LiteOn SHM-165H6S Can't Rip Anything

[TomBrooklyn]

The subject DVD Burner used to be able to rip pretty well, but lately it doesn't seem to be able to read anything with DVDDecrypter.

I have a more recent LiteOn LH-20A1H that can handle just about everything the 165 can't.

What could I do that might make this drive work better?
Clean it?
Update the firmware? I found one firmware version at LiteOn for this model, but I don't know how to tell what firmware is on it now.

Edit: After futzing around and getting a rar file from LiteOn and a rar opener from SourceForge, I seem to have updated the firmware. There is no noticable benefit in ripping at this point though. The drive still does not recognize disks unless they are in excellent condition. Mostly, RipIt4Me says there is no disk in the drive.

[blutach]

Sounds more like a hardware issue than a decrypting one.

Moved.

Regards

[setarip_old]

@TomBrooklyn

Hi!

You might try running a DVD/CD cleaning disc on the burner. Maxell makes one that sells for about $10US...

[TomBrooklyn]

Hi setarip,

Is this the Maxwell one you are referring to...

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=21523#productTabDetails

J&R, which is sometimes convienent for me to go to, also has this one by Allsop which costs less, but doesn't have any diagnostic feature...

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=19720

The Allsop one got a lot of good reviews on amazon too...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000J1QK/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

The Maxell one is on amazon.com also but it doesn't have any reviews. I wonder if the Allsop one is better?

[burfadel]

A dirt lens can always be a problem with dvd drives. You have to weigh up the cost benefit of the lens cleaner, considering postage etc compared to the price of a new drive. Drives are quite cheap now, I can go down to a store (one that hasn't got stupid inflated prices), and pick up the latest SATA dvd burners for around AUS$38.

It may be cheaper to pull the drive apart and cleaning it yourself, as you can also clean the other components of the drive at the same time. The lens moves on a slider, you may need to clean the grease off the slider and put a bit of petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) on there to relubricate them.

The main thing is to always put clean disks into the drive, and always clean disks that look a little dirty. That way, you may never need to clean the drive :)

[setarip_old]

@TomBrooklyn

From another very recent thread of yours:I usually use my most recently purchased DVD burner to burn with. However, I was ripping a disk with it so I tried to burn to my older NEC2005 with ImgBrn simultaneously. ImgBrn said the drive was inaccessible. Any ideas why that might be?How many burners do you have installed?

[TomBrooklyn]

@TomBrooklyn
How many burners do you have installed?
Hi,
I have two on one computer and one on another. =T

[TomBrooklyn]

@TomBrooklyn
You might try running a DVD/CD cleaning disc on the burner.
Hi,
based on the reviews at amazon.com, I picked up the Allsop standard 8 brush cleaner (not the carbon fiber one) for $6.99 at J&R. After using it, and I'm not sure I let it run the whole time it was supposed to, the DVD reader/burner which couldn't see a practically new disk before ripped it at 5x speed. Excellent!

Good idea to get the cleaner.

Cheers,
Tom

[setarip_old]

Glad to hear that cleaning improved the performance ;>}