Sorry to bump an old thread to the top again, but thought I'd pass on how i got this working in case anyone else gets a similiar prob with a philips cd rewriter.
I found out why I couldn't reflash the firmware, there was a jumper on the rear of the drive for factory use only(whatever that means I assume some form of testing when they build it)
once removed the firmware was updated. however this jumper was also the reason the data being written to the discs was corrupted as well as if i put it back in i get dodgy discs and if i leave it out I'm a happy bunny and all discs are fine.
So thanks for all the suggestions and possible causes and just remember this if you hear of anyone else with a similiar fault. I know i won't forget it in a hurry.
