This issue has been puzzling me for weeks now I have no idea on how to solve it due to my very low knowledge of computer hardware and it's software. I apologize if my terminology is a bit off, but like I said, knowledge of this subject is very limited. Anyways, the problem I have been having is that my CD/DVD+-RW drive will no longer recognize regular DVDs. What I mean by regular DVDs is non-burned DVD movies and DVD-ROMs such as games. My drive will still read and play CDs and burned DVDs. What steps should I take in order to try and solve this problem? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you need any more information or have questions relating to the issue, I'd be glad to answer.
How old is the optical unit? The first step is to unplug and reseat the connection to make sure its not as simple as that. if you have another cable try it. If this is a SATA drive with an older ' non-secure clip' type, they can very easily break connection. Unfortunately what you describe can also be the first symptom of an optical drive that is at the end of its life.
It is only a year old and yes, it is indeed a SATA drive. I opened up my computer earlier and checked the connections to and from the optical drive and they were plugged in firmly. Is there anything else I could check? Why would it read CDs and burned DVDs but no other DVDs if it was about to go out? That doesn't make sense to me.
Do check the hardware but also see if this Guide might apply [post=815753]CD/DVD or Disk Problems? How to Fix Problems Caused by Filters[/post]
Lookin's 'filter guide is one of the best posted here at TS. if you would, let us know if it turns out to be the problem.
I removed the Upperfilter that was there, but the problem still exists. I also used the Automated Troubleshooting Service that was linked there and it found the problem, but failed to fix it.
optic drives have the shortest lifespan of all of the devices, you may simply have a drive that is dying.
In that case, can you recommend a good replacement that will run on vista 64bit (I'm not sure if that matters or not)?
sure, what budget and features you after? wasn't a blu-ray was it? I was going to point out that there is a reason there is only a 1 year warranty on most of them.
Well, I don't know much about them, but I'm willing to spend around $100 or more if necessary. I want it to read and burn both CDs and DVDs and HD DVDs that are "plus" and "minus" with a good bit of speed. I really don't need blu-ray since I don't own any blu-ray DVDs. Are there any other features I should be thinking of?
I favor Asus,Sony, and Samsung (all the parts probably come from the same place) but I have used these and they seem to last longer than others. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135209
Wow, these are cheaper than I anticipated. Since I don't know anything about them, would you mind choosing one for me that has the features I want and maybe some other I might have missed?
They all do about the same thing, but the sony has Lightscribe, a feature I make use of from time to time. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118040
I don't burn CDs often and I haven't used Lightscribe before, but I know what it is. I noticed that none of the three say CD+R or CD+RW. Is that going to be a problem?
They all have RW capabilities, If you have that, do you need to have media that is both single and multi session capable?
I have no idea what that means honestly, but I've had problems in the past with older computers when trying to use different types of discs. If it will play CDs and DVDs I buy and the ability to burn the occasional CD and DVD with no problems, then I'm set. So you suggest the Sony one overall, correct?
Oh okay, then yes you are covered Yes the Sony or Asus are the ones that I use for all customer builds as well as my personal machines, they seem to be a little bit more long lasting.
Thank you so much for all you're help and advice. You too LookinAround. Thank you for trying to help. I really appreciate it guys.
Darn! It was such quirky behavior I was hoping the filters issue would fix it! It could ultimately be a hardware issue (and i defer to red's excellent hardware experience and advice :approve. But i have one more idea for a test you can do, if you want, to help delineate between hardware/software. Are you saying you have problems with data DVDs or just blank DVDs or what? I don't quite understand My thought is the following: Boot into a standard Linux distro to test the behavior of your CD/DVD device. If it still fails, it's definitely hardware. But if it works now, then we know the problem is within Windows or software in your Windows environment. One thought is Knoppix (you'll find instructions to create bootable Knoppix here). > Once in Knoppix, click Start->Preferences->Install Knoppix to Flash to create a bootable Knoppix USB flash drive > Now boot from the flash drive to test audio and media players with your CD/DVD Though if your only problem is with BLANK media, i don't think the Knoppix version i mention provides for DVD burning (in order that you could test blank media) but perhaps red1776 or someone else with more Linux-type experience then I might have a recommendation. In any case, hope you get the problem solved (be it hardware of software based!) /* edit */ One other thing that's at least pretty simple so is also worth a try: Open Device Manager, rt click on your CD/DVD drive, select Uninstall. Reboot and let Windows automatically reinstall the driver /* edit 2 */ Oops. I lied. It was two more things . Here's the other. Check for any firmware upgrades for your CD/DVD drive. Check either the system vendor site (e.g. if computer and CDDVD drive was supplied from Dell or HP) or the drive's manufacturer site.
