arg I was doing a firmware update for the Sony DRX-700UL DVD writer and folllowed the instructions (uninstalled InCD, removed disk) but I forgot I had the drive connected via iLink and not USB as warned. The firmware update did not run and when I rebooted, I noticed that the drive was no longer listed in device manager. So I went back to a previous restore point, reinstalled InCD, and still no luck. Did I toast the drive?

The one thing that still works on the drive besides the door and read mechanisms is the ilink pass thru. having a digicam connected thru the drive is found, but not the drive itself.

is there anything i can do? i can’t see any reset switch on the outside. I even tried using AcronisTrue image recovery cD to see if at a low level the drive is recognized. its not. what to do? it was a wonderful burning system and now i have hosed it up with clients waiting!

i am running windows XP home sp2 on a sony laptop TR3. i have tried seeing the drive in both ilink and usb direct, but no luck. thanks!!!! :cry:

yikes jigs, that sounds bad…I feel extremely scared when doing firmware updates for precisely that reason i.e. not following something right. I’m not an expert, but I dont think things look good for you :(

your best bet would be to contact Sony…I’m sure they can fix it…you could tell them that you followed everything as mentioned and still it screwed up :wink:

sony? they might as well be on another planet from where i sit! i wonder how they fix firmware probs? i took the drive apart to see if there was a reset switch, pullable chips, etc. Can’t see what they would do short of replacing a board. i guess i am in the market again for a new drive (going to BKK next month) and now i have a really nice enclosure…i wonder if i can just replace the drive inside, it all looks pretty standard except that it’s dual interface, ilink and usb….

I have the DRX-700UL too.  I did the firmare update through the i-Link cable and didn’t have any major problems.  The only problem i did have, is that it won’t burn compressed DVD video anymore.  I guess i got lucky installing the firmware through the i-Link cable.

I wonder if i try to reinstall the firmware through the USB it will burn compressed DVD video again?

Good luck in getting things fixed. 

I got my drive at BEST BUY and put a three year warranty on it.  So if it dies i get a new drive.  Maybe if it won’t burn compressed DVD video after another frimware install, via USB this time, i’ll take it back and see what they can do to fix it.

[quote author=“ECKAMUS”]I have the DRX-700UL too.  I did the firmare update through the i-Link cable and didn’t have any major problems.  The only problem i did have, is that it won’t burn compressed DVD video anymore.  I guess i got lucky installing the firmware through the i-Link cable.

I wonder if i try to reinstall the firmware through the USB it will burn compressed DVD video again?

Good luck in getting things fixed. 

I got my drive at BEST BUY and put a three year warranty on it.  So if it dies i get a new drive.  Maybe if it won’t burn compressed DVD video after another frimware install, via USB this time, i’ll take it back and see what they can do to fix it.

wow let me know how it goes! do u know what would prevent a drive from being seen by XP except for bad firmware?  is there anyone out there that knows how to repair firmware gone south?  i am getting used to repairing all my equipment here, as Nepal’s only authorized Sony repair center looks like something out of a CNN bagdad report. those guys take things apart, look at it, and then mutter ke garne. then give it back.

i need to fix this…ke garne

I updated the USB firmware on the bridgeboard to PL3507 and the new firmware for the DRX-700UL to VY08.  Didn’t have any problems there, but it still will not burn compressed DVD video.  Funny thing, it burns everything else without problem; data, uncompressed DVD video to DL, CD, etc.  Maybe it is NERO.  Oh well i guess it is not that big of a deal considering the DL discs are coming down to reasonable prices.

USB Interface Firmware Upgrade  

Improvements: Firmware improves drive connection in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 during stand by mode. This firmware can only be upgraded using USB interface.

Site:  

Is this the firmware upgrade you are talking about?

If it is.  The only thing that i can think of is to try to run the firmware update program again.  DRX-700UL connected via the USB cable .  That might work, because the firmware needs to be reinstalled on the bridgeboard.  Other than that i don’t know much else that can help other than cantact SONY.  Hopefully this works. Either way good luck.

The firmware for the actual drive can be installed either by i-Link or USB interface, VY08 is the newest version.  I have personally installed VY06 via i-Link a couple of times and VY08 via USB and had no problems installing the firmware with either interface.

E, that’s what i was doing, those updates, but now cant see the drive at all so i cant try again. i am taking the drive to another pc today, maybe i’ll get lucky….

no luck, the drive is no longer recognized by any computer running any os. i am thinking now of trying to replace the guts with a new drive, but there are no sony burners here, only model is a liteon 16x for about 100 USD, internal drive. i am wondering if i can use the sony case to make it external .... any thoughts on that one? the internal guts of the thing looks standard, but not sure what’s really controlling the thing. cant find any info on the inside of this thing…

take the drive out, connect it to an internal IDE port, boot the system, check if it shows during the POS, if it does, there is chance, You just need the firmware recovery from Sony, if it doesnt, the flash is corrupted and ... you need to send it in.

[quote author=“DayWalker”]take the drive out, connect it to an internal IDE port, boot the system, check if it shows during the POS, if it does, there is chance, You just need the firmware recovery from Sony, if it doesnt, the flash is corrupted and ... you need to send it in.

daywalker, please explain what u mean by firmware recovery? u mean the exe file that patches the firmware?  so as i understand ur great idea, it’s to connect as an internal ide drive and apply the firmware upgrade there, if it of course is recognized?  i am desperate, so will do in the AM with my pal’s desktop…

you can try first the firmware update you applied at the first place, while connected to a PC Via IDE, if it does not work, there is tool somewhere on the web makefsk.exe or something like that. Check here too: http://codeguys.rpc1.org/utilities.html

You will aslo need a binary image of your firmware, not the exe in order to discover the device on the IDE port, to probe the port and write directly without knowing what it is actually writing Tricky but works..

I am 99.99% sure that you will figure it out. The drive is not fried…

Dave, let me first say that i really appreciate your help - these are stressfull times and at some level i can feel your confidence in my ability to fix this thing, instead of getting on a plane for singapore and just buying a new one (which i can in no way afford to do), but after looking at the MTKflash options I am startled.  I was hoping never to go there again. But i do have BIN file for ONE of the TWO flash updates provided by sony on this drive.  But MKTFLASH looks like a show stopper to me - This looks like something from my assembler days as a little pup in the bowels of IBM:

Ex1: MTKFLASH <R|W|E|C|UW> [/C] [/O XXXXX YYYYY [/F]] [/Ax] [/T] <file list> 
      R: Read FLASH                                    
      W: Write FLASH                                    
      E: Erase FLASH                                    
      C: Only check FLASH & Unlock WINBOND(W29C040)               
      UW: UP FLASH                                      
      DW: DSP WRITE                                      
      DR: DSP READ                                      
      SR: Read ICE28LF010 FLASH         SW: Write ICE28LF010 FLASH    
    /Ax: x = Bank Number from 0 to 15.              Default:  Bank0
      /U: Auto Write Flash (for MT1198 + PAGE WRITE Flash ROM only)     
      /M: Read(Write) multi-bank data into(from) one merged file        
      /T: Show FLASH Download Time in Write FLASH mode              
      /C: Check FLASH & Unlock WINBOND(W29C040)                 
      /O: Skip FLASH OPC Area, and OPC Area save to pwrcur.bin        
      /F: OPC Area read from file pwrcur.bin                    
    /SATA: SATA interface                                  
    /ST: ST Micron Serial FLASH                            
    /SST: SST Serial Flash (Default Setting)                     
    XXXXX: Start address of FLASH OPC Area(5-digit in HEX).  Default: 1F000h
    YYYY: Length of FLASH OPC Area(4-digit in HEX).      Maximum:  8000h

And then i found another utility called EEPROM_utility that looks like it backs up firmware and then restores it.  Will this be of any help?  I think I am lucky in the sense that the sony drive is as far as I can tell a rebadged LiteOn, which those codeguys are all into…

[quote author=“jiggy”]  I think I am lucky in the sense that the sony drive is as far as I can tell a rebadged LiteOn, which those codeguys are all into…

Hope you get it working Jiggy.

A little OT, but if it is a Lite-on that makes the Sony packaging pretty expensive.

Just curious .. Any sony shops in Nepal ? 

who’s dave?

[quote author=“DayWalker”]who’s dave?

sorry daywalker, read dave. its like panic room here at my house. my bud is bringing over his desktop so i can tear apart and put in the guts of the sony drx-700ul which is really a liteon sohw-1633s, which makes it a 200+$ external case.  well, it is a STYLISH case!