From alan@manawatu.gen.nz Mon Nov 23 18:54:12 1998 Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 06:53:15 +1300 (NZDT) From: Alan Brown X-Sender: alanb@mailhost.manawatu.net.nz To: Joerg Schilling Subject: Re: Linux ATAPI CR-R and CD-RW update MIME-Version: 1.0 On Sat, 25 Jul 1998, Joerg Schilling wrote: > >HP tell me they only support win95 for their 7200 drives, which > >causes real problems with firmware updates (I had to temporarily > >install the drive in a win95 machine to update). I know it's been a while since we last had contact, but the FAQ and README.ATAPI needs a small update. I should have told you this when I updated the firmware in my drive. HP-7200 CD-RW drives _must_ have their firmware updated to 3.01 for reliable operation. This is a simple procedure as they have flash bios, but you have to put the drive into a win95 machine to do it - there is NO linux or dos update program. The update program may work inside Wine, but it may also turn your drive into a useless lump of scrap metal. I have no idea how well Wine handles attempts to directly control the ATAPI bus and I can't afford to kill a drive finding out. The patch and bugfix list is available at http://www.hp.com/isgsupport/cdr/70index.html#Firmware Also for buyers: If you're considering buying a ATAPI CD writer and have a choice between a 7200 and the newer 8100 drives, buy the 8100. They have a dust-sealed loading tray, slightly larger buffers and are 4X writers, vs 2X for the 7200. My 7200i is in a computer cabinet in an airconditioned room and has quite noticeable amounts of fine dust inside it after 8 months. I believe that under normal "room" conditions, dust will be a serious problem as the dust is sucked in around the edges of the drawer and through the unit. My drive now has a makeshift "dust seal" courtesy of 3M's magic mending tape. I've finally managed to find some time to do more experimenting. Several people have mailed me details on creating audio CDs using cdrecord, so I'll try that out too. :-) AB