# RESOLVED CD/DVD Rom Drive slow



## ccstud (Mar 16, 2007)

since buying my laptop at christmas time my average cd burn time went from three minutes to 12. windows media player plays choppy when playing dvds while real player does just fine. but burning cds in real is still slow. is there something wrong with my drive and or laser or is it just worn out??


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

Hi,

Have you checked your CPU usage? Use the task manager. Also, have you checked that the burn speed is the same and that the burner is not taking the time to verify the data?


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## ccstud (Mar 16, 2007)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

thanks for your help. my cpu usage is only 4%to 10%. that doesn't sound to bad to me but i'm really dumb when it comes to computers. I did not understand what you meant by the video thing. any more help will be welcomed


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## ccstud (Mar 16, 2007)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

and what is also weird is that i can't listen to music and burn a cd at the same time. it makes it sound like i'm listening to a very scratched cd...


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

pio mode 

pio mode 

last one

Highest DMA mode for rom drives is 2


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## 1 g0t 0wn3d (Jan 31, 2007)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

that is the oddest thing i have heard but how much ram do you have and what is your os?
(itunes needs an update for vista)


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*



hwm54112 said:


> pio mode
> 
> pio mode
> 
> ...


I think hwm54112 has got it.


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## ccstud (Mar 16, 2007)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

Could you explain in simple terms what your post meant?? i'm not the brightest when it comes to computers....

AND my os is xp and i have a gig of ram


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

Basically, PIO is a slower transfer mode than DMA and UDMA. If you have PIO set, it could be bottlenecking your burn speeds, causing them to be unusually. slow.

These are the steps you need to follow from the second link:


> 1. Open Device Manager.
> 2. Double-click IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers to display the list of controllers and channels.
> 3. Right-click the icon for the channel to which the device is connected, select Properties, and then click the Advanced Settings tab.
> 4. In the Current Transfer Mode drop-down box, select DMA if Available if the current setting is "PIO Only."
> ...


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

Alittle more clarification:

to check transfer:

start>rite click my computer>properties>hardware tab>device manager>expand ide controller>rite click on primary ide channel>properties>advanced settings>

Transfer mode should be DMA if available
Current Mode should be dma not PIO

(Just to clarify, the current transfer mode should be any DMA, most likely Ultra DMA 2, the fastest a rom drive can attain. The way these settings are written can be deceptive. Device 0 is the primary drive on the cable and device 1 is the slave drive on the cable. The _transfer mode_ is the mode it is set to be or should be and the _current transfer mode_ is the mode it actually is. 

If your rom drive is installed on the secondary ide channel (or cable) by itself, you would have to check the settings for the secondary ide channel. In that case, the transfer mode would be set to DMA if available and the current transfer mode should be any DMA mode up to ultra DMA 2, the fastest a rom drive can be.

If your current transfer mode is PIO, uninstall the ide controller and reboot. Windows will re-install the driver and should set the correct transfer modes


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

The optical drive on laptops is usually the secondary IDE channel, so you will have to set that.


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## ccstud (Mar 16, 2007)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

Thank you. this solved the problem. Thanks a bunchray:


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: CD/DVD Rom Drive slow*

You're welcome.


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