Troubleshooting

On non Windows NT-based systems (i.e. Windows 95/98/ME) drive communication will take place through the use of the ASPI-layer. Make sure your ASPI layer is properly installed. If necessary download the latest ASPI-layer from the Adaptec website (http://www.adaptec.com) and optionally use the 'ASPI Check'-utility to verify that ASPI is fully operational.

On Windows NT-based systems (i.e. Windows NT/2000/XP) SPTI will be used by default for drive communication. SPTI requires administrator privileges. If SPTI initialization fails, an attempt will be made to initialize the ASPI-layer. Note that the ASPI-layer requires a separate installation, while SPTI is part of the operating system.

If you are unable to obtain administrator privileges ask your system administrator to make following changes :

• Open the "Local Security Policy"-console by clicking on the "Start Menu ; Control Panel ; Administrative Tools" and select "Local Security Policy".
• Then expand the "Local Policies"-section and select "Security Options".
• Enable following option : [Windows 2000 ; "Restrict CD-ROM access to locally logged-on user only."] or [Windows XP ; "Devices : Restrict CD-ROM access to locally logged-on user only."]

Problems have been reported when a drive is connected to some brands of add-on IDE controllers (i.e. instead of using the primary or secondary IDE controller, the drive is connected to a tertiary (or higher) IDE connector). These problems manifest itself as corrupted Manufacturer IDs, 'Media code'-blocks that contain all zeros ... If you encounter similar problems you can try enabling the 'Only partially retrieve...'-option. This will have no adverse effects on disc identification other than the fact that the returned 'Media code'-block may possibly be incomplete.

Alternatively, you can also connect your DVD writer to a different IDE controller.

When this option is enabled, following warning will be shown :

** WARNING : 'Media Code'-Block Is Only Partially Retrieved

If you are running DLA (Prassi, Veritas, Sonic) the possibility exists that 'DVD Identifier' is unable to find the drive. DLA sometimes locks the drive for exclusive access making if impossible for 'DVD Identifier' to detect the drive. The easiest work around is to remove the disc from the drive, start 'DVD Identifier' and then insert the disc.

If your drive cannot be found by 'DVD Identifier' make sure a drive letter has been assigned to it. Also note that only DVD writers will be listed.

The manufacturer database is a file called 'manufacturers.dat' and is located in the 'Data'-folder of the executable. In case you ever end up with an incomplete or corrupted database you can simply delete this file and execute an on-line version check. This will force the database to be downloaded again.

The 'Status'-tab will show details about the database that is currently in use :

Manufacturer Database [13-MAR-04@143$44] Loaded From File : (@143$44) Entries Found

The first tag [13-MAR-04@143$44] is the header that is present in each database, while the second tag (@143$44) indicates how many entries were actually found after scanning through the database. These @$  numbers of both tags should match. If not, the database is likely damaged.

The @ actually refers to the number of Manufacturer IDs present in the database while the $ refers to how many Manufacturer names are currently exist.

In case of problems you can contact the author at DVD.Identifier@pi.be