Can't read dvd/cd rw drive

[SaskNewfie]

Hey...I was burning some dvd's a couple nights ago..backing some crap up...and my dvd drive stopped working. I tired several blank dvd's and under properties it shows 0 used and 0 remaining. I rebooted pc several times. I unistalled the drive and reinstalled...it actually detected the new hardware to reinstall. It sill doesn't read any disk at all. I tried updating drivers, but it says no updates available.

I'm using xp media center edition...thanks!

[Tortelvis]

I don't know whats wrong with it, but I know you can get a new one at Newegg for cheap. The Lite-on's are dependable and very affordable.

[Whiskey_Corpse]

did you try cleaning it..

[SaskNewfie]

did you try cleaning it..

lol...those things get dirty? I'll try that...haven't cleaned my pc since i bought it 1 1/2 yrs ago!

[Whiskey_Corpse]

lol...those things get dirty? I'll try that...haven't cleaned my pc since i bought it 1 1/2 yrs ago!

I clean mine with a cd disc cleaner once a week

[Bucko]

I was gonna suggest a new one, too because at about $25-30 ea. you can't really go wrong. Sometimes I start with http://www.pricegrabber.com when looking for aftermarket hardware, because you can see ratings, best price shipped, etc.

I would probably start by trying cleaning as Whiskey suggested, especially if you already have one of these, and especially if you have multiple PCs because the price of the kit benefits multiple PCs. The DVD player I had on my TV until a few months ago was a nice Sony player I paid maybe $250 for back in 2000. It got to the point where it wouldn't play any movies without some skipping and other bugs. I kept it going for a few months just by spraying compressed air directly into the front where the tray goes in. Ultimately I got tired of screwing with it and bought a $60 Phillips that plays pretty much every format on the planet... it plays movies great, including copies the Sony wouldn't play, but the remote sucks compared to the Sony and seems to eat batteries so I may need to get a nice universal remote or something long term.

If you have only one PC you use, you might want to weigh the price of the cleaning kit against the cost of a new drive, because the cleaner may or may not fix it and may cost almost half as much as a new drive. Then again with a new drive you have to open up the case and stick the new one in -- not difficult but depends on how much you like doing that kind of thing.

The Dell PCs I bought in 2002 and again in 2004 (never, ever, again will I buy Dell) had two drives in them, both of which were finicky although I could usually get things to play in one or the other. The PC I use now, that I bought in late 2006 (brand is Velocity Micro, excellent machine) has two drives that both just work without a hitch so I haven't had to mess with that in a while. Maybe the manufacturing techniques of the drives have just got better.

[SaskNewfie]

An update...i never replaced my drive yet. I just use my laptop to burn cds/dvds. Tonight i was messin' around and for some reason it reads cds but not dvds...does that make any difference to the troubleshooting procedure? Or should i simply head out and buy a new one? Thanks again.........

[Whiskey_Corpse]

Well mine quit reading last week already replaced it beginning of this week....

[Ninja]

I have never cleaned any optical drive in any PC I've ever owned. That being said, I've also never had a problem with a drive or burner reading or burning due to the lens being dirty. It's usually a hardware error or drivers in the OS. DVD burners are so cheap now anyway that I wouldn't even waste my time cleaning them. They're like printers now. Once it runs out of ink, go get a new one because it's cheaper to do that than replace the cartridge.

[Bucko]

They're like printers now. Once it runs out of ink, go get a new one because it's cheaper to do that than replace the cartridge.

I imagine that's true about new printers particularly ink jets. I'm still using the same printer I bought back in 92. HP Laserjet 4L. This model does not even have a power switch, it is "always on" but uses only a couple of watts when it's not printing something. Toner is still available and relatively cheap. When I think about the fact that the thing has been powered on (mostly 24/7) for the last 16 years, it's pretty amazing for any PC hardware. It is a parallel port printer of course, no USB back then. The last PC I owned that came with a parallel port was in 2004, so I had to buy a Parallel to USB converter cable to keep this tank in use. Well worth it, still a great printer for what I use it for (not high volume printing or anything fancy).

[McFeely]

Sask,

Are you getting this message when you check your drive?

"There is no disc in the drive. Please insert a writable CD into drive."

If you are it is a bug in your registry. I used to get this a lot when I had my shop. This what I did to fix it and it comes right from the MS site. I know it says cd-rom, but the fix works for DVD drives too. Why it happens I don't know.

1.Click Start, and then click Run.

2.In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

3.Expand the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\CD Burning\Drives

4.On the File menu, click Export.

5.In the File name box, type backup of drives key, and then click Save.

Note You can restore this registry subkey by double-clicking the backup of drives key.reg file that you saved.

6.In the left pane of the Registry Editor window, click the Volume{GUID} folder under Drives, where GUID is a 32-character hexadecimal globally unique identifier.

Note If you have more than one CD-ROM drive in the computer, an additional Volume{GUID} folder is listed for each drive.

7.In the right pane of the Registry Editor window, double-click Drive Type.

8.In the Value data box, type 1 or 2, depending on the drive type, and then click OK.

The drive type should be 1 if it is a CD-R and 2 if it is a CD-RW.

9.Quit Registry Editor.

10.Click Start, and then click My Computer.

11.Under Devices with Removable Storage, right-click the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

12.If the Recording tab is displayed, Windows recognizes the drive as a recordable device.

13.Click Cancel.

Note If you have more than one CD-ROM drive, DVD-ROM drive, or CD-RW drive in the computer and the Recording tab is not displayed, an incorrect drive may have been configured as "recordable" in the Windows registry. To troubleshoot this issue, follow these steps: a. Follow steps 1 through 9 to edit the Drive Type value of the Volume{GUID} folder whose value you previously changed.b. In the Value data box, type 3, and then click OK.

The drive type value of 3 indicates that the drive is a standard CD-ROM and is not writable.c. In the left pane of the Registry Editor window, click the next Volume{GUID} folder.d. Follow steps 7 and 8 to change the Value data entry to 1 or 2, depending on the drive type.e. Quit Registry Editor, and then follow steps 10 through 12 to confirm that the Recording tab is displayed in the properties dialog box of the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive.

[Ninja]

I imagine that's true about new printers particularly ink jets. I'm still using the same printer I bought back in 92. HP Laserjet 4L. This model does not even have a power switch, it is "always on" but uses only a couple of watts when it's not printing something. Toner is still available and relatively cheap. When I think about the fact that the thing has been powered on (mostly 24/7) for the last 16 years, it's pretty amazing for any PC hardware. It is a parallel port printer of course, no USB back then. The last PC I owned that came with a parallel port was in 2004, so I had to buy a Parallel to USB converter cable to keep this tank in use. Well worth it, still a great printer for what I use it for (not high volume printing or anything fancy).Yes, I agree. Sorry for the lack of clarification, I should have said ink jets in particular. :) I also have an HP laser jet that's been dutifully chugging away everyday for about 3-4 years now without ever being turned off. However that's no where even close to your 16 years! That's pretty awesome.

[Whiskey_Corpse]

I have never cleaned any optical drive in any PC I've ever owned. That being said, I've also never had a problem with a drive or burner reading or burning due to the lens being dirty. It's usually a hardware error or drivers in the OS. DVD burners are so cheap now anyway that I wouldn't even waste my time cleaning them. They're like printers now. Once it runs out of ink, go get a new one because it's cheaper to do that than replace the cartridge.

Please look at this pic before reading on

http://www.team-osg.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=731&cat=500

I belive this system would be an exception to this I just received this system in the shop the customer complaint was his dvd drive was not working Imagin that...
I cleaned the dives the system and myself after touching this nasty thing...I did use a lens cleaner and the drive DID start reading I am not saying that was all that was wrong with it but this is a prime example of Why a lens cleaner might be of some help and a good dry air cleaning system and a vaccume and rags and a calm temper at the time this is a classic case of computer abuse....lmao

[Whiskey_Corpse]

Sask,

Are you getting this message when you check your drive?

"There is no disc in the drive. Please insert a writable CD into drive."

If you are it is a bug in your registry. I used to get this a lot when I had my shop. This what I did to fix it and it comes right from the MS site. I know it says cd-rom, but the fix works for DVD drives too. Why it happens I don't know.

1.Click Start, and then click Run.

2.In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

3.Expand the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVe rsionExplorerCD BurningDrives

4.On the File menu, click Export.

5.In the File name box, type backup of drives key, and then click Save.

Note You can restore this registry subkey by double-clicking the backup of drives key.reg file that you saved.

6.In the left pane of the Registry Editor window, click the Volume{GUID} folder under Drives, where GUID is a 32-character hexadecimal globally unique identifier.

Note If you have more than one CD-ROM drive in the computer, an additional Volume{GUID} folder is listed for each drive.

7.In the right pane of the Registry Editor window, double-click Drive Type.

8.In the Value data box, type 1 or 2, depending on the drive type, and then click OK.

The drive type should be 1 if it is a CD-R and 2 if it is a CD-RW.

9.Quit Registry Editor.

10.Click Start, and then click My Computer.

11.Under Devices with Removable Storage, right-click the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.

12.If the Recording tab is displayed, Windows recognizes the drive as a recordable device.

13.Click Cancel.

Note If you have more than one CD-ROM drive, DVD-ROM drive, or CD-RW drive in the computer and the Recording tab is not displayed, an incorrect drive may have been configured as "recordable" in the Windows registry. To troubleshoot this issue, follow these steps: a. Follow steps 1 through 9 to edit the Drive Type value of the Volume{GUID} folder whose value you previously changed.b. In the Value data box, type 3, and then click OK.

The drive type value of 3 indicates that the drive is a standard CD-ROM and is not writable.c. In the left pane of the Registry Editor window, click the next Volume{GUID} folder.d. Follow steps 7 and 8 to change the Value data entry to 1 or 2, depending on the drive type.e. Quit Registry Editor, and then follow steps 10 through 12 to confirm that the Recording tab is displayed in the properties dialog box of the CD-R drive or CD-RW drive.


very imformative post Mcfeely nice job...