Now, THAT'S What Tech Support Is Supposed To Be Like...

...And, might I add, another reason I use Lite-On CD and DVD burners.



Let me explain.



A few weeks ago, Tara and I breathlessly and with glee hurried home with our brand-new DVD burner. Wooohoooo!



Everything worked wonderfully, until about two weeks ago.



And then, the problems started to crop up. First, our burning software started reporting that the burn "failed." The reason? "Disc changed." Um, yeah, like, you're burning it, and stuff? And, like, that changes it, you know? So, omg, what do we do?



Well, (unbeknownst to us, unrelated to the burner issues,) we got a computer virus - might I add, a really bitchin one that blew through our firewall with ease and scoffed at the pitiful antics of our virus scanner.



I thought to myself, "A quick fix, indeed!"



So, we reinstalled Windows. Now, I've done this so many times I have it down to a science, so, drive reformatted, WHAM! Windows XP is back up and running, noooo problem.



Except my brand-new DVD burner still didn't work, and in fact returned the same idiot message. You can but imagine the OMGWTF.



So, I tried more things. I swapped IDE channels. I lowered the data access speed from UATA-133 to ATA-100. Finally, in a fit of berserk creativity, I completely disassembled the computer down to the screws and bare metal, and rebuilt it on a different motherboard in a different case.



Actually, I did that three times. (Ok, so I have too many spare parts. Sue me.)



Same result. Hmmmmmmm.



Soooo, off to that great fount of information, the internet. Where I find that it's a firmware issue - the little operating instructions built into the drive - and I have to download a file to fix it.



Gotcha.



So, I go to the Lite-On website, download the file, run it, and get "Unable to update firmware! Please contact technical support!"



Maybe I better just do that, then, huh?



What followed was maybe the best customer service interaction I've ever had with an electronics company. Lite-On has a live chat option, that lets you talk to the tech bench right from your browser. Killer. I bring that up, and this is what happens:



"

Technical Support: Hello, Dave. Can I help you with anything today?

Dave: yes. i have an issue with my dvd-rw model SOHW-1693S

Dave: a few days ago, it stopped recording DVD-R or DVD+R media, and began returning an error "Burn process failed: Disc changed"

Dave: After doing some research, the recommended option was to flash the firmware with the update from your website for that model.

Technical Support: What software are you using?

Dave: Nero 6.0

Dave: I downloaded your firmware update utility for my model, ran it, it ran correctly until the progress bar hit 100%, then said "unable to update firmware! please contact technical support"

Dave: soooo, that's what I'm doing

Dave: it reads and plays discs just fine, but it utterly refuses to burn any media, not CD-R, not blank DVD, not DVDRW, nothing. Every attempt to burn gets the same error.

Dave: I tried uninstalling and reinstalling my burning software, and that didn't help

Technical Support: Ok. What is the serial number on the drive?

Dave: hang on one second

Technical Support: Okay

Dave: ************

Dave: manufactured dec. 2005

Technical Support: If the firmware flash did not work we can replace the drive.

Dave: ok, what do i need to do?

Technical Support: To replace the drive you would need to email the following information to oddus_support@liteonit.com: Your Name, Phone Number, Email Address, Shipping Address, Model Number, Serial Number, and Reason for Return with the Subject: RMA Request

Dave: ok, so under "reason for return" I put that it refuses to burn any media, and will not flash the firmware? do i need to give any other information?

Technical Support: That's all the info that we need.

Dave: ok, sending it now. how soon should I check for a reply? i mean, right away, or 2 weeks? I know it's the holidays

Technical Support: You should get an RMA email with in the next two days.

Dave: that will have all my instructions on how to return it and get the replacement, right? ok. at a guess, how long does the RMA process take, from when I ship the drive until i get my new one?

Technical Support: It takes between 2-3 weeks to fully process an RMA

Dave: works for me. do i need any other information / do i need to give you any other information?

Technical Support: Nope, thats it =)

Dave: thank you very much; i appreciate all your help, and have a great holiday season!

Technical Support: No problem! You too!

"



Lite-On, how do you roxxor, let me count the ways. Total replacement for my drive, in two weeks, at Christmas.



Bad. Ass.