive.

Thanks for the Nero link. I've downloaded it and will give it a shot. I may come back again for some advice before I do anything about the firmware update - I'm really nervous about it....

[callista]

Nero says it's a SAMSUNG SD-612 too.

Should I create a Restore Point before I run the firmware update? Will I be able to Restore/revert back from a firmware update??

[Salmon Trout]

I would not bother flashing a 10 year old DVD-ROM drive. It is probably nearing the end of its service life. They cost pocket change now. Like 12 UK pounds (around $20) or less. In fact this is a very old PC. Worth around $20.

Left: XPS          Right: Dimension

[Salmon Trout]

Nero says it's a SAMSUNG SD-612 too.

Should I create a Restore Point before I run the firmware update? Will I be able to Restore/revert back from a firmware update??

No need to create a restore point, and you can reflash the firmware with an earlier version if you have the file available. Don't turn the power off during the flash, or you'll brick the drive. But see my post above.

[Computer_Commando]

Nero says it's a SAMSUNG SD-612 too.

Should I create a Restore Point before I run the firmware update? Will I be able to Restore/revert back from a firmware update??

Firmware does not modify Windows, it modifies the drive, so creating a restore point would accomplish nothing.  Besides, you can't update the drive firmware from within Windows.  You boot to a floppy disk & run the flash program from the floppy disk.

[Salmon Trout]

Firmware does not modify Windows, it modifies the drive, so creating a restore point would accomplish nothing.  Besides, you can't update the drive firmware from within Windows.  You boot to a floppy disk & run the flash program from the floppy disk.

Many manufacturers provide Windows firmware flashing utilities. I used to update the firmware of my LG DVD-RW from Windows.