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Section 2. Installing the PX-716UF External USB/FireWire Drive 

12

  PX-716UF Installation and Users Manual 

• 

Disc/busy indicator

: Illuminated yellow for disc initializing, 

reading, and ejecting. Illuminated amber for writing. (Blink rate 
indicates writing speed.) Illuminated green during standby and when 
Buffer Underrun Proof Technology is operational. Illuminated 
yellow, green and amber when AutoStrategy is operational.  

 

• 

Disc tray

: Slides out to allow you to insert a disc. 

 

• 

Emergency eject hole

: If the automatic eject button does not work, 

turn the power switch to OFF, then insert the emergency eject tool, 
paper clip, or other thin, rigid object in this hole to eject the disc tray 
manually.  

 

• 

Power indicator

: Illuminated blue when the PX-716UF drive power 

is ON.  

 

• 

Eject button

: Push once to eject the tray. Push again to load the tray 

back into the PX-716UF. To prevent wear on the drive, always use 
the eject button to load the tray. 
 
This button also controls SpeedRead and silent operation for DVD-
Video discs with CSS protection. To enable SpeedRead, with the 
disc tray empty, press and hold the eject button for 3 seconds, then 
insert a DVD-Video disc. The disc is played back at an accelerated 
speed.   

Summary of Contents for PX-716UF

Page 1: ...DVD R DL DOUBLE LAYER DVD R RW CD R RW DRIVE INSTALLATION AND USERS MANUAL SEPTEMBER 2004 Model PX 716UF External USB FireWire Drive...

Page 2: ...or organization of such revision or change This manual is copyrighted all rights reserved It may not be copied photocopied translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form with...

Page 3: ...rference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES 003 Cet appareil num rique de la classe B est conforme a la norme NMB 003 d...

Page 4: ...iv PX 716UF Installation and Users Manual Bottom View of External Drive Showing Caution Label Location Detail of PX 716UF Laser Caution Label...

Page 5: ...External Drive 13 What Else Is In the PX 716UF Box 15 Save Your Box 15 Mount the PX 716UF Drive 16 Determine Your Computer s Operating System 17 Determine What Interface to Use 17 Connect the PX 716U...

Page 6: ...g 37 Reading a Password Protected Disc 38 Important Facts about SecureRecording 39 Using VariRec 40 How the Default VariRec Setting Is Determined 40 Changing the VariRec Setting 41 Important Facts abo...

Page 7: ...hat the Self Test Results Indicate 74 6 Frequently Asked Questions 75 Appendix A PX 716UF Specifications 77 Appendix B Technical Support 89 How to Contact Plextor Technical Support 90 Before You E mai...

Page 8: ...Table of Contents viii PX 716UF Installation and Users Manual This page intentionally left blank...

Page 9: ...for installation operation and troubleshooting If your drive needs service see your dealer or call Plextor s Technical Support Department In this manual you should find all the information you need t...

Page 10: ...or 8X media Writes DVD RW rewritable DVD plus format media at up to 8X speed Requires 8X media for 8X writing Writes DVD RW rewritable DVD dash format media at up to 4X speed Supports DVD VR and DVD V...

Page 11: ...onal tilt adjustment for uneven disc surfaces Ensures optimal recording and reading especially with double layer media PoweRec Plextor Optimized Writing Error Reduction Control PoweRec adjusts laser p...

Page 12: ...ests The Plextor PX 716UF achieves high quality recording on virtually any DVD or CD media To see for yourself use the Q Check features to check laser operation or measure and display characteristics...

Page 13: ...ng incremental recording restricted overwriting DRT DM for DVD RW SpeedRead For DVD Video discs equipped with CSS copy protection you can enable fast playback SpeedRead or leave at the factory default...

Page 14: ...nd use the PX 716UF drive Computer PC Pentium 4 1 4 GHz or faster CPU Macintosh Power Macintosh G3 or later G4 or higher recommended for faster video encoding Minimum RAM 256 MB Interface USB 2 0 or 1...

Page 15: ...SB 2 0 or FireWire plug in host adapter card What You Can Do with the PX 716UF Just look at some of the things you can do with your PX 716UF Record slide shows or digital video onto DVD R DL DVD R DVD...

Page 16: ...r is Drag to Disc which makes the Plextor PX 716UF drive as easy to use as a hard disk drive For more information about Easy Media Creator install this application and examine the help files NOTE Easy...

Page 17: ...open the drive and service it yourself Removing the cover may expose you to harmful electrical voltages or the laser beam For your safety entrust service to experienced service personnel only Keep yo...

Page 18: ...Section 1 Getting Started 10 PX 716UF Installation and Users Manual Where to Go From Here See Chapter 2 beginning on page 11 to learn how to connect your drive...

Page 19: ...connect your PX 716UF external drive to your computer PX 716UF Drive Features and Controls Before proceeding you should become familiar with the controls and features of your Plextor drive Match the...

Page 20: ...automatic eject button does not work turn the power switch to OFF then insert the emergency eject tool paper clip or other thin rigid object in this hole to eject the disc tray manually Power indicat...

Page 21: ...ff for normal operation or set it to the left ON to execute the self test diagnostic routine To execute a self test 1 Disconnect the USB or FireWire cable 2 turn the drive power switch OFF 3 set the S...

Page 22: ...t interface USB IEEE 1394 This allows you to connect the drive to either interface depending on the requirements of your computer If you change interfaces with this switch you must also cycle the PX 7...

Page 23: ...716UF Quick Reference Guide Save Your Box Be sure to save the box after you have installed your drive The box and its packaging material were designed and drop tested to ensure your drive can endure r...

Page 24: ...have Windows 98SE and you are using the FireWire IEEE 1394 interface you ll need to go to the Microsoft Windows web site to bring your system up to date If you have Windows 98SE and you are using USB...

Page 25: ...ot running one of these operating systems you cannot use the PX 716UF You cannot use the PX 716UF with early versions of Windows 98 it must be Windows 98SE Second Edition Determine What Interface to U...

Page 26: ...e a computer with Windows XP Windows 2000 or Windows Me use the following procedure to install your PX 716UF drive Windows 98SE users see page 21 then come back here after you have updated your Window...

Page 27: ...r FireWire cable The drive should be automatically recognized by the computer In some cases you may have to reboot turn the computer off then on again for the PX 716UF to be recognized CAUTION The PX...

Page 28: ...FireWire Drive 20 PX 716UF Installation and Users Manual Identifying Cables and Ports This illustration will help you identify the cables and computer ports and make the necessary connections Figure 4...

Page 29: ...242975 Japanese http support microsoft com default aspx scid kb ja 242975 2 Install the Windows patch according to the instructions provided with it 3 Install the PX 716UF drive as detailed on page 18...

Page 30: ...F 1 Ensure the interface cable for the desired USB or IEEE 1394 interface is attached to the PX 716UF and to the computer 2 At the rear of the PX 716UF set the interface switch to the desired interfac...

Page 31: ...he Macintosh computer The Macintosh automatically recognizes the PX 716UF if the base extensions are loaded and you should be ready to use the drive as a CD ROM To use the recording capabilities of th...

Page 32: ...Section 2 Installing the PX 716UF External USB FireWire Drive 24 PX 716UF Installation and Users Manual This page intentionally left blank...

Page 33: ...and DVD RW DVD R and DVD RW Your PX 716UF can read and write either media format in single layer or double layer media It supports all these types of DVD media Digital Video Discs You can immediately...

Page 34: ...ied 48X media and to achieve 24X CD RW writing speed you must use Ultra Speed CD RW media Remember Using Normal Speed CD RW discs that is NS RW media you can rewrite at 4X Using High Speed CD RW discs...

Page 35: ...ton to close the tray in a smooth and secure manner Closing the tray by pressing the front of the drawer using your hand is not recommended and risks damage or premature wearing of the mechanism Handl...

Page 36: ...cording or read errors during reading Also attempting to remove the label may permanently damage the disc Cleaning Discs For proper read and write performance your discs must be clean Trying to record...

Page 37: ...ayed only on players designed for a certain regional area such as North America Europe etc When the drive ships from the factory there is no region code set The first time a DVD that has a region sett...

Page 38: ...your drive mastering and packet writing software such as Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 allows you to write audio video data or other information to writable CD R or rewritable CD RW media The PX 716UF w...

Page 39: ...s CD RW write 24X Amber Blink 40ms CD RW write 10 23X 10X CLV Amber Blink 80ms CD RW write 4X Amber Blink 150ms Buffer Underrun Proof DVD linking active Green On Write setting created by AutoStrategy...

Page 40: ...or 3X to 8X CAV for double layer DVD discs To manually disable SpeedRead You can manually disable SpeedRead and return to normal video playback operation for DVD Video discs with CSS in either of two...

Page 41: ...he Plextor disc into the Plextor PX 716UF drive or another DVD drive that can read the Plextor software disc 2 On the screen choose the PlexTools Professional installation If the installation doesn t...

Page 42: ...applications that have been written to make use of this technology One of these applications is the PlexTools Professional software To use PlexTools Professional to control Silent Mode 1 In the PlexT...

Page 43: ...edium access time 80 milliseconds and Slow for a low access time 120 milliseconds The quietest setting is Slow 7 Use the Tray Speed Loading and Eject sliders to adjust the loading and eject speed Set...

Page 44: ...ch as Windows Media Player playback is at 4X CLV no matter the Silent Mode setting During DVD video playback of CSS discs playback is automatically slowed down for quieter video playback This is diffe...

Page 45: ...rect password or by any drive using the SecuViewer To password protect a disc with SecureRecording 1 Insert a blank CD R disc in the Plextor PX 716UF drive 2 In the PlexTools menu bar select Drive Set...

Page 46: ...a Password Protected Disc To read a disc that has been password protected with SecureRecording 1 Make sure you have PlexTools Pro or SecuViewer on your computer 2 Insert the password protected CD R d...

Page 47: ...discs recorded in DAO mode can be password protected with SecureRecording DVD discs audio CD DA discs or data CDs written by track at once TAO or multi session cannot be protected Discs protected wit...

Page 48: ...ms that occur when playing discs on certain audio players or older CD ROM drives How the Default VariRec Setting Is Determined In most cases you don t have to worry about setting VariRec The setting i...

Page 49: ...laser power and write strategy changes the characteristics of the audio or data being written For audio you can hear these changes during playback although what you hear will depend on speaker quality...

Page 50: ...e VariRec box is checked and continue recording Your disc is recorded with the new laser strategy Important Facts about VariRec Use VariRec with DVD R or CD R discs VariRec writes in either Track at O...

Page 51: ...t 0 7x normal capacity you stretch that data to utilize the same physical space that 700 megabytes would normally occupy on the disc This changes the actual length of the pits and lands used for data...

Page 52: ...e a check mark in the Enable GigaRec box 5 Move the slider to one of the GigaRec Rate numbers to select the capacity For example choosing 1 2x increases the disc s writing capacity by 20 percent So th...

Page 53: ...with GigaRec Only disc at once DAO recording in which all tracks are written in a single operation is supported GigaRec does not support session at once SAO recording Buffer Underrun Proof Technology...

Page 54: ...and DVD PI and PO errors for DVD TA time analyzer This section illustrates how to perform some of these measurements with PlexTools Professional Measuring Read Transfer Rate The Read Transfer Rate sel...

Page 55: ...ation and Users Manual 47 Figure 14 Read Transfer Rate Test window 3 Select the speed pulldown menu and choose the desired transfer speed 4 Click the Preferences button to view or change the preferenc...

Page 56: ...the test window click the Start button You see the amount of recorded data represented in minutes the start speed and current speed 7 To end measurement click the Stop button or wait for the measurem...

Page 57: ...fer Rate The Write Transfer Rate selection lets you test the transfer rate of data written to a disc The function reports the writing response of the Plextor PX 716UF drive This test is conducted on b...

Page 58: ...tions Uncheck the Simulate box to write to the recordable CD or DVD disc or leave it checked to simulate writing If you simulate the blank disc is preserved Set the CD or DVD length to the capacity of...

Page 59: ...up to the limit of the disc capacity If the curve is not linear or smooth repeat the test with another piece of media or media from a different vendor Most write transfer failures are caused by poor...

Page 60: ...nstallation and Users Manual Figure 17 Q Check C1 C2 Test window 3 Click the Preferences button to view or change the preferences You can change the scale limit and the time length indication and you...

Page 61: ...asurement in the C1 C2 Test window click the Start button You see the error counts representing the result of C1 error measurement BLER and C2 error measurement E22 If the disc is defective you may al...

Page 62: ...ection as part of the data stream This error correction is derived from the actual content of the original computer data and is used to reconstruct the original data if needed when the disc is read Ev...

Page 63: ...d try another brand of media If the graph reports CU errors the disc is defective and should be discarded Because the Plextor PX 716UF can report the number of C2 errors audio extraction applications...

Page 64: ...onal to measure tracking and focus error 1 Place a blank CD R DVD R or DVD R disc in the PX 716UF Don t use a rewritable RW disc or a double layer DL disc 2 From the PlexTools menu bar select Q Check...

Page 65: ...u can change the scale the start position and the end position Figure 20 Changing preferences for graphing focus error and tracking error 4 Click OK to exit the Preferences window and return to the Q...

Page 66: ...ording but the reduction in speed may be perceived as a problem with the drive when compared against a drive without PoweRec The FE TE graphing capability of the Plextor PX 716UF drive displays the me...

Page 67: ...are accurate only for a blank recordable DVD or CD If you attempt to measure a recorded or pre recorded commercially pressed DVD or CD the measurements have no meaning Making Q Check Jitter Beta Measu...

Page 68: ...lation and Users Manual Figure 21 Q Check Beta Jitter Test window 3 Click the Preferences button to view or change the preferences You can change the sample length the length of one sample the time le...

Page 69: ...return to the Q Check Beta Jitter Test window 5 To begin measurement in the Beta Jitter Test window click the Start button You see the error counts representing the result of beta error measurement j...

Page 70: ...alue at no more than 35 nanoseconds Using PlexTools Professional and the Plextor drive you can use the Q Check Beta Jitter Test to determine the quality of writing on a disc The test graph displays an...

Page 71: ...This test is for use on a DVD that contains content that is a commercial pressed DVD or a disc recorded on a DVD burner To measure PI PO error 1 Place a pressed DVD disc or a recorded DVD R DVD RW DV...

Page 72: ...the error counts recorded by the application You can also view the log to see the results What the PI PO Measurements Mean This test measures the quality of the written or pressed media by counting th...

Page 73: ...ence of PI PO errors on a DVD is perfectly normal since they can be corrected by the drive s CIRC logic However these numbers should not be too high because they can create uncorrectable errors when t...

Page 74: ...one of the disc If this is a double layer disc you can also select the layer 4 Select the zone and layer and click OK After a few moments you see a histogram showing frequency distribution of the land...

Page 75: ...rring at each pit An ideal condition when jitter is small is when the adjacent pit land peaks are thin long and clearly separated from each other A better quality disc will have histograms in which th...

Page 76: ...uffer a memory chip that acts as a kind of holding area Typically the buffer size is 2 to 8 megabytes However this buffer can be emptied quickly when you write at high speeds or if you use other appli...

Page 77: ...ens In this case If your drive is still in warranty and you are experiencing problems send the drive to Plextor See Returns on page 91 If your drive is out of warranty before returning the drive for r...

Page 78: ...te at www plextor com 2 Look for firmware upgrades in the Support area on the Downloads page There is a description of the latest firmware revision and its intended use 3 Download the firmware to your...

Page 79: ...er installation of your drive first make sure the drive is recognized If you still have problems visit the Plextor web site for tips and troubleshooting help Make Sure the Drive Is Recognized If you r...

Page 80: ...has a yellow diamond with an exclamation point contact your PC or motherboard manufacturer for help and to troubleshoot your controller for driver compatibility or conflicts It may just be a matter of...

Page 81: ...write read test 1 Unplug the USB or FireWire cable from the rear of the Plextor PX 716UF drive CAUTION Failure to disconnect the USB or FireWire cable before starting the test could result in system d...

Page 82: ...an initialization error 7 If the disc was not ejected automatically press the eject button to eject the disc 8 Turn the PX 716UF power switch to OFF and set the SELF TEST switch to the right OFF posi...

Page 83: ...rdable or rewritable CD and DVD media that have been tested by Plextor and found to operate well consistently from one manufacturing lot to another For each drive Plextor engineers test media from man...

Page 84: ...Speed 12 Mbps max IEEE 1394 FireWire 400 Mbps max Actual transfer rates in the real world depend on the type of media and software you re using and on the type of data being transferred Q Can I get U...

Page 85: ...FireWire supported On board USB 2 0 or IEEE 1394 FireWire controller suggested Operating System PC Windows XP 2000 Me or 98SE Macintosh For FireWire and USB 1 1 OS 9 1 or higher recommended For USB 2...

Page 86: ...Power Indicator Illuminated blue when AC adapter is connected and PX 716UF drive power is ON Disc Loading Auto Rear Panel DC 12V Connector Power Supply AC 100 240V 50 60 Hz Power Consumption Typical 2...

Page 87: ...attaching an IEEE 1394 FireWire cable Use only the IEEE 1394 FireWire cable shipped with your PX 716UF USB Connector Connector for attaching USB cable Use only the USB cable shipped with your PX 716U...

Page 88: ...dia Size CD 12 cm DVD 12 cm 8cm DVD R RW Usable Formats Logical DVD Read Write DVD ROM DVD Video multi border multi session DVD VR DVD VR Logical CD Read Write CD DA CD Extra CD ROM Mode 1 CD ROM Mode...

Page 89: ...hi Chemical Verbatim Ricoh NOTES All DVD RW media are rewritable up to 1 000 times 8X DVD RW writing requires 8X media DVD R DL 4X 2 4X Mitsubishi Chemical Verbatim DVD R 16X 12X 8X 6X 4X 2X Mitsubish...

Page 90: ...oor CD RW 24X Mitsubishi Chemical Verbatim CD RW 4X 10X Ricoh Mitsubishi Chemical Verbatim NOTE All CD RW media are rewritable up to 1 000 times Performance Specifications Read Speed DVD Stamped DVD S...

Page 91: ...h SpeedRead default is 40X 17 40X CAV Stamp R RW Stamp R RW Stamp R 14 32X CAV Stamp R RW Stamp R RW Stamp R RW 10X 24X CAV Stamp R RW Stamp R RW Stamp R RW 8X CLV Stamp R RW Stamp R RW Stamp R RW 4X...

Page 92: ...ed CD RW Media High Speed CD RW Media Normal Speed CD RW Media 48X CAV 32X PCAV 24X PCAV 16X CLV 10X CLV 8X CLV 4X CLV DVD Transfer Rate Speed Write Kbps Read Kbps 16X 9280 22160 CAV 9280 22160 CAV 12...

Page 93: ...AV 16X 2400 CLV 10X 1500 CLV 8X 1200 CLV 1200 CLV 4X 600 CLV 600 CLV Initialization Time Time measured from power on until disc is available to read DVD 13 sec typical 15 sec max CD 13 sec typical 15...

Page 94: ...3 8 lbs 1 7 kg Host Interface Type USB B type IEEE 1394 6pin 4pin Data Connector USB B type IEEE 1394 6pin 4pin USB 2 0 Transfers Hi Speed 480 Mbps max USB 1 1 Transfers Full Speed 12 Mbps max IEEE 13...

Page 95: ...balanced disc Maximum 45dB Playing unbalanced disc Maximum 45dB Tray ejecting Maximum 50dB Vibration Operating Sine sweep 5 minutes CD DVD read 0 15G0 Pk 5 300Hz CD R write 0 15G0 Pk 5 300Hz CD RW rew...

Page 96: ...ge Reliability MTBF 60 000 hours Tray Loading 50 000 load unload cycles Read Error Rate CD ROM Mode 1 1 block 1012 bits CD ROM Mode 2 1 block 10 9 bits Safety Laser and EMC Standards Country Region Ty...

Page 97: ...ur web site to assist you in troubleshooting the problem on your own NOTE We encourage you to go the Plextor web site www plextor com before attempting to contact Technical Support The answers to the...

Page 98: ...10 440 2000 and select the tech support option Before You E mail Log On FAX Call for Support Please gather as much of the following information as possible before contacting us The serial number and T...

Page 99: ...lish support rma_request_form htm Complete the form providing the Technical Support Ticket number and details of the drive failure After completing the form click the Submit button IMPORTANT NOTE The...

Page 100: ...d not receive a box we recommend you pay a packaging store such as The UPS Store to ship your drive If you don t have a packaging store in your area ask for packaging pointers when you contact us to g...

Page 101: ...circumstances be liable for direct special or consequential damages such as but not limited to damage or loss of property or equipment loss of profits or revenues cost of replacement goods or expense...

Page 102: ...States For a drive originating outside of the United States the customer is responsible for shipping costs in both directions NOTE Warranty validity is limited to that applicable in the location wher...

Page 103: ...C2 CU error measurement 46 51 54 cable identifying 20 IEEE 1394 15 18 20 USB 14 15 18 20 CD formats supported 80 reading speed 2 83 recording modes 5 80 write methods 5 80 CD cleaning disc don t use 9...

Page 104: ...ing 78 testing 4 46 testing with Q Check 51 disc capacity changing with GigaRec 6 43 44 disc tray 12 controlling with silent mode 34 disc busy indicator 12 78 blink rate 30 Buffer Underrun Proof Techn...

Page 105: ...mental conditions 87 error rate specification 88 F FAQs 75 FE See focus error features 3 11 CD R 5 DVD 4 FireWire See also IEEE 1394 hints 22 switching to USB 22 Windows 98SE and 21 firmware 40 obtain...

Page 106: ...41 testing 4 46 55 laser standards 88 lossless linking 4 M Macintosh installing the PX 716UF 23 USB and 76 maintenance 69 media 25 care and handling 27 CD R 26 81 82 CD RW 26 82 DVD 25 81 DVD R 81 DVD...

Page 107: ...lent mode 34 time analyzer 4 46 65 tracking error measurement 46 55 VariRec 40 write transfer rate test 49 plug and play support for 4 position mounting 29 87 power connector 14 78 indicator 12 78 req...

Page 108: ...2 speed monitoring 30 reading CD 2 reading CD R 2 reading CD ROM 83 reading CD RW 2 reading digital audio 83 reading DVD 2 82 reading DVD Video 2 5 31 writing CD R 2 writing CD RW 2 writing DVD R 2 wr...

Page 109: ...on specification 87 video playback speed 5 31 W wake mode 85 warranty 93 web site Plextor 89 weight PX 716UF 86 white book 80 Windows 98SE 6 16 17 18 Plextor USB drivers for 21 77 updating for FireWir...

Page 110: ...Index 102 PX 716UF Installation and Users Manual This page intentionally left blank...

Page 111: ...PX 716UF Installation and Users Manual 103 Notes...

Page 112: ...PLEXTOR CORP 48383 Fremont Blvd Suite 120 Fremont CA 94538 6509 Phone Fax E mail 510 440 2000 510 651 9755 info plextor com www plextor com...

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