Power calibration failed error with DVD writer

[Daft]

I get this power calibration error when i try to burn a CD but i get no errors when burning DVDs. The buffer level on the recorder stays at zero. I have a Plextor model DVDR PX-708a burner. I tried different brands of CDR/CDRW at different write speeds but still the same error. This never happened before, I used Nero 6 and Roxio but still get the same error. Is my burner screwed?? Help!

http://www.daftproductions.com/pics/burnerror.gif

[[_chéf_]]

Use other media or try at a slower speed.

[dr.pauli]

You'll love this possibility, it's totally absurd!

I had a period where my burner was failing with the "power calibration error". The culprit was a defective/underrated/dying power supply. I bought a new supply with a higher power rating, and the problems all went away, nothing else was changed.

That solved the problem for me, but remember, Your mileage will vary".

[Joergen]

Like said above the chance of overstretching the PSU is there, but slim. I get a power calibration error on my Plextor writer with some worn out CD-RW discs, but if you get that error on all discs (even good ones) AND you have upgraded to the latest firmware, then the drive might be broken.

Also, HEAT is an important factor with some burners especially those lacking a fan. Try opening the case and perhaps turning a table fan against it and see what happens.

[Daft]

Hey thanks for the replies. I don't think it is the power supply because i have 520 watts and aren't running anything crazy. Only two harddrives on a Pentium 4. The heat might be the problem, but what's strange is that it burns DVDRs (all types) just fine but has problems with CDRs. And what is the latest firmware for this drive? I currently have 1.04.

[Daft]

It seems that my firmware was out of date. I just updated to 1.07. This time when i try to burn a CDR i get a "No seek complete" error. What a peice of crap i'm never buying a Plextor drive again..

[jeremymacmull]

thats odd

ive got the px708a and with 1.06 and it works flawlessly on everything ive thrown at it

ive burnt about 40 dvds with no coasters so far and about 10 cds white top generic ones fine at 40 x

so im at a loss whats happening to yours mostly i burn cds with the cheap lite on drive at 52 x so i cant say ive burnt a lot with the plextor for cds but all the dvds are perfect


overall im very very happy with mine

see my sig for my spec of my machine

[Reverz]

Have seen also these Power calibration erros + many differnt (ErrorCode #XXXXX_errors) and wasted a pile of CD-R, DVD-+R blanks, i have used different brands mediums and have 2 burners nec_2510 and SonyDRU500, and seen this error on both devices,
(less - on audio / data burning , more - on DVD backup and authoring+burning in one application, like Encore 1.01, 1.5 )

used also different burning -, and Authoring+burning software: Nero6, Alcohol120, DVDdecrypter, Sony DVDA, Scenarist, AdobeEcore-(imo this gives more errors of all), but for sure have meet this with each i tested - not so frequent but sometimes this happends,

sometimes it helps to change write speed to exact value marked on blank or follow the factory options for Burner device choosing correct speed value for current type of media, or make it even lower, - do not to leave it on default[maximum] as most software have it default. - ie . if CD blank has 52x and device's factory max speed for CD-R is 32x - then set it in burning soft to 32x (or less) and not leave it on Max . specially noticed this with Nec_2510 that it cannot correctly choose correct speed if maximum is enabled.

Also check your software DVD and CD players You may have installed.
Most DVD software players have this (strange) feature to load itself with windows startup (WinDVD 5, Cineplayer1.5 etc ..)
and when Burner Software starts to communicate with device and disk starts spinnig, software Players may also start to read the same disk and this may call up error.

I personally disabled all autostart options for SonicCineplayer
and winDVD also have disabled in (windows XP pro) that feature what launch a popup with choiches if media is inserted .. ( hope each XP user have seen this popup asking/saying:
[Windows can perform some action each time you insert a disk or connect a device . . . bla, bla]

and after disabling these features i have to say that i rare see these errors but cannot say that these are gone at all
(using P4 3GHz/800Fsb (HT) 1GB ram XPpro sp1)

[schotty]

I get the exact same error msg when I use dodgy brothers disks (I think they are Omni) that were bought at a computer market by a friend who wanted some data backed up as well as a movie of his backed up.
When I tried my Ritek DVD-Rs they worked perfectly. When I looked at the details of the DVD I found that they were showing less space than one of the Ritek ones.
I've tried burning at 4X on a Sony DRU510 external burner on my Compaq Evo 600 Laptop connected via the USB2.0 port at both 4x and 1x. When I burnt at 1x, it seemed to burn correctly until the end of the DVD where it came up with an error "Unable to write write-out" or something like that and failed again.

It's an interesting little problem as it appears only to be these Omni DVD-Rs that it occurs with.

I'm still trying to work out a solution (being sick during the process hasn't helped :( )