DVD/CD drive problem

[ninebob]

Trying to help a friend with this issue. Computer is a Dell Dimension desktop, OS is XP Home.

The machine only has one drive which is a CD/DVD rewriter combo. Since yesterday the drive will not recognise CDs. (eg, he tries to run a program which requires the CD to be inserted, but the program reports that the CD is not there. Also, when clicking on the drive in "My computer" with a known good data disc, it shows up as there being nothing on the CD.)

Oddly, it does recognise and play DVDs.

I would be inclined to think it's a hardware fault, however my friend thinks it might be linked to the following event:

His partner bought and tried to install a game which was intended for windows 95/98. He recalls the installation saying that to make it work with XP it was neccessary to alter some settings. Unfortunately he's not too good with computers and can't remember what it was he did.

I have already talked him through firstly updating the driver (but windows reported that there was no closer match than the currently installed one), next we uninstalled the drive completely and rebooted for windows to redetect it (which it did, but still won't read CDs).

Any suggestions what to try next?

 

[Igorian]

You could try a system restore.

How old is the drive. They do die eventually.

Have you got another CD drive you can try?

 

[eggplant]

I imagine its the drive on its way out, not unusual for a drive to stop reading one type of media.
A sure test, grab a bootable cd (if you dont have one or arent sure then post back - if you dont have one you'll need a pc that can write to cd to make one..) boot from cd, if it boots from cd, then of course the drive can indeed read the cd.

 

[ninebob]

He did also do a system restore to a point about 3 days previous, didn't work.

Computer/Drive less than 6 months old so I'd be surprised if it was hardware failure (not impossible though I suppose).

What settings do you think it would be that were altered by using a CD intended for 95/98? I'm inclined to think this is the key to it but I'm at a loss...

I do have a spare drive that I can try, will do that tomorrow.

 

[eggplant]

Try the spare drive initially, will save a lot of head scratching for nothing !
Not unusual though for drives to go like this one,6 months is a bit naf though.

 

[ninebob]

OK, here's the update:

First tried booting from CD with existing drive - wouldn't work. I think this answers the question straight away, i.e. drive failed!

Added spare drive as slave, booted into windows. Existing drive still the same (i.e. recognises DVDs but not CDs), new drive working fine.

Tried booting from CD on new drive, wouldn't work. Realised my error, slapped myself and changed drives round i.e. slave/master!

Now boots from CD fine on new drive, existing drive still behaves the same.

Obviously, through the above process, both drives were uninstalled in device manager and then redetected by Windows.

Question then, is this: Does this definitely mean that it's a hardware fault on the first drive? I certainly think so, but James thinks it's a bit co-incidental as it happened at the same time as installing the previously-mentioned game.

Also, is it true, as i read on another forum, that these "combo" drives have separate lasers for CD and DVD? If so, this would explain why DVDs still work when CD has failed.

Thanks again for your input on this!

 

[Spark123]

Have you tried cleaning the laser?

 

[ninebob]

Have you tried cleaning the laser?

Not in so far as taking it apart, but I did blow hard into it and give it a gentle shake with the drawer open, just incase dust was the problem - had no effect.

 

[Spark123]

Just wondering if it is worth upgrading the firmware?
To clean the laser, (is it worth trying a cleaning CD/DVD 1st?), open up the box and using something like a cotton bud and some lens cleaner, gently wipe the laser making sure you don't leave any of the cotton behind.

 

[ninebob]

Spark123, thanks for your input, now tried a CD cleaner (no joy) - so what we really need to know is whether this is a hardware fault (I'm now almost certain it is) or something caused by the software that James's boyfriend tried to install. Because if it's the former, the PC is less than 6 months old so he can then call Dell and get it sorted under warranty. (Obviously if it's not, they can can send as many new drives as they want but it won't solve the problem)!

 

[Igorian]

Errm, haven't you already tried a new drive, which worked?

 

[Spark123]

Please feel free to correct me on this as I am not 100% sure on this,
I believe it is possible to upgrade the firmware for a computers CD/DVD drive over the internet (the firmware is installed a chip which is part of the CD/DVD drive), the fact you cannot boot from it makes me think the drive is at fault which could be either the drives hardware or its firmware has been corrupted, I believe you can still get firmware updates to remove things like the DVD region lock. You could try updating the firmware from the manufacturers website to see if this cures it, if this fails then a new drive is the only other viable option.

 

[Igorian]

Please feel free to correct me on this as I am not 100% sure on this,
I believe it is possible to upgrade the firmware for a computers CD/DVD drive over the internet (the firmware is installed a chip which is part of the CD/DVD drive), the fact you cannot boot from it makes me think the drive is at fault which could be either the drives hardware or its firmware has been corrupted, I believe you can still get firmware updates to remove things like the DVD region lock. You could try updating the firmware from the manufacturers website to see if this cures it, if this fails then a new drive is the only other viable option.

IMHO, updating the firmware will be a waste of time. Combos are generally crap. Let's face it they retail for about a tenner. If it's warrantied, let the supplier sort it out, or just bang in another drive yourself if you are not worried about invalidating it.

 

[eggplant]

Agreed.