Combo DVD/CD-ROM plays CDs fine but doesn't recognize DVDs

ok i know there are old closed threads on this and i have already tried the geek squad advice of deleting the upper and lower limits in the registry key. i have already searched the internet for new drivers/solutions and tryed the incredibly useless FixIt program offered by microsoft. I'm here cuz i'm desperate.:confused:

The facts:
Im using vista. the dvd-rom, according to device manager, is an ATAPI DVD A DH16A1L. The driver is C:\Windows\System32\drivers\cdrom.sys, version is 6.0.6002.18005. The entire pc is as it was purchased with vista factory installed and kept up to date since. The device manager insists the device is working properly and has the best driver.

when a music or game cd is put in, the drive works fine, runs silently, plays the music or game.

when a game dvd is put in, the drive makes a grunt, then is silent. If i attemt to explore the drive from my computer, it ejects telling me to insert a disk.

when a movie dvd is put in, its the same as a game dvd except that the grunt repeats continuously every few seconds until the disk is ejected.

If this is a hardware problem, i have no problem buying a new dvd-rom, but if it is a driver problem i am afraid i will have the same issue even with new hardware. What do you think?
 
Hi daver14 (again),

Well i've never seen (or used) a different driver apart from "cdrom.sys" on every DVD drive i've had (and i've had about 7 or 8 main ones in the past). What i can say is, I have had this problem before with a "Combo drive" and it turned out to be a failure of the circuit board inside the drive itself (so hardware basicly)...The drive played CD's but not DVD's.

I'de hate to say "Go out a buy another" because maybe someone else has heard of some software resolution that i haven't...and obviously if their's a software fix, it will save cash on a new drive. But it does sound like the same thing i had on a combo drive in the past.
 
Your probably right, this thing is 4 years old after all. I think I'll just get a new drive and see if it works. I guess the next question would be, do you think i would have conflicts if i got a dvd-rom only and left the old combo drive in for cds?
 
I don't think the world makes DVD-ROM only drives (?)...Usually if it plays dvd's, it's either a combo drive or a dvd burner drive...But yeah, conflicts don't happen with things like that (or if they do, very rarely)

You should be fine.
 
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