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A deceitful Pioneer slot in drive?

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First post, by Nemo1985

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I recently bought a Pioneer DR-704S:

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but when I connected it to the computer it was identified as a DR-A14S, I searched for this model drive and it proved to be a not so reliable more recent Pioneer drive rated as 36x.

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So I took off the front panel and:

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Two buttons ah? It really seems like this one!
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So I took the cover with the label off, inside it was a mess, it was full of dust and hair, I cleaned it as much as I could (due to the slot in mechanism the drive inside is less accessible), and then gave it a try with nero cd speed:

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Anything I can do to improve the performance? Clearly something is wrong with this drive, I also tried to find an updated firmware but without luck. When I cleaned it I also used a cotton swab with ipa to clean the lens.
Also Nero CD Info is unable to read the true speed of this drive, it asks for a cd to make the chek but when I put one in it says it can't read it.

Reply 1 of 4, by Jo22

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This drive seems very old, as if it's from the 90s. I'm more familiar with the DVD models, also.
Those were popular in the RPC-1 "scene" of firmware modders.

Could well be possible that the firmware has no support for determining/setting drive speed.
I had no luck with a DVD version, either.

"Time, it seems, doesn't flow. For some it's fast, for some it's slow.
In what to one race is no time at all, another race can rise and fall..." - The Minstrel

//My video channel//

Reply 2 of 4, by Nemo1985

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Jo22 wrote on 2023-05-13, 05:04:
This drive seems very old, as if it's from the 90s. I'm more familiar with the DVD models, also. Those were popular in the RPC-1 […]
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This drive seems very old, as if it's from the 90s. I'm more familiar with the DVD models, also.
Those were popular in the RPC-1 "scene" of firmware modders.

Could well be possible that the firmware has no support for determining/setting drive speed.
I had no luck with a DVD version, either.

I see, yes it's very old, I had the very same model 24x in scsi format instead of ide.
I'm more concerned about the lack of writing speed, if it's a 24x with the wrong firmware (I doubt) it's slow, if it's a 36x it's even slower!

Reply 3 of 4, by PC Hoarder Patrol

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Not really deceitful tho...the DR-A14S (Pioneer branded) & the DR-704S (OEM) are the same base units but with different bezels, so firmware may be shared also - they even have the same (DR-AI4S headed) manual (which also covers the DR-714S)

Reply 4 of 4, by Nemo1985

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PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2023-05-13, 10:09:

Not really deceitful tho...the DR-A14S (Pioneer branded) & the DR-704S (OEM) are the same base units but with different bezels, so firmware may be shared also - they even have the same (DR-AI4S headed) manual (which also covers the DR-714S)

So it's a 36x? Why it doesn't read a full disc faster than 17x then?
The weird behaviour is clearly evident also from the p-cav guess of nero cd speed.
After cleaning the inside with compressed air, clear the laser with a cotton swab and ipa I wouldn't know what else to do.
I also tried a 700mb cd-r disk the speed is the same, apparently the laser is particulary sensitive (or weak) since during the reading it slowed down 3 times.

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