Hi, my CD Burner (Mitsumi CR-48XFTE) has been burning much slower over the past day or two. I am using the same CDRs so the problem isnt there. I have noticed in Nero that the Buffer Level has been jumping from 97-98% down to 8-12% and then back up. When I used the Test Drive option in Nero it showed that the speed would go up then back down really fast (I'm assuming this is due to the Buffer Level) and that the "type" had changed from CAV (what it normally is) to P-CAV. I have screen caps of the buffer level jumping and the normal Test Drive results from a few days ago compared to the one now.

Buffer Levels Jumping: http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/1276/nerobuffer.jpg
The buffers jump much more frequently than every 10%, this was just the fastest I could get screen caps.

Test Drive Results (Normal on top, bad results I'm getting now on bottom): http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/823/nerowrite.jpg

Specs: P4 2.66Ghz , 1GB of Ram, Windows XP.

Would something be interrupting the steady transfer of data to the buffer?

Try bringing up the 'Performance' applet from the Management console and see if there's anything under strain (although with your specs, it's unlikely).

I'd also do a virus check, just in case. And Enter your Task Manager, and see if there's anything strange in there.
GF

Thanks for the response. I checked the Performance applet and nothing appeared to be under strain. I checked for Viruses but that didnt find anything and there doesnt appear to be anything strange running in my Task Manager.

hi, i just found out what the problem was. i had the same problem with you before with the jumping buffer levels. it wasnt for just nero, but every program that required burning. i was seriously about to toss my 48x burner out the window, but now that i found a fix for it, i hope this will help you as well.

it seems that you're on a windows XP OS'ed system with decent specs. i have a p4 3 ghz, 512 mb ddr sdram, 48x cdrw, with a whole lotta other stuff. the problem might inlie in your BIOS settings.

go to CONTROL PANEL > SYSTEM > HARDWARE > click DEVICE MANAGER

now you should see a section called "IDE ATA/ATAPI CONTROLLERS". expand that list, and there should be 3 items. dbl click wherever the IDE channels (primary master/slave or secondary master/slave) the cdrw drive is connected to (assuming that your cdrw drive is an internal IDE one), and click the ADVANCED SETTINGS tab. if any of your "Current Transfer Modes" are under "PIO" instead of DMA, then this is your problem.

When you start up your computer, get into your BIOS menu, and check your IDE/ATAPI drive settings. i have a dell, and dell, by default, turned the primary slave and the secondary slave to "off". i just had to change that value to "auto" and it started working fine for me.

hopefully this will help you. good luck!

Hello barm,

I really appreciate that you actually went through the hassle of registering here at GIDForums™ just to share information you had for the benefit of others on this thread. Really nice of you...

thanks a lot barm, that was the problem. I really appreciate your help.

my pleasure

Hello I am new to this. Can anyone help me? My buffer level is eratic in Nero all over the place never used to be. Bought a new DVD-RW checked they are running dma mode I have a Pentium 4 3.0GB Prescott and 512MB of DDR400 memory liteon 16x dual layer :-(

What model of burner do you have? Do you have the current drivers? Have you got the latest patch for Nero? Do you have the problem when you use the old drive or is it strictly the new one? Is it on the same cable has a hard drive?

One thing to remember is that the buffer is designed to prevent "coasters" when you burn. The data may not flow fast enough at times so your buffer may dip occasionally as it performs it's job. If it does it every time, dips below 1/2, or is causing bad burns, then you need to investigate further. Otherwise it may not be anything serious.

It is a LITE-ON DVDRW SOHW-1653S DVD-RW DVD+RW I use the new Nero. The problem did start with my old writer that's why I bought a new one. My old one was NEC DVD-RW ND-1300A the DVD-RW is on a separate cable to the HDD with the NEC rewriter