# CD-R drive won't write at max. speed **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992 "2004-06-01T01:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992/1 "2004-06-01T01:18:33Z")
I’ve been having problems with my CD-R drive. It’s a 48x writing speed, but just recently it quit writing at 48x and went down to 16x. I’ve tried different types of medium, but I can’t get it to write about 16x. Anything I can do to fix this? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992/2 "2004-06-01T01:24:07Z")
Does your burning software have a test mode? 16x may be the fastest speed your computer can send data to the drive. Experts will surely be along any minute. It would be helpful if you gave more info about your setup, though. ---
**Author:** ![rngadam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/97f17d/32.png) [@rngadam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rngadam)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992/3 "2004-06-01T04:16:59Z")
> [@xgxlx](#): > > I’ve been having problems with my CD-R drive. It’s a 48x writing speed, but just recently it quit writing at 48x and went down to 16x. I’ve tried different types of medium, but I can’t get it to write about 16x. Anything I can do to fix this? Is your (Ultra)DMA enabled on that disk drive controller? Control Panel \> System \> Hardware \> Device Manager \> ATA /ATAPI IDE controllers That was my problem with my LiteON DVD writer… ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992/4 "2004-06-01T04:23:38Z")
I’ve got DMA enabled on the device, yes. I think the problem may be that the drive is trying to determine the best speed on the CDs, and even though the cds are rated at 40x and up, it only rates them at 16x. I use nero, and supposedly there’s a way to turn this off, but I can’t find it. Anyone know how to do this, or if not, recommend a CD burning program that can. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992/5 "2004-06-01T10:30:41Z")
You don’t happen to have a LITEON do you? ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992/6 "2004-06-01T16:34:49Z")
I am actually pretty sure I do have a LITEON drive, but I’m not 100% positive, and I don’t have any of the original documentation for it. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cd-r-drive-wont-write-at-max-speed/247992/7 "2004-06-02T10:20:55Z")
it should have what it is in your device manager. But if it is, I direct you to this thread -\> [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=255392&highlight=LITEON](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=255392&highlight=LITEON)