[RESOLVED] Ali Bus Master Controllers & Pacific Digital 226ei CD-RW (aka Philips 3600 series)

Hello, I have an AMD K6 233Mhz IBM Aptiva 2137 E34 computer with 32megs of RAM. Im running Winblowz (hehe) 95 Version 4.00.950B.

The primary IDE controller has a Quantum Bigfoot CY43...4.3 gig HD set as master, with no slave device (dunno if it supports Ultra DMA)(firmware revision is A03).

The secondary IDE controller has an EIDE CDROM 24X/AKOx (dunno the brand name) (originally set as slave on the secondary IDE controller but now set as master) and a Pacific Digital 226ei (2X2X6) CD-RW (aka Philips 3600 series) set as slave.

I get the following 2 errors when I use NTI CD Maker Software:
1. Drive Not Ready
2. Invalid Key Parameter List

Originally i got the following 2 errors when i use Adapteks EZ CD Pro(before installing the upgrade):
1. Toolkit or virtual CD error Code 112-00-00-00
2. CD writer error Code 244-00-00-00

Now I get the following errors with Adapteks EZ CD Pro (after upgrade):
1. I/O error - Command error - invalid field in CDB
2. Error reported by output device

So far ive upgraded my aspi drivers. I disabled bus mastering in the BIOS and that did not work. I deleted the Ali Bus Master Driver (alihdd.inf) in the C:\Windows\Inf FOLDER, then removed the Ali Bus Master Controller in the Device Manager and rebooted. This deleted the bus master controller and windows made a new (never seen before) Standard Dual PCI IDE controller and made the primary and secondary IDE controllers into single fifo controllers....however they had the yellow exclamation points (and my CDROM was not in the device manager) so i put the file back in the folder....deleted the dual ide controller and rebooted, and now my system is back to factory settings.

Furthermore, the led light on the CD-RW drive stays on continuously when there is a blank CD inside, even when i the cd mastering sofware is not in use.

So far I havent burnt any CDs yet (I bought the CD-RW recently)...I cant even copy files from my HD to a CD. I was told by tech support at Pacific Digital that i needed to remove the Ali Bus Master Controllers. How can i do this successfully? Can NE1 help. Thanx https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2000/09/1.gif

[This message has been edited by confewshz (edited July 29, 1999).]

try putting the 2 cd roms on different controllers
when on the same controller you can have an error because 2 devices have a hard time using the same controller at the same time

Thanx for the tip Mustang, however ive tried that to no avail. Im still getting the same errors from both cd mastering software programs. Does NE1 know how to successfully delete Ali Bus Master Controllers?

Try disabling DMA in Control panel, system. On all your drives. One other question, if you put a cd in it with data on it can you go to explorer and read it.

[This message has been edited by kgmz (edited July 30, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by kgmz (edited July 30, 1999).]

Thanx kgmz for the tip, however i checked in device manager to disable the DMA option and there was no DMA option there. I compared what i had to what a friend had on their computer and the only difference is that he had a "DMA" option whereas I had an "Int 13 Unit" option on all of my drives.

I did put a data disc into the cd-writer and was able to change directies in explorer. I was able to browse fine within explorer. What does this indicate?

[This message has been edited by confewshz (edited July 30, 1999).]

Your CDWriter is not compatible with NTI CD Maker nor with Adaptec's EZCD-Pro 95, you have to use EZCD Creator version 3.01 or greater...you could also try CDRWin although that can be a little complicated for first time users and again, it doesn't directly support your writer - it does have a generic driver that works with many writers though. You can get it from www.goldenhawk.com

As for your red LED staying on - this sounds unusual to me, red normally means danger or warning and my Yamaha has a constant orange light rather than red. Perhaps you should call the manufacturer and check up on this.

i have the same setup for cdrw and it works perfect with nti sofware,this the sofware that is shipped with,mine is set as slave to a pioneer 32x cdr on the secondary controller and it works very well,never had a dud yet,but i did upgrade the drivers on pacific web.sitebut it worked rigth away with the software that came with it,cheer`s
clauded

Thanx for the tip orange. I downloaded the CDRwin and tried to backup files from my HD to the cd, but i got the following error: Error - 'Next Writable Address' command failed on device 1:0:0 Unable to set writing mode.....Any idea what this means? And do you think it has anything to do with the Ali Bus Controllers. Ive also tried different CD-R media and that does not seem to help either. Any suggestions on what i should try next?

By being able to read data disks in explorer it kind of indicates that your eide connections are OK and maybe the busmaster drivers. I have a Philips 3610 in one of my computers, and in my manual it says that the red light means a error after the self test. Here is what my manual says on how to do a self test and get the error code:

The auto selftest will execute a number of diagnostic tests and will be activated by pushing and holding the Open/Close button for one complete Open/close cycle of the tray.
The disc-in LED and the write-LED will be tested before the actual selftest:
the disc-in LED will flash 3 times: the first time RED, the second time Green, and the last time ORANGE.
The write LED will flash orange
This is repeated once.
During execution of a particular test 0, the right LED is ORANGE. After execution of this test, the right LED will flash a number of times.
If this part of the test failed, then the LED will flash RED a number of times. The number of flashes, corresponds to the sequence number of the test.
In case of failing selftest, it may be helpful to report the nuber of the failing test to your supplier.
Example:
disk-in LED is Orange - Test 4 is being executed.
disk-in LED flashes 4 times GREEN - Test 4 successful.
disk-in LED flashes 4 times RED - Test 4 failed.

After completion of the whole selftest, a final indication of the test results will be given: the LED will flash GREEN-ORANGE for about 3 seconds of the test is successful. Otherwise, the LED will be RED until a new command has to be executed.

Try this and see what error code it gives you, then at least when you call tech support you will ahve a error code to tell them and that may be helpful in pinpointing the problem.

Also I have my hard drive as master, and a dvd drive as slave on my primary controller and a 45x CD as master and the CDRW as slave on my secondary controller and I have no problems now, the only problem I had was with the software that came with it. If I loaded DirectCD and Easy CD creator, Easy cd creator would not work right and I got all kinds of errors, so I removed DirectCD and have had no problems now with Easy Cd creator.

[This message has been edited by kgmz (edited August 01, 1999).]

Thanx kgmz, i ran a self test and the test was successful. I also went to philips site to look up the errors i got using the NTI software and it said this:

NTI CD Maker
1. Sense Key 2H = NOT READY. Indicates that the CDD3610 cannot be accessed. Operator intervention may be required to correct this problem.
2. Sense Key 5H = ILLEGAL REQUEST. Indicates that there was an illegal parameter in the Command Packet or in the additional parameters supplied as data for some commands. If the CDD3610 detects an invalid parameter in the Command Packet, then it SHALL terminate the command without altering the medium. If the CDD3610 detects an invalid parameter in the addional parameters supplied as data, the the CDD3610 may have already altered the medium.

Any indication what this means?

BTW, my led light isnt a constant red, it is a constant green. Unfortunately, my cd writer doesnt come with the extensive documentation like the Phillips CDD3610, but i went to the Phillips site and downloaded the documentation in .pdf format. Thanx to you, now i know that the constant green light is the "disc in" light (<----duh~).

[This message has been edited by confewshz (edited August 01, 1999).]

Sorry C, your original message specified a Philips 3600 drive, not a 3610. The 3600 is not compatible with the s/w you are using.

Onto other matters - did you try running the CDRW without the CDROM connected? Personally i would leave the CDROM disconnected while your sorting the CDRW, some drives don't appreciate other makes slaving from or to them. Adaptec always recommend toggling the DMA and Auto Insert Notification checkboxes in Device Manager to see if this improves matters or not. It sounds more to me like you have an ASPI layer problem though, the fact that you can use the CDRW as a normal CDROM would, as K suggested, indicate that the drivers are at least operating the device in normal read mode. The ASPI layer is used by the CD burning s/w and rides over (i think) the device drivers. There is an ASPI check program which shows the version numbers of all the ASPI components around - perhaps try Adaptecs site (www.adaptec.com) or Download.Com (www.download.com) and search for ASPI or maybe someone else here can point you in the right direction. I know you said you updated the ASPI drivers but have you checked the individual component versions? ASPI-Check will do this. Alternatively, you could subscribe to the Adaptec CDRW mailing list (see Adaptecs site). This is a high volume list so be warned you will get 50-100 messages per day, but there are a lot of very good people there and it may help.

C, There's some info on the ASPI layer at:
http://resource.simplenet.com/primer/aspi.ht

Also, see Adaptecs page for more info and the ASPICHK utility:
http://www.adaptec.com/support/faqs/aspilayer.html

Good Luck.

Orange, thanx for the tip, i have the aspi check and i have aspi version 4.57 which I downloaded at the beginning of my troubleshooting saga. I will try your suggestion and disconnect my CDROM to see if that works, however i have recently changed the CDROM to primary slave. The HD is primary master. The CD-Writer is Secondary Master.

My last resort if this does not work, is to just take it to an authorized IBM servicer so they can deal with it and get it up 'n' runnin. Id like to thank all the people involved in expanding my knowledge of my own computer. This has definately been a learning experience. Thanx again https://forums.windrivers.com/images.../2000/09/1.gif