new dvd Toshiba SD-M1612-S

[pkambo]

Hi all, my dvd drive (generic) went pop. Or more to the piont the busy light (on the dvd drive) stays on and does not spin up cd's dvd's or cdr anymore (it did 48 hrs ago but not now). I tried a dvd cleaning kit by scotch (made for pc dvd drives) but when it finished the drive would still not work. Then it would not load the cleaning disc again (so a second go was out of the question). That cd cleaner only loaded once and has not loaded scince.

I'm looking for a dvd player again. I think the toshiba sd m1502 is certified as tested by a mandrake team member on thier hardware compatability site. However thats the old model, in the shops they sell the latest model.

Does anyone know if the following drive is compatable with mandrake linux 9.0 (and also other linux distros too).

Also if anyone has it could you please let me know what firmware version you got out of the box.

Thank you!

The text below is from a US price comparing place (i live in uk)

Manufacturer Sku
SD-M1612-S
Brand
Toshiba
Product Line
DVD ROM
Model
DVD-ROM
Drive Type
DVD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-R, CD-R, CD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW
Interface Type
IDE / EIDE
Operating System Compatibility
PC
Speed
DVD Read Speed
16 X

[mdwatts]

All pc based IDE dvd drives should be compatible with Linux. Same as cdrw's.

[The Ennead IX]

As above and also i'm currently using an sdm- 1612 (not too sure about the s bit but it's only 6 months old) and had no problems with any of 4 or 5 distros.

Edit: Couldn't find any firmware after I dug out the cd, all that it seems to have is just an html page with a load of links to d/load various bits and pieces and a version of WinDvd

[pkambo]

thankyou both for youre replies. I went out to get a Tosh and no pc shops sold them (5 local shops). They all sold the Lite-On at around £36-£39 so i'll go with that as but madrake lists only one LIte-On as compatable.

The interface is ATAPI i think that atapi is a word used for ide/eide cdroms where as harddisks are called ide.

Anyhow i'm gonna get it tommorrow as i know its readily available and cheaper if i go for a OEM (no software). I've still got Power DVD that came with my old PC DVD.

I'll let you know how the install goes.

One last question: Are all new dvd drives capable of booting from cd (my previous drive did so i know my bios supports it). I would think that all dvd drives today are compatable with cdrom boot disking.

Thankyou again.

[mdwatts]

Originally posted by pkambo

One last question: Are all new dvd drives capable of booting from cd (my previous drive did so i know my bios supports it). I would think that all dvd drives today are compatable with cdrom boot disking.

Thankyou again.

As long as your bios supports booting from cdrom/dvd and you are able to select the dvd as the boot device in the bios, then you should not have any problems.

Good luck and enjoy the new dvd.

If you need a Linux DVD player, either try Ogle or Xine. I prefer Xine myself.

http://xine.sourceforge.net

[pkambo]

I installed my dvd drive today it coest me £36.75. Retail version. I got power dvd with it (i already had the cd from my old dvd drive) so i guess i should have gone for the OEM (no software)one that was £34. But i don't mind, at least it works.

The drive is noticibly faster both in recognising cds and copying to hdd. Although i did experience my first read error installing madrake 9.0 with it, but that error has not (thankfully) resurfaced after reboot and reinstall.

The drive is nice looking but the box did not come with very detailed instructions. Ie: no mention of keeping the red line in the ide cable matched up with pin 1 on the dvd (i just copied all the connections from my old drive). A nice touch was that the new drive comes a slave out of the box, which was my setting.

I tried playing a dvd and it worked, in windows, and linux. Cd msic also works and a few games i tested work too. The boot cd also works.

So looks like i'll have 12 months of hassle free cd'ing (hardly ever use dvd but it's nice to have the choice for £16 extra).

Thanks for all your posts. I'm off to try and install my nvidia drivers:rolleyes: