DVD/CD drive problems

[gerry7]

my DVD RW drive is a Sony DVD RW-D W-D23A
Pre-recorded DVDs are recognised and will play normally. Blank discs are not recognised and I cannot burn or record anything.
my Rom drive is a Sony DVD-Rom D D U 1613
Sometimes CDs are not recognised at all. I get a message to insert a disc into the drive.
I have not been able to resolve these problems using the Windows troubleshoot  facility or via the Sony website. Can anyone help please? (my O S is Windows XP Home edition).

[smkcyber]

lens........of ur DVD has..lost it power....!

[Deerpark]

lens........of ur DVD has..lost it power....!

smkcyber's post doesn't make a lot of sense but he is probably on the right track...
It sounds like your burner is dying. How old is it?
You can install and test it in another computer to make sure it is in fact the burner that is at fault here.

[gerry7]

 Thanks. The computer is three years old. I am afraid  that I am such a greenhorn that I would not know how to do this.

[sniffynose]

DVD Writers are so cheap these days(~$40). It is'nt worth mucking around, just replace it with a new one. It is an easy task to remove the old one and install a new one.
greg

[gerry7]

Thanks. I might do that.

[Forensic2]

I had the same thing with a Sony, I burn a CD and it was never the same, stop reading PC CD and only DVD'S and music CD then that stop reading them. I bought one for £ 24.99 at PC world, which comes with a burner,DVD and replaced it and it works fine.

UNPLUG COMPUTER ! You need Philip's screw driver, take sides and front cover off,  unscrew the screws holding your old one. You should have 3 plugs to unplug from it.  One big main in the middle and 2 smaller one on each side. Slowly pull out old driver and watch how much lead you have with cables. Unsnap them and be careful they don't drop down cause you might have some plugs that look the same but not in use. Small hands and fingers do help. lol.

Once unplug / replug your new one in the same way slide it back carefully not to pinch any wires. screw it back on, covers back on and your ready to plug computer back in.  once computer come on it will tell you what you need to do and CD that came with it to add the softwear it came with.  hope this helps.

[gerry7]

Thanks for your help. Thinking about it SMKcyber may have been trying to say the lenses may need cleaning. This certainly solved a problem I had on an ordinary CD player. I would like to try that first.But - how do I clean the lenses in the computer version?