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Plextor PX-Q840U Installation And User Manual

External usb drive/ internal sata drive
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INSTALLATION AND USERS
MANUAL
Model PX-Q840U External USB Drive
Model PX-806SA Internal SATA Drive
with
DVD±R DL (DOUBLE LAYER/DUAL LAYER),
DVD±R/RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW DRIVE
October 2008

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Summary of Contents for Plextor PX-Q840U

  • Page 1 INSTALLATION AND USERS MANUAL Model PX-Q840U External USB Drive Model PX-806SA Internal SATA Drive with DVD±R DL (DOUBLE LAYER/DUAL LAYER), DVD±R/RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R/RW DRIVE October 2008...

  • Page 2: Record Your Serial Number

    Manual copyright ©2008 Plextor First edition, October 2008. Licenses and Trademarks Plextor and the Plextor logo are registered trademarks of Shinano Kenshi.. All other licenses and trademarks are property of their respective owners. Record Your Serial Number For future reference, record the serial number in the space provided...
  • Page 3 The laser beam emitted from the optical pickup is visible and invisible. Accordingly: Do not open the optical pickup housing. • Obtain service only from Plextor-authorized personnel. • CAUTION: To disconnect the internal DVD/CD drive from an electrical current, pull out the computer’s power plug. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    What the PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Do ........2 Features of the PX-Q840U and PX-806SA ......... 3 Minimum Configuration to Use the PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA..5 What You Can Do with the PX-Q840U or PX-806SA ....6 About Software................6 Precautions..................8 Where to Go From Here ..............

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Emergency Eject ................34 Troubleshooting ................35 Make Sure the Drive Is Recognized ..........35 6. Frequently Asked Questions ............37 Appendix A: Specifications for the PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Drives ....................40 Appendix B: Technical Support .............53 How to Contact Plextor Technical Support ........54 Before You E-mail or Call for Support..........54 Returns ...................55...
  • Page 6 Table of Contents This page intentionally left blank. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 7: Getting Started

    Formatted: Font:11 pt, Font color: White Use the manual for installation, operation and troubleshooting. If your Thien Nguyen! 9/6/08 11:52 PM drive needs service, see your dealer or call Plextor’s Technical Support Formatted: Heading 3, Centered Department. In this manual you should find all the information you need to successfully install, operate and troubleshoot your drive.

  • Page 8: Meet Your Plextor Dvd Rewriter

    Section 1. Getting Started Meet Your Plextor DVD Rewriter The PX-Q840U External USB and the PX-806SA are DVD ReWritable/CD ReWritable drives that provides professional quality DVD and CD performance for writing, rewriting and reading. What the PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Do For DVDs, the PX-Q840U and PX-806SA: •...

  • Page 9: Features Of The Px-Q840U And Px-806Sa

    Serial ATA 1.0 interface. Thien Nguyen! 9/6/08 11:52 PM Formatted: Heading 3, Centered • Flash memory: Allows upgrading the PX-Q840U and PX-806SA to the latest firmware revision (available from the Plextor web site) without opening the computer or physically accessing the drive.
  • Page 10 • Recording versatility for DVD-R/RW, too: Including DAO, incremental recording, and layer jump recording for DVD-R DL (dual-layer); DAO, incremental recording, multi-border recording for DVD-R; and DAO, multi-border recording, incremental recording, and restricted overwriting for DVD-RW. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 11: Minimum Configuration To Use The Px-Q840U/ Px-806Sa

    Formatted: Heading 3, Centered • CD-TEXT: Supports CD-TEXT. Minimum Configuration to Use the PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Here’s what you’ll need in order to install and use the PX-Q840U drive. • Computer: Computer CPU, Memory, and configuration are dependent on installed application requirements. • Interface: Model PX-Q840UA requires a USB 2.0 interface.

  • Page 12: What You Can Do With The Px-Q840U Or Px-806Sa

    Section 1. Getting Started What You Can Do with the PX-Q840U or PX-806SA Just look at some of the things you can do with your PX-Q840U or PX- 806SA: • Record slide shows or digital video onto DVD-RAM, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW and DVD-RW discs.
  • Page 13 DVD media by checking the pits and lands for compliance with the DVD specifications. - Automatic software and firmware updates immediately notify you of pending updates to your Plextor drive so that you always have the most current applications. Qflix™ Support Qflix™...

  • Page 14: Precautions

    Plextor drive can be found in the Support/Compatibility section of www.plextor.com Precautions Like the rest of your computer system, your PX-Q840U or PX-806SA requires reasonable care in its installation and use. • Keep the area around your drive clean from dust, smoke, and other contaminants.

  • Page 15: Where To Go From Here

    • If you have an External USB drive, see Section 2, beginning on page 10, to learn how to install your drive. • If you have an Internal drive with the Serial ATA interface, see Section 3, beginning on page 15, to install it. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 16: Installing The Px-Q840U External Usb Drive

    • Disc/busy indicator: Illuminated green for disc reading or writing. • Eject button: Push once to eject tray. Push again to insert the tray back into the PX-Q840U. To prevent wear on the drive, always use the eject button to insert the tray.

  • Page 17: Rear Panel-Px-Q840U External Drive

    • On/Off Switch What Else Is In the PX-Q840U Box What you find in your Plextor box depends on what the company that sold you the box put in—or took out—while the Plextor drive was in their possession. Plextor currently sells the PX-Q840U drive in this configuration: •...

  • Page 18: Save Your Box

    If you have to ship your drive back to Plextor, you’ll want to send it in the original box. (For more details about returning your drive to Plextor, see page 55.)
  • Page 19 Section 2. Installing the PX-Q840U External USB Drive 3. Connect the power supply to your external DVD drive. Plug the power supply into the back of your external DVD drive. 4. Connect the power supply to a wall outlet. Plug the power supply into the outlet or power strip. Then, turn on the power switch.
  • Page 20 Section 2. Installing the PX-Q840U External USB Drive This page intentionally left blank. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 21: Installing The Px-806Sa Internal Sata Drive

    ATAPI command set used by optical disc drives, or that do not have BIOS settings to enable IDE/ATAPI functions. If you are unsure, consult your motherboard manual or vendor web site for compatibility, BIOS versions, and BIOS settings. And check the Plextor PX-806SA motherboard compatibility listing at http://www.plextor.com/english/support/support_compatability.html...

  • Page 22: Px-806Sa Drive Features And Controls

    Section 3. Installing the PX-806SA Internal SATA Drive PX-806SA Drive Features and Controls Before proceeding, become familiar with the controls and features of your Plextor drive. Match the parts of your drive to the illustrations below. Front Panel—PX-806SA Internal Drive...

  • Page 23: Rear Panel-Px-806Sa Internal Sata Drive

    DC +5 volts and +12 volts to the PX-806SA. NOTE: If your computer has only 4-pin power connectors, use the SATA power cable adapter to connect to the 15-pin power connector on the PX-806SA. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 24: What Else Is In The Px-806Sa Box

    If you have to ship your drive back to Plextor, you’ll want to send it in the original box. (For more details about returning your drive to Plextor, see page 55.)

  • Page 25: Mount The Px-806Sa Drive

    2. Remove your computer’s cover, following the directions provided by your computer’s manufacturer. Typically, this involves loosening or removing several screws on the back panel of your computer and sliding off the cover. See the illustration below for an example. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 26 (In some older computers, you may have to remove screws that hold the panel in place.) Figure 6: Removing the cover panel from a bay PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 27 The drive can be mounted directly into your computer. Go to step 6. NOTE: Plextor does not provide rails. If you need rails, you can obtain them from the computer manufacturer or from a computer supply retail or mail-order store.
  • Page 28 When connecting the Serial ATA cable, note that cable connectors are keyed, and will fit only one way. For example, the initials “SATA” on the cable connector should be up. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 29 Formatted: Heading 3, Centered CAUTION: Do not mount your drive in your computer using screws other than those supplied by Plextor. You may damage the drive if you insert screws that are too long or the wrong thread type. This completes the installation procedure. Go on to the next section to see how to use your PX-806SA drive.

  • Page 30: Using Your Px-Q840U And Px-806Sa

    4. Using Your PX-Q840U and PX-806SA This section explains how to use your Plextor drive and how to load, handle and care for your DVDs and CDs. What Media to Use Use the right media! Your Plextor drive's capabilities change depending on which type of compact disc you use.

  • Page 31: Dvd-Ram Media

    DVD-RAM discs on a computer. You can access these discs like a floppy disk or hard drive. You can even write a DVD-RAM disc with a set-top box, then read it on the PX-Q840U or PX-806SA drive.

  • Page 32: More About Media For Your Plextor Drive

    You can write to Ultra Speed CD-RW discs only on drives that support this media. Drives that are capable of writing to Ultra Speed ReWritable media, such as the Plextor PX-Q840U or PX-806SA, are identified by a “Compact Disc ReWritable Ultra Speed” logo.

  • Page 33: Handling Dvd And Cd Media

    Section 4. Using Your PX-Q840U or PX-806SA 2. Lay a CD or DVD disc in the depression in the tray, label side up. 3. Press the eject button again and the tray will slide shut within seconds. NOTE: Always use the eject button to close the tray in a smooth and secure manner.

  • Page 34: Mounting Position

    HINT: Keep your frequently used discs in jewel cases at all times to prevent them from becoming dirty or damaged. Mounting Position You can operate your PX-Q840U or PX-806SA drive in either a horizontal or a vertical position. Playing DVDs To play a digital video disc, insert the DVD as you would any other disc.

  • Page 35: Writing To Dvd Media

    Qflix™ DVD media In order to write to Qflix™ DVD media, this Plextor drive comes with Roxio Venue. Writing to CD-R and CD-RW Media In conjunction with your drive, mastering and packet writing software such as Roxio Creator allows you to write audio, video, data, or other information to writable (CD-R) or rewritable (CD-RW) media.

  • Page 36: Using The Disc/Busy Indicator

    Section 4. Using Your PX-Q840U or PX-806SA Using the Disc/Busy Indicator The color of the front-panel disc/busy indicator gives you information about the drive’s operation. Operation LED Color On/Off No disc Loading Green Disc loaded and ready Read or verify activity...
  • Page 37 Section 4. Using Your PX-Q840U or PX-806SA This page intentionally left blank. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 38: Maintenance And Troubleshooting

    Plextor representative. Cleaning the your Plextor Drive Plextor drives are sealed against external contamination, so in a normal computer environment and with normal use, your drive should not require internal cleaning. However, if your drive has been in use for some time and has just recently started to exhibit read/write problems, it is possible that dust has accumulated on the laser lens.

  • Page 39: Upgrading Firmware

    Before troubleshooting a possible problem with your Plextor drive please visit our web site at www.plextor.com to check if you have the latest firmware. With the installation of PlexUTILITIES, firmware upgrades are Thien Nguyen! 9/6/08 11:50 PM automated.

  • Page 40: Emergency Eject

    3. Push the tool or other object straight in, until the disc tray clicks open. 4. Carefully continue to slide the disc tray open. 5. Remove the CD from the disc tray. 6. Carefully push the disc tray shut. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 41: Troubleshooting

    Formatted: Heading 3, Centered icon for the Plextor drive, the hard disk, and another DVD or CD- ROM drive, if present. The Plextor icon may be D: or E: or another designator. 3. If the PX-Q840U or PX-806SA drive is not recognized in Windows, reboot the computer and use your computer’s setup program to...
  • Page 42 Properties. Click on the Hardware tab, then click on the Device Manager button. Click the + sign next to the DVD/CD-ROM drives heading and look for the “PLEXTOR DVDR PX-Q840U” or “PLEXTOR DVDR PX-806SA” entry underneath. If you do not see this drive listed as one of the devices, or if it has a yellow diamond with an exclamation point (!), contact Plextor Technical Support.

  • Page 43: Frequently Asked Questions

    DVD+RW Alliance) stands for DVD+R Double Layer. DVD-R DL (from the DVD Forum) stands for DVD-R Dual Layer. Whether your DL media is labeled "double layer" or "dual layer," the PX-Q840U and PX-806SA can handle it. PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 44 A: Qflix™ DVDs are proven to play in over 99% of DVD and Blu-ray Disc players worldwide. Q: Can I burn Qflix™ movies to any kind of DVD media? A: No. You need a Qflix™ enabled Plextor DVD burner and Qflix™ DVD media. Here's where you can get it http://www.qflix.com/enu/getQflixnow.aspx...
  • Page 45 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Q: How can I tell that the blank DVDs / media that I buy in the store will be compatible with my Qflix™ burner? A: Qflix™ media is labeled as "Qflix™ DVD" or "Qflix™ Recordable DVD".

  • Page 46: Appendix A: Specifications For The Px-Q840U And Px-806Sa Drives

    Hard disk Empty Storage Capacity: 100 MB or more Average access time: 20 ms or less Disc Diameter 8cm and 12cm (Capacity) Recommended CD-R: CMC, Daxon, Gigastorage, Infodisc, Media Leaddata, Maxell, MBI, MCC, NanYa, Postech, PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 47 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Princo, Prodisc, Ritek, SAST,SONY, TDK, TY, Ricoh,SAST,SONY Low Speed CD-RW: CMC, Daxon, Gigastorage, Infodisc, MCC, Prodisc, Ricoh, Ritek, Lead Data, Princo High Speed CD-RW: CMC, Daxon, Gigastorage, Infodisc, MCC, NANYA, Prodisc, Ricoh, Ritek, Lead...
  • Page 48 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications DVD: Differential Astigmatic Detection and Astigmatic Detection Method Tracking: CD: DPP DVD: DPD DVDR/RW/RAM: DPP Wave length: CD: 784 nm (typical) DVD: 658 nm (typical) Output power: Read CD: 1.2mW @ objective lens DVD: 1.6mW @ objective lens...
  • Page 49 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Supported Write/ Read speed Write speed Disc spin method Media type for write selected for write CD-R 8x / 16x 20x ~ 24x PCAV 20x ~ 32x PCAV 20x ~ 40x PCAV 20x ~ 48x...
  • Page 50 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Read (or data extraction for copy) CD-ROM / Finalized CD-R 4x / 8x 4x~10x / 6.5x~16x / 10x~24x Data /CD-DAE /Video CD / 13x~32x / 16x~40x / 20x~48x Finalized CD-RW 4x / 8x 4x~10x / 6.5x~16x / 10x~24x...
  • Page 51 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Supported Write Method Following write methods are supported by this drive For CD-R/RW disc  Disc At Once (DAO)  Session At Once (SAO)  Track At Once (TAO)  Variable Packet Write  Fixed Packet Write For DVD+R / DVD+R9 ...
  • Page 52 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Performance Item Typical Data Buffer (MB) Burst Data Transfer Rate (MB/s) Spin Speed (rpm) CD-ROM read 8200 DVD-ROM read 7200 Sustained Data Transfer Rate (KB/s) 7150 CD-ROM outside 2950 CD-ROM inside 21350 DVD-ROM outside...
  • Page 53 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications CD-ROM Error Rate For CD-ROM Mode-1 (ECC on) Block/Bit Mode-2 (ECC off) Block/Bit For DVD-ROM Block/Bit DVD-ROM Playability Item Min. Scratch (mm) Black Dot (mm) Fingerprint (µm) Eccentric (µm) Thien Nguyen! 9/6/08 11:50 PM...
  • Page 54 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications CD-ROM Playability Item Min. Scratch (mm) Black Dot (mm) Fingerprint (µm) Eccentric (µm) Vertical Deviation (mm) 3 (at Max. speed, w/o speed down) Unbalance (g-mm) 10 (No read error) Environmental Conditions Temperature (Non-Condensation) Operating...
  • Page 55 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Non-Operating 0 ~ 12,500 m Reliability MTBF 70,000 POH at 25% duty cycle in room temp. MTTR 30 minutes Loading Operation 30,000 cycles Actuator Mechanism 1,000,000 full stroke seeks ElectroStatic Discharge Susceptibility(330Ω, 150pF) 6 KV (Contact Discharge)
  • Page 56 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Host Operating System Compatibility Windows XP /Vista Physical Dimensions Height 57.5 ± 0.5 mm Width 168 ± 0.5 mm Depth 197.7 ± 0.5 mm Weight < 1.1 Kg Drive mounting spec Mount the drive horizontally within ±10 tilt.
  • Page 57 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications USB Connector (USB 2.0 Interface Connector) USB B Connecter Pin Assignment: Connector Number Signal Name (Normal A) V Bus Shell Shield Minimum System Requirements—PX-806SA Internal SATA Drive Thien Nguyen! 9/6/08 11:50 PM Formatted: Font:11 pt, Font color: White...
  • Page 58 Appendix A: PX-Q840U and PX-806SA Specifications Peak current 1800 mA 1650 mA Power Peak 29.9W at 20X DVD Consumption* * NOTE: Specifications for electrical power and current have not yet been confirmed. Dimensions and Weight, PX-806SA Internal SATA Drive Dimensions 5.75"...

  • Page 59: Appendix B: Technical Support

    If you have not been successful in your quest, our Technical Support Department will help you solve problems that relate specifically to your Plextor drive. In many cases, a problem that appears to be caused by your Plextor drive actually originates in another part of your computer.

  • Page 60: How To Contact Plextor Technical Support

    Please gather as much of the following information as possible before contacting us. • The serial number of your Plextor drive. Your serial number appears on the drive label. • The latest version of firmware you loaded onto the drive, if applicable.

  • Page 61: Returns

    Appendix B: Technical Support Returns In the unlikely event that you need to return a drive to Plextor, you need an RMA (Returned Materials Authorization) number. You will need this number before any Plextor drive can be returned for replacement. Here’s how you get an RMA number and return your drive: 1.

  • Page 62: Shipping Your Drive To Plextor

    Be sure to write the RMA number on the outside of the shipping box. Any drive sent to Plextor without an RMA number will not be accepted. NOTE: The RMA number must be clearly visible on the outside of the shipping box.

  • Page 63: Appendix C: Warranty

    PLEXTOR; c) if the unit is subjected to abuse, neglect, Thien Nguyen! 9/6/08 11:50 PM lightning strike, electrical fault, improper packaging, or accident; d) if Formatted: Font:11 pt, Font color: White the unit is installed improperly;...

  • Page 64: If You're Outside The U.s. Or Canada

    All drives returned to PLEXTOR must be securely packaged and shipped postage prepaid. The drive will be returned to the customer at Plextor’s expense when originating within the United States. For a drive originating outside of the United States, the customer is responsible for shipping costs in both directions.
  • Page 65 PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...

  • Page 66: Index

    27 side 2, 24 cleaning your drive, 32 drive, recognizing in Windows, 35 precautions, 9, 32 closing tray, 27 compatibility, 4 compatibility formats compared, 37 CD-R, 5 formats supported, 4 PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 67 24 lossless linking, 4 zero link, 4 maintenance, 32 DVD-Video master reading speed, 2 setting in BIOS, 35 editing DVD+RW, 4 media, 24 eject care and handling, 27 emergency, 10, 34 CD-R, 25 PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 68 DVD, 28 rear-panel connectors Plextor software disc, 11, 18 PX-806SA, 17 PlexUtilities, 7 recognizing the PX-Q840U or PX- plug and play, support for, 3 806SA drive in Windows, 35 position, mounting, 19, 28 recording modes PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 69 DVD-R DL, 2 writing to CD-RW, 29 writing DVD-RW, 2 writing to DVD+R, 29 support, 52 writing to DVD+RW, 29 technical support, 52, 53 writing to DVD-RAM, 29 tray zero link, 4 closing, 27 PX-Q840U/ PX-806SA Installation and Users Manual...
  • Page 70 PLEXTOR Phone: 510-824-9693 42000 Christy Street Fax: 408-404-0142 Fremont, CA 94538 E-mail: Info-it@plextor.com www.plextor.com...

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Px-806sa

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