DVD/CD-RW drive does not work.

[Banshee1020]

Hi all, I am having trouble with my DVD/CD-RW drive. I just purchased a DVD PC game and I put the DVD in, and I can hear it spinning, but I don't think the computer is recognizing the DVD (nor does it in the device manager). This isn't the first time this has happened, but I disregarded it last time because I thought it was just the DVD that was problematic. It has been able to read DVDs in the past, but now it cannot. Does anyone have any clue why this is occuring? Any help would be greatly appriciated, thank you.

 

[SNGX1275]

Is it not recognising the drive or the disk? Its not clear in your post. If its just not reading the disk, does it work with cds? If its not seeing the drive what about in the BIOS? If its there try booting off a bootable cd, if that works its software, if it doesn't then the drive is faulty (assuming the IDE cable is good and seated properly).

 

[Ritwik7]

Try reinstalling your drivers.

 

[Tmagic650]

Try reinstalling your drivers.

Better yet, try and uninstall the DVD CD R/W combo drive and let Windows reinstall it. There are no drivers to install or uninstall for this problem

 

[Banshee1020]

Better yet, try and uninstall the DVD CD R/W combo drive and let Windows reinstall it. There are no drivers to install or uninstall for this problem

I uninstalled the drive (went into device manager, right clicked the drive, uninstalled) and then scanned for new hardware changes, and it did not detect any, so now I'm without the drive totally. The drive could detect CDs, but I tried installing something from that drive (from a CD) and it totally botched the installation, and the program didn't work, but when I installed it from my regular CD drive, it did work.

[EDIT] Also, the drive isn't showing up in the device manager anymore either.

[EDIT #2] Reset my computer, the drive is showing up in my device manager again but to no avail. Put in the DVD and the drive made some whizzing, sputtering sounds. My computer was completly frozen when the DVD was in, but when I ejected DVD, computer came back to life. This is really irritating me.

 

[N3051M]

how about a reply to sngx1275's post? critical info there..

 

[raybay]

Go to
http://aumha.org/reg3.htm
and scroll down to Restore missing CD Drive. This often works.

Otherwise, you may have a bad DVD drive. They are now among the most fragile and trouble-prone components in a computer... seldom lasting a year, but failing much sooner if used a great deal.

 

[Banshee1020]

I see drive in BIOS, but I am going to assume that drive is dead. I can hear DVD violently spinning in drive, but when I go to My Computer, there is no icon on the drive. Take for example you get Battlefield 2 and put it in the drive, there would normally be a '2' next to the drive, but when I put it in the drive, it doesn't say anything, just stays as DVD/CD-RW, and computer locks up until I eject DVD

 

[kay1978]

IT technician

try reinstalling your operating system

 

[N3051M]

If your DVD drive can't read any sort of media (DVD +/-/DL -> movie or data) it could be that the drive itself may be dead. Try it.

It should still work as a CD drive, since the laser used is a different one.

 

[SNGX1275]

try reinstalling your operating system

Do NOT do this, what kind of advice is that? You registered just to post that crap? I really hope you aren't an IT Technician, if so I hope you get fired soon.

All advice to diagnose the problem was already said earlier in the thread.

 

[Tmagic650]

try reinstalling your operating system

This is always "The Last Resort" thing to do. Most IT's have no idea how to troubleshoot computer hardware SNGX1275

 

[SNGX1275]

Well its just poor advice for this case specifically, the DRIVE DOESN'T WORK its in the title. Then in subsequent posts we find the words "violently spinning" in reference to hearing the drive. And if Banshee would have answered the question I posed about whether it can even boot off a cd (and then N3051M also asked) we'd know for sure, but the dude said violently spinning so its toast.

And then Kay1978 titled his post IT Technician. It was just poor in every aspect.

 

[Tmagic650]

"IT Technician"... Just what is an IT technician? Someone who physically installs hubs, routers, and switches? I was an Electronics Engineering Technician. I built the electronic circuits the engineers designed. It's one thing to be able to fix circuits that once worked, but another to fix circuits that have never worked...

As raybay stated below regarding CD's and CD/DVD R/W's:

"They are now among the most fragile and trouble-prone components in a computer... seldom lasting a year, but failing much sooner if used a great deal"