SID and the Benq DW1640

[Bill Brown <wbrown@accesscomm.ca>]

I recently purchased a Benq DW 1640 DVD writer.  Here is a review of it:
http://www.extrememhz.com/dw1640-p1.shtml

I'm running Debian SID with updates, and linux-image-2.6.12-1-amd64-k8

After not being able to read/burn various DVD-R[W] media (CD-R worked 
ok), I noticed this in the dmesg:

amd64-2:~# dmesg | grep ^hdb
hdb: BENQ DVD DD DW1640, ATAPI CD/DVD-ROM drive
hdb: status timeout: status=0xd0 { Busy }
hdb: DMA disabled
hdb: ATAPI reset complete
hdb: ATAPI 94X DVD-ROM DVD-R CD-R/RW drive, 2048kB Cache

It appears that SID only recognizes the device as a DVD-R and not as the 
DVD RW DL writer that it is.

The status timeout is (I believe) because I had a blank DVD+RW disc in 
the device.

It shows up properly when I use the ATAPI argument with dvderecord -scanbus:

amd64-2:~# dvdrecord -s -scanbus -dev=ATAPI
dvdrtools v0.1.5
Portions (c) 2002-2003 Ark Linux <bero@arklinux.org>
dvdrtools patched by Julien Delange for Debian
Note that you have to reports bug to the debian maintainer
Please ask Debian for support, and not ask the original author
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it 
under
the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free 
Software
Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but 
WITHOUT ANY
WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or 
FITNESS FOR
A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
this program; see the file COPYING.  If not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
Based on:
Cdrecord 1.11a15 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu) Copyright (C) 1995-2001 Jörg 
Schilling
scsidev: 'ATAPI'
devname: 'ATAPI'
scsibus: -2 target: -2 lun: -2
Warning: Using ATA Packet interface.
Warning: The related libscg interface code is in pre alpha.
Warning: There may be fatal problems.
Using libscg version 'schily-0.7'
scsibus0:
       0,0,0     0) *
       0,1,0     1) 'BENQ    ' 'DVD DD DW1640   ' 'BSHB' Removable CD-ROM
       0,2,0     2) *
       0,3,0     3) *
       0,4,0     4) *
       0,5,0     5) *
       0,6,0     6) *
       0,7,0     7) *
scsibus1:
       1,0,0   100) *
       1,1,0   101) 'BENQ    ' 'DVD-ROM 16X     ' 'T.HE' Removable CD-ROM
       1,2,0   102) *
       1,3,0   103) *
       1,4,0   104) *
       1,5,0   105) *
       1,6,0   106) *
       1,7,0   107) *


amd64-2:~# hdparm -i /dev/hdb

/dev/hdb:

Model=BENQ DVD DD DW1640, FwRev=BSHB, SerialNo=9J....
Config={ Fixed Removeable DTR<=5Mbs DTR>10Mbs nonMagnetic }
RawCHS=0/0/0, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=0
BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=0kB, MaxMultSect=0
(maybe): CurCHS=0/0/0, CurSects=0, LBA=yes, LBAsects=0
IORDY=yes, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
PIO modes:  pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
DMA modes:  mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 *udma2
AdvancedPM=no

* signifies the current active mode


Anyone else have this piece of hardware?


I have the latest firmware revision (BSLB) that I am considering 
flashing to, but first I thought I would see if it might be a linux 
[driver] problem, as I believe I am close to the bleeding edge where it 
relates to these DVD-RW drivers (Warnings)

I am also on the virge of burning in ATAPI mode, versus SCSI emulation 
mode, and I'm not quite sure if that has any effect on my results.  
Certainly, if the system can't recognize it properly during boot, the 
manner of recording should be a moot point.

I've searched the internet and can't find any info about this, but I 
can't believe I'm setting a precedent with it, however.

If anyone else has this piece of hardware running under a recent (or 
prefereably 2.6.12 kernel) I would be interested in hearing about it, 
good or bad.

Thanks.