CD-Rom/DvD Drive wont work!

[rwsjyiy]

Hi so my cd/dvd drive haasnt been able to read discs / open on its own. It doesnt show up in device manager but it shows up in the bios to change the boot sequence (i dont know if it shows up elswhere in the bios). Once after entering the bios and just browsing i was able to open the cd drive and heard the cd rom starting up but then it stopped...any help??

[Geek-9pm]

There are many problems people report with very CD and DVD drives.

 In order to help you better we need some more information. You are using Microsoft Windows Vista. Is this on a desktop? Is this on a laptop? Have you made any recent changes to your software or hardware? When did this start to happen?

Here is a very simple test. Set your computer up in the BIOS to boot from the CD/DVD drive. Stick in your OS install disk, or any other bookable disk you have around, such as say Linux distribution. See the computer will boot up to the first screen of the disk. But don't let it go any further. If you get that far then that would indicate that the disk drive is basically usable and your settings in the BIOS are correct.

So if that's the case, and it does try to boot the CD or DVD and it looks like it's going to work, we would could figure that something is wrong with the drivers inside of the operating system.
Otherwise, if the BIOS cannot create the optical disk drive, or does not predict reliably, we would conclude that the optical drive is at the end of its life.

[patio]

If it's 3 years old or better it's failing...
They don't make 'em like they used to.

A new dual-layer burner can be had from newegg for less than 40 Bucks shipped...

[Geek-9pm]

If it's 3 years old or better it's failing...
They don't make 'em like they used to.
A new dual-layer burner can be had from newegg for less than 40 Bucks shipped...

Even less. With limited warranty.
In USA $20 +$2 shipping.

[patio]

In USA $20 +$2 shipping.

For a dual-layer burner ? ?

         

[Geek-9pm]

For a dual-layer burner ? ?
          Roll Eyes

mm..  aa..  NO.   

[patio]

Thanx...

[rwsjyiy]

it is windows vista, it is a dell1520 laptop.
im not exactly sure how to boot up from the cd drive. i know its first in the boot sequence but i think thats different. but the one time i think i got to the screen to choose which drvie to boot up from, the cd drive wasnt there.

[Geek-9pm]

Dell 1520 - F12 key

[rwsjyiy]

when i press the F12 key i only see the internal harddrive and the onboard nic

[Broni]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118032&cm_re=dvd_burner_dual_layer-_-27-118-032-_-Product - $22 + free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129045&cm_re=dvd_burner_dual_layer-_-27-129-045-_-Product - $23 + $2 shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129043&cm_re=dvd_burner_dual_layer-_-27-129-043-_-Product - same price as the above one
    

[Salmon Trout]

If it's 3 years old or better it's failing...

My LG dual layer DVD-RW drive which I bought in 2004 and which must have done way over a thousand burns is still as good as ever...

[Geek-9pm]

There is a rumor going around about a conspiracy theory to destroy all DVD drives in existence.
The DVD conspiracy theory goes something like this. Some of the big manufacturers that also have interest in music libraries have come up with a way to design cheap DVD dual layer drives that will fail about one week after the warranty expires. This is a new mandatory implementation of the DRM. If you don't comply with the DRM, the firmware in the DVD-ROM will trigger a sequence that will count down and cause the drive to fail after the warranty expires.
Of course, there is no way to prove this. It recently we've seen an increase in drive failures in equipment that is not all that old. And then Microsoft puts a post on the knowledge-base that shows how you can get a sick drive to start working again by just changing some values in the registry. Very strange.

Digital rights management - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BC_Programmer]

a theory is a theory until it's proved otherwise.

If that wasn't the case we'd still think heat was a mystical substance called "caloric".

[patio]

Enough about the DRM conspiricay theories already....