(Dead) Khypermedia 48X CD-RW & Kingston 256 DDR ram "Make $25" AR & AC, + other FAR items & deals at OfficeMax

[shock311]

Originally posted by: Jaybird
Is anyone else's Khypermedia 48X CD-RW stuck at a 20X read speed? Tried different disks and master/slave configs but still no more than 20X read.

Mine is a Malaysia C.CZ model. I can't find the BENQ model number to determine if it is a candidate for the 52x firmware upgrade.

Also, it wasn't detected by BIOS as a slave when set to cable-select (with an older, very short IDE cable). Works ok when jumpered as a slave. And cable-select as a master works too.

Mine records at 48x, at least it says it does.

 

[Jaybird]

I was referring to the READ speed on the drive being 20X only, at least as recorded by CDSpeed. It seems to be throttling itself for some reason, as the RPMs continually decrease to keep the read speed ~20X across the whole disk. The thing actually writes faster than it reads.

Any one else with one of the Malaysia C.CZ drives (or others, for that matter), experienced this?

 

[quincy2002]

Originally posted by: cremefilled
I upgraded my full version of Nero so that it would recognize the drive, and I got the same "ATAPI CD-RW 48x24". I burned an .iso data disc (disc-at-once, finalized) which was 689 MB -- i.e., near capacity of an "80 min." CD-R. At 48X, this took a very disappointing 5'31". The 32X LiteOn that I replaced this drive with probably would have burned this same disc in ~3'30". If anybody is really curious, I could swap back out and check.

This is an average speed of about 14.5X for the full CD. I realize that the burning starts slower and reaches 48X only the outer edge of the CD-R, and I realize that some time is spent on the lead-in/lead-out tracks. but I was expecting an actual write of speed of at least 24X for a full CD (full being better for reaching spec speed).

Has anybody else had disappointing results? Anyway, don't be in a hurry to replace your 32X drive.

I wrote a 700 MB data disk and it took 2 min 30 seconds. This was not an iso, it was just 700 MB worth of files. I'll try an iso tonight and check the duration. EDIT: 700 MB iso took 3:02 to burn at 40x (highest speed the drive would write the blank CD).

I found some pics of Benq drives on the web, mine sure looks the same. Thanks to all who identified this as a Benq.

 

[ElectricLegs]

To get the max burn speed with the drive you can put a 48X cdr in it then start Nero and put a slower disk for burning. There are a few regedit's you can make that'll do the same and even report the actual realtime burn speed.

Burn speed reg is one.

I think the MaxBurn spped is one too.

 

[mindless1]

Thanks ElectricLegs, that's a handy tip...
Here it is as the REG file.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Anyone knows if there is a difference between the "made in china" and "made in Malaysia" drives?
My "made in Malaysia" firmware is "C.FZ"

 

[Karaktu]

FYI:

An OfficeMax CSR I spoke to advised that if you print your Order History/Status, that qualifies as an "original receipt," so you don't have to use the pink packing slip and can make as many "originals" as you wish.

Joe

 

[k000]

Originally posted by: papaschtroumpf
Anyone knows if there is a difference between the "made in china" and "made in Malaysia" drives? My "made in Malaysia" firmware is "C.FZ"

Looks like you too got a BenQ

 

[ElectricLegs]

Here's the reg entries to let Nero burn at max speed bypassing the CDR media speed rating.

Start/run/ regedit

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ahead\Nero - Burning Rom\Recorder Then set each recorder's AutodetWriteSpeed to 0

 

[AtlantaDutchman]

Originally posted by: mindless1
Mine seemed stuck at 24X but it turned out to be the 16X media (was too lazy to dig through the closet to find the newer media).

Benq has a firmware upgrade to version D.SC which I've flashed to mine (having original firmware D.LC). It didn't make any difference in writing speed to the old media, but at least it flashed and the drive still works. I"m pretty sure my LiteOn drives write to this same media at around 40X.

BenQ has the other firmwares on this page, but of course the 52X firmware files wouldn't flash the drive. I don't know if that firmware would work for a drive with the "C.xx" firmware though, but AFAIK it should refuse to flash if it's not compatible.

I got the 48X Khypermedia with firmware C.FZ made in Malaysia. No problem burning or reading at 48x on Khypermedia CD-R's. Took a chance and tried upgrading firmware from the Benq site. None of the 48X model firmware files would work. Then I noticed the only file ending with a 'Z' was for model 5224W. Firmware 'FFZ.exe' flashed the drive and now I've got a 52X reader and burner! Actually showed as a 53X burn on Roxio 6.0 and maxed out at 52X read on CD-Speed with no errors or bad blocks. Also recorded at 52X on some old Fuji 24X CD-R's. Disappointed that I only get 16X burn on some older 24X rated Memorex. Looks like maybe the last letter in the firmware upgrade must match your existing firmware? BTW - the F.FZ also provides Mt. Rainier support which the C.FZ did not.

 

[jemeisterman]

Thanks AtlantaDutchman for the information. I just did flashed mine as well

I had the Khypermeida from Malaysia with firmware C.CZ

After the flash, it's now a 52x24.

woo-hoo!

 

[quincy2002]

AtlantaDutchman - nice job. This firmware you grabbed from Benq - it looks like it flashes the drive while you're still within Windows? Have you tried flashing back to the 48x firmware?

 

[mindless1]

My drive is manufacturered in China, started out with firmware D.LC. After seeing AtlantaDutchman's success, I AGAIN tried to flash the 52X firmware, again without success. A bit of snooping around brought me to this page at cdfreaks.com.. marschw at cdfreaks deserves the credit for how to hack the firmware I'm linking below, although his post about the edit/change is backwards, the "K' needs changed to "D", and the file I link is mod from the newest firmware offered for the 5224P, "KSC.EXE", not the older firmware on the cdfreaks page. However, this firmware upgrade does NOT add Mt. Rainier support AFAICT, I think the reason is that the China-manufactured drives use the older Mediatek chip, though this is just something I vaguely recall reading, might be incorrect.

Anyway, I successfully upgraded my drive to the 52X with this modded firmware and it works "as well as before". Note from the cdfreaks forum page that you might not be able to flash back to the old version again, it's one of those TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK situations.

52X Firmware 5224P Mod for China - D.x.C drives

REEDIT: My drive barely works when set to cable select on two different motherboards, both before and after the firmware update. When the drive is set to SLAVE it works without the "issues" of lockup on CDSpeed. The firmware update does work, the drive reads and writes over 48X, though without Mt. Rainier support it's of limited benefit to upgrade the firmware just to bump it from 48X to 52X, especially with the media being more likely to introduce errors at these higher speeds.

 

[TheDiggler]

Reminder: TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF THE FAR OFFER on the Khypermedia 48x CD-RW!

For those who ordered the Kingston DDR RAM, please see my request in the 35th message of the following thread:
OMAX Linkified Items List 5/4/2003 - 5/10/2003 (INTENTIONAL REPOST)

Thanks!

 

[AtlantaDutchman]

Originally posted by: quincy2002
AtlantaDutchman - nice job. This firmware you grabbed from Benq - it looks like it flashes the drive while you're still within Windows? Have you tried flashing back to the 48x firmware?

Thanks!

The firmware upgrade does run directly in Win98/Me/2000/XP but NOT in Win95 or NT. Depending on the file you run, you either get an error message (firmware not compatible) or the option to continue. There is no function to backup the current firmware. I've not been able to find the C.FZ file on any Benq or Khypermedia site.

Lucky for me the result was good. If you currently have something other than C.FZ, I suppose there is some risk involved.

Works with C.CZ also.

 

[cremefilled]

Thanks, ElectricLegs, editing the Registry entry took that same ISO from 5'31" via Nero to 2'45". On the LiteOn drives, if you turn off the SmartBurn feature, you can manually set whatever speed you want. This is via: Recorder/Choose Recorder/Options. The same settings panel has "Autopilot" on this Khypermedia drive, which I had disabled. I'm not sure what that setting does either way. With it disabled, I was informed that it was burning at 48X when it was clearly not.

On Nero CDSpeed, this drive did really well. On a 72 min. data CD I got an average read of 38X, compared to a LiteOn LTD-163 at 39X (the LiteOn 16X DVD is close to state of the art speed; see cdspeed2000). On a 78 min. audio CD, I got digital audio extraction at 37X with 10/10 quality; the LTD-163 got 38X.

All in all, quite a deal for a free drive. It is also very quiet compared to what I am used to.

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Is this this "made in Malaysia" or "Made in China" drive (or which firmware version). They are not the same drives. I got one of each and I'm wondering which one I want to return.
Leaning towards keeping the Malaysia frimware C.FZ since it seems that you can flash it to 52x and Mt Rainier compatibility.

 

[pecel]

Does it support Buffer Underrun?

I have both Made in Malaysia and Made in China.

Which one I should keep?

 

[Dogcatcher]

To whom it may concern. Found this at Khypermedia website.
OfficeMax Rebate Update for 48x24x48x CD-ReWriter 5/4/03-5/6/03

If the unit you purchased do NOT have the 24 digit serial barcode symbol, please go ahead and send the original UPC barcode only with the completed rebate form and original rebate receipt. Please make sure the rebate form has your signature and is postmarked within 7 days of purchase date to:

P.O. Box 028543
OM/KH May Offers
Miami, FL. 33102-8543

Caution: Rebate forms submitted with only the 24 digit serial bar code symbol but without UPC barcode will NOT be accepted. Photo copies of the rebate receipt, UPC barcode or rebate form will NOT be accepted.


Link

 

[papaschtroumpf]

pecel,
I have only opened my Made in Malaysia one, and it says seamless link on the box, which is a different way of saying buffer underrun.
From what I've gathered on this forum, the Made in China model also supports buffer underrun.

Both appear to be made by BenQ, however they have different firmware. Someone reported succesfully flashing the Malaysia one to 52x, which also seems to enable Mt Rainier support for the drive. So offhand I'd say flash that drive and keep it, unless someone sees a reason not to, for example if error rate or overall quality was wildly different between the two models.

Anyone else has both? Anyone tried to compare them? I won't get to install mine before several days,so I won't be able to provide feedback before the end of the week.
Note that if anyone else wants to secure one of each model before deciding which one is best, you need to buy the second drive today (and then have 14 days to return it)

 

[mindless1]

I asked Khypermedia in an email, "Where can I find firmware updates?". I made no mention of hacks or anything of the sort, just the simple question.

Their response:

If you download and upgrade with the Benq firmware, you have
just void your warranty.

 

[gwlam12]

i didnt get my burner yet. it was supposed to come today. i hope it comes in time. OM messed up my order because they charged my card too many times (and then subsequently cancelled the charge). as a result of all the pending charges, my card is past its limit, and when they tried to charge my card for teh burner, the transaction was denied. i have to wait for all charges to clear now before they can try charging my card again. >: (

 

[mindless1]

China - D.x.C Drive Firmware Update

These China Benq drives can be upgraded to this 52X Firmware 5224P Mod for China - D.x.C drives, it works.

If for some reason you want to revert back to the newest "proper" 48X firmware for your drive after using the mod 5224P, you need to use this firmware. It is unaltered 48X firmware revison DSC, EXCEPT the "D" descriptor was changed to "K" to get it to flash. The drive would then be using the proper firmware working-code, and could then be updated normally to any later 48X firmware that's correct for the drive, or even the unaltered "DSC" revison currently available for download from Benq. I have confirmed that this process works.

 

[mooteh]

Originally posted by: cremefilled
I upgraded my full version of Nero so that it would recognize the drive, and I got the same "ATAPI CD-RW 48x24". I burned an .iso data disc (disc-at-once, finalized) which was 689 MB -- i.e., near capacity of an "80 min." CD-R. At 48X, this took a very disappointing 5'31". The 32X LiteOn that I replaced this drive with probably would have burned this same disc in ~3'30". If anybody is really curious, I could swap back out and check.

This is an average speed of about 14.5X for the full CD. I realize that the burning starts slower and reaches 48X only the outer edge of the CD-R, and I realize that some time is spent on the lead-in/lead-out tracks. but I was expecting an actual write of speed of at least 24X for a full CD (full being better for reaching spec speed).

Has anybody else had disappointing results? Anyway, don't be in a hurry to replace your 32X drive.

hmmm I burned a huge AVI file that was 700megs @ 48x and it took 3:47...

 

[mooteh]

Originally posted by: PoorComputerMan
I noticed that the CDRW manufacture rebate requires an original rebate receipt.(I guess that little one that prints out at the store.) It does not state that a packing slip is acceptable like the kingston rebate does. I have only received a single pink packing slip with all my Office Max previous purchases, anyone ever receive anything else?

I just got my delivery and it came with a yellow and a pink slip so I guess either one is fine?