ASUS CRW-4012A-U User Manual

CRW-4012A-U

External CD-RW

40x/12x/48x CD-RW Drive

User’s Manual

1

Copyrights/Disclaimer

Copyright © 2002 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be
reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any
language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for
backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
(“ASUS”).

ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE
LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE
OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN
ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR
ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT.

Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or
altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2)
the serial number of the product is defaced or missing.

The product name and revision number are both printed on the product itself. Manual
revisions are released for each product design represented by the digit before and after the
period of the manual revision number. Manual updates are represented by the third digit in
the manual revision number.

SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL ARE FURNISHED
FOR INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME
WITHOUT NOTICE, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY ASUS.
ASUS ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR
INACCURACIES THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS
AND SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.

Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered
trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or
explanation and to the owners’ benefit, without intent to infringe.

Product Name: ASUS External CD-RW Drive (CRW-4012A-U)
Manual Version: 1.00 E1052
Release Date: July 2002

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

Contents

Copyrights/Disclaimer....................................................... 2

FCC/CDC Statements ........................................................ 4

ASUS Contact Information ................................................ 5

Safety Information ............................................................. 6

Installation Notices....................................................... 6

Using the Device.......................................................... 7

Package Contents.............................................................. 8

Welcome! ............................................................................ 9

Product Introduction ......................................................... 9

Features....................................................................... 9

Front Panel ................................................................ 12

Rear Panel................................................................. 13

Installation ........................................................................ 14

System Requirements ............................................... 14

Setting the Jumper Terminals .................................... 15

Installing the CD-RW Drive........................................ 16

Connecting the Drive Cables ..................................... 18

Installing CRW-4012A-U driver................................... 18

Checking the drive in the System Properties............. 20

Properly unplugging CRW-4012A-U device ............. 21

CD-RW Drive Basics ........................................................ 22

Placing a Disc into the Drive...................................... 22

Ejecting a Disc from the Drive ................................... 23

Using the Emergency Eject Pinhole .......................... 24

Using Compact Discs ...................................................... 25

Cleaning a Disc.......................................................... 25

Handling a Disc.......................................................... 25

Technical Information ...................................................... 26

Environmental Specifications..................................... 26

Electrical and Audio Specifications ............................ 26

ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

3

FCC/CDC Statements

Federal Communications Commission Statement

This device complies with FCC Rules Part 15. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions:

• This device may not cause harmful interference, and

• This device must accept any interference received including interference that

may cause undesired operation.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with manufacturer’s
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If
this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception,
which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the

receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

WARNING! The use of shielded cables for connection of the
monitor to the graphics card is required to assure compliance with
FCC regulations. Changes or modifications to this unit not
expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could
void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.

Canadian Department of Communications Statement

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the
Canadian Department of Communications.

This class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

ASUS Contact Information

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (Asia-Pacific)

Address: 150 Li-Te Road, Peitou, Taipei, Taiwan 112
General Tel: [phone]
General Fax: [phone]
General Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

MB/Optical Drives (Tel):[phone] (English)
Notebook (Tel): [phone] (English)
Desktop/Server (Tel): [phone] (English)
Support Fax: [phone]
Support Email: [e-mail]
Web Site: www.asus.com
Newsgroup: cscnews.asus.com.tw

ASUS COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL (America)

Address: 6737 Mowry Avenue, Mowry Business Center,

Building 2, Newark, CA 94560, USA
General Fax: [phone]
General Email: [e-mail]

Technical Support

Support Fax: [phone]
General Support: [phone]
Notebook Support: +1-877-918-ASUS (2787)
Web Site: www.asus.com
Support Email: [e-mail]

ASUS COMPUTER GmbH (Europe)

Address: Harkortstr. 25, 40880 Ratingen, BRD, Germany
General Fax: [phone]
General Email: [e-mail] (for marketing requests only)

Technical Support

Support Hotline: MB/Optical Drives: [phone]
Notebook (Tel): [phone]
Support Fax: [phone]
Support (Email): www.asuscom.de/de/support (for online support)
Web Site: www.asuscom.de

ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

5

Safety Information

Observe the following precautions before installing and using the ASUS
External CD-RW (CRW-4012A-U) Drive!

Installation Notices

Do not place this device in an
unstable position, or in one that
vibrates.

Do not place this device in areas
where there is direct sunlight,
high humidity, or damp condition.

Do not use or place this device
near magnetic fields, televisions,
or radios, where there is
interference that may affect the
performance of the drive.

Do not attempt to disassemble or
repair the drive. Opening the drive
may result to exposure to laser
radiation.

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

Safety Information

Using the Device

• Use of any controls, adjustments, or procedures other than those

specified in this manual may result to hazardous radiation exposure.

• Do not attempt to disassemble the drive.

• Do not move the device from a cold to a warm or hot environment.

Drastic change of temperature is harmful to the device.

• Before moving or uninstalling the drive, remove disc from it, if any.

• Prevent liquids or any metal to get into the device. If this situation

occurs, contact your retailer for help.

• Do not use any evaporating solvents to clean the device. If you

accidentally sprayed any solvent on the device, use a clean cloth to
wipe it. You may also use a neutral cleaner to dilute the solvent to
easily wipe it from the device.

• Try not to interrupt the supply of power while the device is in reading or

writing mode.

• Do not place damaged or warped discs inside the device. A warped

disc may break while in use and damage the device.

• Do not place discs into the device immediately if they came from a cold

environment, specially during cold seasons. Wait until the discs have
reached room temperature.

Conventions used in this guide

To make sure that you perform certain tasks properly, take note of the
following symbols used throughout this manual.

WARNING/DANGER: Information to prevent injury to yourself
when trying to complete a task.

CAUTION: Information to prevent damage to the components
when trying to complete a task.

IMPORTANT: Information that you MUST follow to complete a
task.

NOTE: Tips and additional information to aid in completing a task.

ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

7

Package Contents

Upon opening your ASUS External CD-RW (CRW-4012A-U) drive
package, check if all the following items are present and in good condition.
If any of the items is damaged or missing, contact your retailer
immediately.

• ASUS External CD-RW drive (CRW-4012A-U)

• ASUS External CD-RW drive stand

• Cable set (USB 2.0 cable, power cable and adapter)

• Emergency eject pin and instruction

• ASUS CD-R blank disc

• ASUS CD-RW blank disc

• User’s Manual (English and Traditional Chinese)

• Multi-language quick installation poster

• Bundled software CD

The above items are available in retail boxes only.

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

Welcome!

Thank you for buying the ASUS External (CRW-4012A-U) Drive!

To ensure proper installation and use of this device, read the instructions
and other important information contained in this manual.

Product Introduction

Specifications

The CRW-4012A-U has the following specifications.

• Speeds

- CD-R Write Speed 40x, 32x, 24x, (Z-CLV), 16x, 12x, 8x, 4x(CLV)

- CD-RW Write Speed 12x, 10x, 8x, 4x, 2x

- Read Speed 48x max (CAV)~7200 KB/Sec

- DAE Speed 48x max (CAV)~7200 KB/Sec

- Random Access Time 100 ms

• Interface USB 2.0

TM

• Technology support FlextraSpeed

FlextraLink

Double
Zone CLV Recording Technology

• Buffer Memory Size 2 MB

• Application discs 12cm or 8 cm diameter, 1.2mm thick

CD-Audio, CD-ROM, CD-ROM/XA, CD-I,
Mixed Mode CD-ROM, Photo CD, CD-Extra,
Video CD, CD-Text, DVCD, CD-G, Karaoke

CD, I-trax, Bootable CD

• Writing Mode Track-at-Once, Disc-at-Once,

Session-at-Once, Multi-Session, Packet Write,

Dynamic Suspension System II

Technology

TM

Technology

(DDSS II)

DAO-RAW Mode

• Dimensions 155.6 (w) x 226 (d) x 50 (h) mm

• Mass 1398 g (3.08 lbs)

Refer to the section “Technical Information” on page 26 for
detailed specifications.

ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

9

Features

The ASUS CRW-4012A-U is an External CD-RW drive with 40x Write, 12x
ReWrite and 48x Read capabilities. The drive complies with the Universal
Serial Bus 2.0 (USB 2.0) specifications and comes equipped with the
latest innovative technologies in CD recording.

ASUS External CD-RW drives are accentuated by the latest innovations in
CD-recording technology, namely: FlextraSpeed
(Double Dynamic Suspension System II) and the Z-CLV (Zone Constant
Linear Velocity).

The following sub-sections describe these technologies in detail.

FlextraSpeed™ Technology

The ASUS FlextraSpeed™ technology provides the optimum solution to
ensure quality recording when using discs that require flexible speeds. The
CRW-4012A-U drive employs this technology that allows automatic
recording speed adjustment based on the recording media.

TM

, FlextraLinkTM, DDSS II

In addition to the fact that there are low and high quality recording media,
various other factors such as dye layer, temperature, humidity, dust,
fingerprints, etc., affect the recording characteristics of CD-R and CD-RW
discs. Due to these factors, some discs may not be able to stand the high­speed capabilities of the latest CD-RW drives. The FlextraSpeed™
technology solves this problem by automatic assessment of the disc
quality and recording capability. The recording speed is based on these
factors. If you use a high quality recording disc, you can maximize the
recording capability of the drive and get the best quality output. If you use
a low quality disc, the drive speed adjusts to the level that is most
appropriate for the disc, still optimizing the disc recording capability.

The FlextraSpeed™ technology also helps maintain the CD-RW drive
because of the controlled motor rotation speeds and reduced noise
caused by spindle air, thus prolonging the drive motor’s life and ensuring
high-quality recording.

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

FlextraLink™ Technology

The ASUS FlextraLink™ technology provides a seamless combination of
flexibility and ultra-reliable recording quality.

FlextraLink™ incorporates a flexible strategy that prevents buffer underrun
problems caused by an empty data buffer. This CD-RW drive technology
allows continuous monitoring of the data buffer status during the write
process. Once the available data drops to approximately 1% of the total
buffer capacity, the drive stops recording and marks the last write position.
When new data is received from the host, it is loaded to the data buffer,
and the laser is repositioned to link the new data with the data already
written. FlextraLink™ uses minimal system resources so that your PC
remains fully operational throughout the writing process, and available for
other applications.

The diagram below shows the advantage of the FlextraLink™ recording
technology.

FlextraLink™ Technology Solution

Data

Data transfer

Conventional
Recording

Data

Buffer

Write Data

Memory

Recording with
FlextraLink™
Technology

Write Data

Data

Write Data

slows down

Buffer
Memory

Write process
continues

Data transfer
slows down

Buffer
Memory

Write process stops;
waits until there is
enough data for writing

Data

Buffer
Memory
Empty

Data

Write Data

Data transfer slower
than write process

Bad disc results

Data transfer continues
and fills buffer with
sufficient data for writing

Buffer
Memory

Write process continues
until writing is complete

ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

11

Double Dynamic Suspension System (DDSS II)

The DDSS II is an enhanced follow up to the DDSS anti-vibration system
developed by ASUS. The DDSS CD-ROM technology is designed to
reduce the vibration generated from spindle rotation of over 8900 rpm of
40X CD-ROM drives. The DDSS II improves this feature by handling up to
over 10,000 rpm of the new 50X drives. In addition, the DDSS II stabilizes
the pick-up head of the drive in both horizontal and vertical directions,
making tracking and focusing even more precise.

Like the DDSS, the DDSS II vibration absoption structure contains a
“dynamic mass” that can absorb the vibration caused by high revolution of
spindle motor. However, the DDSS II moves the dynamic mass to be
suspended to the chassis, thus providing more stability and accuracy
when accessing data from the disc.

The following diagram illustrates the DDSS/DDSS II design structure.

DDSS / DDSS II Design Structure

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

Zone CLV Recording Technology

The Zone Constant Linear Velocity (Z-CLV) recording method allows you
to achieve a higher recording speed by using a different speed for each of
the four zones partitioned from the inner to the outer area in a disc.

When using the Zone CLV, the recording speed in Zone 1 is 16X, then
increases to 20X speed in Zone 2, after t1 time. In Zone 3, the recording
reaches 24X speed after t2 time. In Zone 4, the recording speed reaches
32X after t3. The maximum recording speed of 40X is attained in Zone 4
after t4 time.

Zone CLV Recording Method

Speed

40x

32x

24x

20x

16x

Zone1

Zone2

t1 t2

Zone3

t3

Zone4

t4

Zone5

Time

ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

13

Front Panel

¤

40X12X48X

R

7

8 9

12

Recordable

Recordable

Recordable

Rewritable

High Speed

3 65

4

W

1. Headphone Jack

This jack allows you to connect a headphone with a stereo mini-plug.

2. Headphone Volume Dial

To adjust volume of headphone connected, turn dial to the left to
decrease volume; turn to the right to increase volume.

3. Disc Tray

This tray holds the disc.

4. Power Indicator

This LED lights green when drive power is ON and turns off when drive
power supply is OFF.

5. WRITE Indicator (Red LED)

This LED flashes while data is being written on the disc.

6. READ Indicator (Green LED)

This LED turns ON when you place a disc on the drive tray, and stays
ON until you remove the disc. The LED flashes while data is being
read from the disc.

7. Emergency Eject Pinhole

To manually eject the tray and the disc. See page 24, for details on
using the emergency eject pinhole.

8. PLAY/SKIP Button

This button has two functions. If the drive is idle, pressing this button
will start playing a loaded audio disc from the first track. While in the
PLAY mode, pressing this button skips to the next track on the disc.

9. STOP/EJECT Button

This button has two functions. Pressing this button at any time ejects
the disc tray. While in PLAY mode, pressing this button stops playing
the disc loaded in the drive.

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

Rear Panel

10 11 12

10.12V Power jack

This jack is for the AC adaptor power cable.

11. USB connector

A standard Universal Serial Bus (USB 2.0) plug and play interface.

12.Power switch

Turns the power supply ON or OFF. Switching to
and switching to “O“ side means OFF.

“|“ icon means ON

ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual

15

Installation

System Requirements

Before installing and using the External CD-RW drive, make sure that your
computer system meets the following requirements.

• IBM-compatible Pentium II - 333 MHz or higher PC

• Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP operating system

• At least 64MB RAM (128MB recommended)

Recommended Media

40X CD-R Acer, CMC, Kodak, LeadData, MaxMax,

Mitsui, Prodisc, Ritek, TDK

CD-R Acer, CMC, Kodak, Maxell, Melody,

Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsui, Princo, Prodisc,
Ricoh, Ritek, SONY, Taiyo Yuden, TDK

CD-RW Acer, AMT, CMC, Maxell, MaxMax, Mitsubishi

Chemical, Plextor, Princo, Ricoh, Ritek, TDK,
V erbatim

Do not use damaged or warped disc in the CD-RW drive.
The disc may break apart during use and cause potential
body injury or damage to your drive.

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ASUS CRW-4012A-U User’s Manual