DVD-RW problems

[Trintar VIII]

Hey all, it's me again with yet another problem...my DVD-RW drive is not reading DVDs at all. It will spin up but nothing will run and when I check the drive via My Computer, it shows that it's empty. If i double click the drive or leave the disk (DVDs only) in too long, then my computer will usually freeze. I'm pretty sure this is a driver/firmware problem, but I'm not quite sure how to check what kind of drive I have or where to go to get the drivers/firmware. Any help would be much appreciated.

Also, I can read/burn CDs as well as burn DVDs (most of the time) if that helps.

 

[Rick]

What kind of DVDs have you tried? Have you tried reading a DVD written by itself? Have you tried reading a non-movie DVD with just data on it? I'm curious as to what the result is.

Upgrading your firmware is generally pretty easy. You can determine what model of DVD burner you have by (usually) going to device manager ( Start > Run > devmgmt.msc ) and expanding your optical drives. The model displayed should be the model of the drive.

Next, you can search around on the manufacturer's website for the model, or visit a place like www.cdfreaks.com and get the latest firmware.

 

[Trintar VIII]

Yeah, I've run all sort of things...burned data DVD-R, those demo DVDs that come with magazines, movie DVDs, and PC game DVDs. I'll check out the firmware now and see what that does.

When I look at my DVD-RW in DM, it just says "DVDRW IDE1108". I browsed inside it and couldn't find a clear manufacturer or a company even.

 

[Rick]

it just says "DVDRW IDE1108".

That's indeed the model, despite how generic it looks.

It looks like a BTC drive. BTC has an automatic upgrade program which I believe can be downloaded here: http://www.drvupdate.com/

 

[Trintar VIII]

Okay, all my stuff was already up-to-date. Is there anything else I can try?

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

A lens cleaner disc, maybe.

 

[Trintar VIII]

Good thinking, I'll have my friend bring a disk up on Sunday and then get back to you if it works or not.