Windows 98 and external CD-RW

[spnet2005]

I am really hoping someone can help with the following as I've tried for many many hours to solve this with no luck.

I have a G5 Metal Gear Box USB 2.0 external casing (5.25"). In it I have installed a Liteon 52X32X52X internal CDRW.

I am trying to get the external unit to work under Windows 98 (First Edition) via a USB 1.1 port on my PC.

The PC already has an internal Asus CD-ROM drive.

I have verified the unit works as when I use it under Windows XP, I connect the unit via USB cable and XP detects it automatically and I can play CDs and burn CD-RW / CD-R with no problems whatsoever using Nero. Therefore, both the items work, the cables are ok, the USB connection is ok etc etc. All fully functional.

I am guessing it is some driver or configuration issue under Windows 98 which is causing the problem but I can't figure it out. Here is what I have done.

1. Turn on the PC and let Win98 fully start up.

2. Connect the USB cable from the unit to the PC and turn on the unit.

3. Win98 detects a "USB to IDE" device and prompts for device driver installation for "USB Mass Storage Device".

4. .I insert the CD supplied with the Metal Gear Box and navigate to the "BOX_WIN98_DRIVER_A" directory which appears to have the required driver.

5. Win98 detects the Liteon CD-RW and detects a "1394/USB CD-ROM device" and then prompts for a missing "ntcap.cat" file. I navigate to the "WIN_BOX_DRIVER_B" directory this time which has the required file.

Note: I don't know the difference between the _A directory and the _B directory above. I thought it meant drivers for Win98 FE (_A) and Win98 SE (_B), but this may not be the case.

I have also tried specifying the _B directory the first time around in step 4 above. The result is the same.

6. In the Win98 dialog box for Device Managers, under the USB section, there is a listing for USB Mass Storage Device. It states that the device is enabled and working properly.

7. In the Win98 dialog box for Device Managers, under the CD-ROM section, there is a listing for Liteon CD-RW (SOHR-5239S). It states that the device is working properly.

8. I have compared the Liteon CD-RW properties with the internal Asus CD-ROM and the only difference is that Liteon has a Target Id of 0 and Asus has a Target Id of 1. I do not know what that means.

Asus is drive I: and Liteon is drive J: Asus has "Start Drive Letter" and "End Drive Letter" both set to I:. These are blank for Liteon. I have set them to J: but it made no difference.

9. In My_Computer, the external unit appears as drive J: with a CD-ROM icon. However, when I open the "My_Computer" folder, the mouse pointer starts to continuously alternate between an arrow and hour-glass. This seems to indicate that Win98 is trying to detect the Liteon but is failing to do so. This behaviour will stop if I remove the Liteon and USB Mass Storage Device entries from the Device Manager.

Note: During the device installation process above, I am not prompted to insert the Nero CD to install drivers for the Liteon CD-RW.

There is a folder in the Nero CD called "USB driver for Windows 98" but I am not sure if or when or how to use it during the installation. The readme.txt file in that directory has a heading of "PL-2507 & PL-3507 Win98 USB Mass Storage Driver". I am guessing that these are drivers for total Liteon external storage units from the company itself, not necessarily drivers for a built-up external unit like what I have now.

When inserting a CD into the Liteon, the light on it will blinck for a few seconds and then go off and I can hear the CD spinning up. But then nothing happens. If I doubleclick on the Liteon icon in My_Computer, I get the error message: "J:\ is not accessible. The device is not ready". Retrying many times makes no difference.

I have tried to "Refresh" the driver in the Device Manager. Also to "update" the driver in the Device Manager, pointing to the Nero Cd "USB driver for Windows 98" folder. There is a setup.exe program in the folder which I have run, but it made no difference.

I have tried the installation process several times and each time doing things a little different, but with no luck. At one stage, I managed to rightclick on the Liteon drive icon in My_Computer and select the "Eject" option and the drive responded. But it still didn't recognise any CD I placed in it.

I have tried finding info about this problem on the Net but with no luck. I do not know what else to try. Please suggest what else I may try or do to get this unit working properly under Win98.

All suggestions and help are most welcome.

Thank you.

[Idnew]

Doing a search I found.

The CD-RW needs to be jumpered as master and placed on the END CONNECTOR of the secondary IDE ribbon-The CD-ROM should be jumpered as slave on the secondary chain and attached to the middle connector of the IDE ribbon. ESPECIALLY if you are using an 80 conducter cable- That should resolve the IDE incompatibility

As I recall my sister when she installed mine switched the connectors since I have a DVD and then installed the burner.

I'll see if I can find anything else about this. What is the model number?

[Idnew]

The rest I have been able to find that seem to have your same problem suggests firmware.

Firmware

What kind you need Now I know nothing about using this so you might want to read about it before trying it. Good luck

[spnet2005]

Originally Posted by Idnew

As I recall my sister when she installed mine switched the connectors since I have a DVD and then installed the burner.
?

That info seems to point to installing an internal CD-RW. I am using an external one via USB.

Originally Posted by Idnew

I'll see if I can find anything else about this. What is the model number?

I think it is Liteon SOHR-5239S. That's what is listed in Windows.

[spnet2005]

Originally Posted by Idnew

Now I know nothing about using this so you might want to read about it before trying it. Good luck

I know nothing about it either. But thank you for the links. I'll try to find out more info about it.

[Tom]

Howdy,

This "The device is not ready" makes me think drivers. Took a look - if the model is 5239S, then Here indicates a minimum of 98SE (and CPU and other factors).. Would lend support to why it works in XP. Try loading the Liteon internally to remove the Gearbox from the equation.

[Idnew]

Found these comments for external:

You will need to recompile your kernel with support for SCSI, SCSI CD-ROM, SCSI generic, USB, the USB driver for your board, and USB mass storage support. Once this is included, the drive will be installed automatically when plugged in. It will show up as a new SCSI CD-ROM on a separate bus. If you run 'cdrecord -scanbus', it will show up as a new drive for your use. That's all there is to it.

Turns out the enclosure in question just didn't like the drive.

I picked up a new enclosure (not sure of the brand name right off), and it works perfectly

and here's a forum where they are discussing the one you have. I didn't read all of them but I think the firmware is discussed there also.

http://club.cdfreaks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=44

Compatibility :Microsoft Windows 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP PC Required :Pentium III 500 MHz or higher CPU and Memory 128 MB or higher HDD must have access time < 20 ms; with a minimum of 650 MB free space

[spnet2005]

Originally Posted by Jintan

indicates a minimum of 98SE (and CPU and other factors).. Would lend

I don't have Win98 SE to try and confirm this, but I think this must be the problem. If I get a chance to use a Win98 SE PC, I'll see if it works on it. After all, I did get it to work on XP.

Please do not spend any more time on this problem. I have already spent many many hours on it and I don't want you to waste any of your time too.

A very big thank you to Idnew and Jintan for the help.

[Idnew]

YW good luck and if you solve it post back here what you finally did to fix it.

[spnet2005]

Just to follow up...

I tried it with Win 98 SE, but had the same problem.

I tried it with Win ME, and it worked like it did in Win XP. That is, the devices were automatically detected when connected with no need to insert any driver CD or configure anything or change any settings etc.

So, it must be some device driver incompatibility with Win 98 / 98 SE.

Hope this helps someone having a similar problem in the future.

[Idnew]

Thank you for posting back.