www.makemkv.com

Since about a year, I had very few problems using MakeMKV in combination with my DVD-readers (an ASUS BlueRay reader, a Verbatim HL-dvd reader and a TSST D100 reader).

Unfortunately, my HL-dvd reader recently went completely dead, so I bought a new TSST D500 DVD reader.

This new reader causes problems. It keeps spitting out almost all discs that are perfectly fine. MakeMKV tries to load the disc, but after 15 seconds or so, the dvd-reader ejects the disc.

I have tried setting autoplay = off in the Windows device settings, which hasn't caused any problems so far, but it doesn't solve the problem.

Strangely enough, in a few cases (1 out of 10) it actually works and much faster than my other TSST D100.

Is there a quick fix for this problem or should I return the item and try some other dvd-reader?

Sorry if I posted in the wrong forum, but as far as I know this isn't a UHD or Libre drive.

MakeMKV version is v1.17.4 (win(x64-release))

Problem seems solved, the dvd-reader needed a second USB-cable, for some reason (additional power?)

Unfortunately, problem not solved. When I select Open Disc from the menu, MakeMKV tries reading the disc, but after a while, it says “No Disc”, with the log showing the following error:

ILLEGAL REQUEST:READ OF SCRAMBLED SECTOR WITHOUT AUTHENTICATION

Sometimes it works well, but in most cases it doesn’t. Re-inserting the disc does not solve the problem.

VLC Player has no problems playing the disc, even after MakeMKV failed.

My two other dvd-readers still work fine.

It feels a bit like I’m talking to a brick wall, but I have some additional info.

First, I upgraded to the newest MakeMKV version (v1.17.8 ), but there was no noticeable improvement. It did not solve the problem. Some discs rip ok, but on others I still get the message:

ILLEGAL REQUEST:READ OF SCRAMBLED SECTOR WITHOUT AUTHENTICATION

Secondly, I have tried several discs that failed in the new D500 reader and tried them in the old D100 reader. Each and everyone ripped fine.

So, as a complete non-expert on the internals of MakeMKV, let me speculate on the reason for the problem.

It cannot be the MakeMKV software nor the disc, because a disc that fails in the D500 reader, rips successfully in the D100 reader with the same software. So there must be some kind of protection/authorisation problem in the new D500 reader (or the driver) that prevents MakeMKV from reading a particular sector of the disc.
For some reason VLC Player, which also works ok on the D500 reader, does not encounter this problem when playing the disc, because it does not do that same operation on that specific sector of the disc.

I have seen reports of the pertained error message on this forum that go back to 2019, but I could not discern a clear fix for the problem.

I don't have any experience with the optical drives you're using, so I'm just speculating. However, my guess is MakeMKV makes some general assumptions about how to interact with optical drives. The current crop of popular drives gets a lot of testing. Older and more obscure products, like TSST drives, probably don't get much testing. How MakeMKV interacts with the firmware on these drives is anyone's guess. How many bugs are in the TSST D500 reader's firmware is an open question as well. It is likely firmware bugs or weird interactions between drive firmware and MakeMKV that are the reason why some discs work and some don't.

In your first post, you mention buying a new TSST D500 DVD reader. I'm curious, does TSST even exist as a company anymore? The Wikipedia page suggests that the Toshiba & Samsung joint venture that was TSST was sold to a Korean company, Optis Co., Ltd., and eventually went into bankruptcy in 2016.

Whatever chipset and firmware is used in the TSST D500 drives doesn't seem to work all that well with MakeMKV. It might be easiest to move on to a different drive.

Thank you for your reply.

I recently bought the drive through Amazon.

https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0CLGWR3CX

It is sold under a different brand name (Ruizhi or whatever), but MakeMKV shows it is just a TSST D500 drive. My TSST D100 was also sold under a different brand name and my defunct HL drive was sold as a Verbatim drive.

The TSST drive came with two cables and the manual was not helpful as how to connect the drive. So I started with one cable connected directly to a USB port of the laptop and when that caused problems, I connected a second between the drive and a USB hub, because I suspected power problems. Because this was a Y-cable, one USB connector was not plugged in. This even caused more problems.

So now I am back to one 1-1 cable between drive and laptop, and with the newest version of MakeMKV the last 4 discs ripped fine.

The Y-cable that comes with the drive seems to be for allowing one of two kinds of connections, not for adding extra power.

A Y-cable like this one: https://www.amazon.nl/CY-USB3-0-gegevens-USB2-0-voeding-mannelijk-micro-USB/dp/B0C1WNPZ16?th=1 is the more traditional kind that allows for extra power when both plugs are plugged into the computer. I have no idea if that would even work with your drive.

I know it is a lot more money, but the Verbatim 43888, https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B07MTP9VKX, works out of the box with MakeMKV as a LibreDrive capable drive. It rips DVDs, blu-rays, and UHDs.

Thank you for the information and your advice.

The player currently functions reasonably well with just the one cable between reader and laptop.

But in about 1 out of 5 cases the reader ejects the disc while MakeMKV opening its contents leaving MakeMKV in some unwanted state where nothing works anymore.

I also have plenty of “no disc” messages in MakeMKV while a DVD is inserted.

No idea why the reader ejects the disc without human intervention and no idea why the disc is not recognized sometimes. I never had those problems with my previous readers.

Just get a reasonable OK drive. Don't try to pray to make it work or live with its glitches.