LG DVD+/-RW 4082B burner problems

Update Nero or Roxio.  If Windows is seeing the drive as a regular CD-ROM drive, then it's installed correctly.  Nero and Roxio have definition files of sorts, built-in, that tell it the burner's feature set.  If the drive is newer than the version of Nero or Roxio, then Nero and Roxio won't have a clue it's a burner.

Try downloading Nero 5.5.10.56 to see if that works -
http://www.ahead.de/us/sp_file_previous_download.php?sp_file=eng

If not, you can download version 6 and try it until the end of the month.

you can also check on the Nero sit if your drive is supported by nero

Hi Leew! Thanks for the suggestion.  I downloaded and installed Nero 5.5.10.56.  This version sees my F: drive but treats it as a CD ROM and the DVD medium as an audio CD.  Also it does not offer the optionto create a DVD ... the DVD button is grayed out.  I'll now try V6 ...
Cheers,
Paul

For some reason the evaluation copy of Nero V6 is not downloadable at this time;  they ask for a valid V6 S/N from the downloader?

Here's your definitive answer:
http://www.ahead.de/us/Supported_Recorders.php?manu=Hitachi+LG+Data+Storage&lang=en  - look about halfway done on the page for the DVD-RW GWA-4082B - It's been supported in all versions of Nero STARTING with 6.3.0.3.  If you buy online, I'm sure you can be burning before you sleep.

By the way, Why not use the software that came with the drive - that should work.  Obviously these will be more limited than full versions of Roxio or Nero, but they should burn everyday data and audio.  (Note: I've seen included software with seperate updates to ensure it works - carefully look over the included CD and instructions.

If, for some bizarre reason you don't have the CD, then try downloading Roxio's updates - here's a link (read it carefully - it's disguised as an advertisement for 7.0) http://www.roxio.com/en/support/ecdc/software_updatesv6.jhtml - They support the drive with a software update from January of this year.  The update should be available at the roxio link right before this sentence.

I spoke with Best Buy (Future Shop) people and I learned that Roxio V7 (costs about C$ 99) does not support WIN98/SE.  More precisely, information on the box indicates that the minimum requirement is Windows 2000 or WIN/XP.  Nero 6.3 (the full commercial version) supports WIN/98 but there are no guarantees.

In any case, I was finally able to burn a DVD.  Here is what I did.  
First I downloaded from the Internet the LG GSA4082B spec's.  In it I found that I have a really versatile drive in terms of speed, supported discs, and formats.  So I made the decision to remove the E drive (ATAPI CD-RW CW 4801) and install in its place the LG drive.  I will lose a little speed in writing audio CDs but I rarely use the 48x speed anyhow and the LG's 24x speed is OK.  I also de-installed the ME-320 External Enclosure (USB connection, etc.)  Once I changed the LG jumper to SLAVE (would not work as MASTER … the External Enclosure requires that drives installed in it be set to MASTER) everything worked fine.  

So now I'm using the old Platinum Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator (6.2.0.134 with updates) and all CD and DVD functions work fine.  I am a bit surprised that the old WIN98/SE generic drivers (dated 4-23-1999) still work fine with a DVD drive that was produced in 2004. (?)

My curiosity was never satisfied as to what the real source of my problem was:
Why did WIN98/SE recognize the F drive but only as a CD drive?
Was there a problem with External Enclosure and USB 2.0?
Was it Roxio and/or Nero that could not deal with 3 CD ROM devices on one system?

I exchanged messages with XP users who have similar problems to mine so I can't put all the blame on old WIN98/SE.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I suppose - I thought my answer was pretty definitive on the original question though.  (the comment from 9/14/04 at 9:04pm)