FAQ - Firmware - Upgrading Drive?

Is it possible to upgrade my drive?

In some cases this might be possible, using a specially adapted firmware. In case such a firmware is available you will find it in the firmware section of the "original" drive.

For example when you want to upgrade your NEC 1000A to a NEC 1100/1300A you need to look in the NEC 1000A firmware section!

Please note that these upgrades are not officially supported by the manufacturer and therefore it cannot be guaranteed that it will work fully correct on all drives!

Results may vary between drives: For example: When you have 2 NEC 2100A drives, upgrading them to a NEC 2510 and successfully burning DVD-R and DVD+R DL might work on both, only on 1 drive or maybe on none.

The following table shows the available upgrade possibilities:

Original Drive	Originally supported formats	Upgrade possible?	Upgradable to	Supported formats after upgrade	Success Rate#	Dual Layer support possible?
NEC 1000A	2.4x DVD+R 2.4x DVD+RW	Yes	NEC 1100 NEC 1300A*	4.0x DVD+R 2.4x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD-R* 2.0x DVD-RW*	50%	No
NEC 1100A	4.0x DVD+R 2.4x DVD+RW	Yes	NEC 1300A	4.0x DVD+R 2.4x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD-R 2.0x DVD-RW	50%	No
NEC 1300A	4.0x DVD+R 2.4x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD-R 2.0x DVD-RW	No	N/A	N/A	N/A	No
NEC 2100A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW	Yes	NEC 2500A NEC 2510A**	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL** 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	85%	Yes**
NEC 2110A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL	Yes	NEC 2500A NEC 2510A**	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL** 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	85%	Yes**
NEC 2500A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	Yes	NEC 2510A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL** 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	90%	Yes**
NEC 2510A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	No	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
NEC 3100A	16.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD+R DL	Yes	NEC 3500A	16.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD+R DL 16.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	85%	Yes
NEC 3500A	16.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD+R DL 16.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	No	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes
NEC 5100A	4.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW	Yes	NEC 5500A	4.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	50%	No
NEC 5500A	4.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 4.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	No	N/A	N/A	N/A	No
NEC 6100A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL	Yes	NEC 6500A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	85%	Yes
NEC 6450A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL? 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	Yes	NEC 6500A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	Unknown	Unknown
NEC 6500A	8.0x DVD+R 4.0x DVD+RW 2.4x DVD+R DL 8.0x DVD-R 4.0x DVD-RW	No	N/A	N/A	N/A	Yes