How to get an LG DVD drive to recognise the disk

[Tony]

I got my LG DVD drive to recognise the Civ 4 DVD by running a firmware upgrade available on the LG website (www.lge.com).

Heres the details again for anyone who might have the same problem: "My LG GDR-8161B DVD drive does not recognise the Civilisation 4 DVD. When I put the disk in it just sits there spinning for ages and does not recognise that a disk is in the drive." Other DVDs like GTA:SA and movies worked fine.

On the LG website I found a file called GDR-8161B0102(ED).zip. It was in the DVD (writer) section even though this drive is not a writer. The original (not working) firmware is version 1.00, the new working firmware is version 1.02. You can find the firmware version in "properties" by right clicking on the DVD drive in windows.

Tony.

[PN2]

Hmm, I have this DVD drive too.

I already had installed this firmware to cure problems with another game (I forget which).

Civ 4 worked fine first time for me with this firmware.

I agree the LG web site is a bit misleading with the DVD-ROM (writer) description, but that's because the ROMs and the writers are all clumped together, hence the bracketing of (writer).

Take care when upgrading firmware on DVD and CD drives. It can render the whole unit unusable.

[El Stormo]

Hello! I have a DVD as well, and the same DVD-drive, however I'm not sure how to upgrade firmware. I've tried making a DOS boot disk and executing JD2.bat from DOS, but it can't find the .dld file, since DOS abbreviates the name. When I edit the jd2.bat-file to use the abbreviated name, I get an error message (something about product not corresponding).

Can you help me? Thanks!

[Tony]

Yeah I had the same problem. I fixed it by renaming the dld to GDR.ddl and then renaming the parameter in the jd2.bat file to GDR.dld (I had to change the file write permissions to do this). Do this at your own risk though, this is a fairly dodgy solution and as PN2 warns above, firmware updates can be risky. Having said that it worked fine for me.

A safer solution would be to download something that supported long filenames (if such a fix exists), but I took the shortcut.

Tony

[El Stormo]

Well, I'm not comfortable with taking chances with the firmware, so I looked around, and this article helped me out - it has a much simpler way of updating firmware. Everything works now, thanks for the help!

http://netmag.co.uk/downloads/?pagetypeid=2&articleid=17904&subsectionid=486

[Caranorn]

Got the same problem (though the drive actually manages to read the DVD after a while (upwards of 10 minutes). Not sure I'll dare change the drivers though, maybe I'll just call the shop I bought this computer from (and have some RAM added at the same time).

Though this kind of thing is pretty annoying.

Marc aka Caran...

[Caranorn]

Tried installing that firmware El Stormo mentions but it wouldn't recognise my DVD drive (and my system is certain it is the GDR8161B). I guess I will indeed have to contact the store I bought the computer from (or HP directly as this machine is a HP Pavilion a230.be (though they don't even list this DVD drive among that model's firmware options)).

I'll quit trying for today though.

Marc aka Caran...

[El Stormo]

Have you made a boot disk and started in DOS mode? If not, head over to www.bootdisk.com and make a DOS boot disk.

[Caranorn]

Tried a Boot Disk just now with the exact same results. Here is the error message I get:

No CD/DVD dirve model HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8161B. <2>

And yes, it says dirve not drive:-). In any case, my system detect (via dxdiag) tells me this I exactly the drive I have (other system tools identify it as such too). So I have no clue what the problem is. I'll have to try and check with the techs at the store I bought this computer from.

Marc aka Caran...

P.S.: After trying the boot disk I restarted my computer in XP, reinserted the DVD and came here to type this post. Just after I wrote my sig the computer finally recognised the DVD (regular spinning noise instead of that weird clicking). I'm not sure how long that was but I expect 10+ minutes.

[El Stormo]

You did enter the correct number after the / right?

I had to type the command ine and add /4 (secondary slave). It's like this:

/1 Primary master
/2 Primary slave
/3 Secondary master
/4 secondary slave

You can see which number you need when you start up.

[Caranorn]

Actually those numbers are 0-3 and not 1-4. I used the /0 command as my DVD is indeed in that slot. So that's not the problem.

Marc aka Caran...

[El Stormo]

Sorry, you're right: 0-3

[Alphard]

I also had problems with the DVD. Problems were solved when i set the DVD to be the number 1 ROM device on the system. Say you have HDD C: and D: and then an old CD drive (E: ) and newer DVD drive (F: ). I had to disable the CD drive (previous E: ) and get the DVD to run at the same letter assigned (E: ). I do not have the extra CD-Drive any more but I dont care cos CIV runs just fine

[Diamondsharp]

Had a similar problem with an LG GDR8160 - the DVD just spins. Turns out there is no firmware upgrade for the drive either.
However, having read Caranorms post, I left the disc in, and lo! the DVD was recognised after about 5 mins.

However - be aware that if using the "leave it alone" method, should you leave the DVD in and reboot the PC, and have the DVD as any boot device prior to the HDD kicking in, you may need to leave it alone to recognise the DVD. Should you eject the DVD, the HDD may not boot the OS at all (the "missing" DVD locks the boot sequence). I had to clear the CMOS before I could boot the machine again - merely changing the boot sequence again didn't help.

[el_newell]

got the same problem

Hi, I have the same problem that Caranorn:

No CD/DVD dirve model HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8161B. <2>

I tried several ways and didn't get it to work, any suggestion?


well, at least my "spinning times" average is 4 minutes and then it works without more problems

thanks