My cdrw/dvd drive doesn't seem to want to work... whenever I put a cd in it won't pick it up, but the cd drive light flashes and the little cd picture next to the mouse arrow appears.
however it picks up copied cds and blank cds fine, and I can copy things onto cds still. its a laptop computer
This is getting really annoying as it can't be broken or surely it wouldn't pick up any type of cd. it used to work fine
2006-11-15 06:42:58 · 9 answers · asked by emma 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
i have had a similar problem with my dvd rom drive - where new pre-manufactured software discs will not load even though old software/blank media works fine.
after researching the problem i discovered it could be due to my drivers being out of date. my dvd rom is about 5 years old (getting on a bit!) trying to find a new driver can be done through windows. to do this, go to control panel - system - hardware - device manager - then right click your cd drive from the list and select update driver. you will then be given the option to search on the internet, so try this. if this doesn't work, try to go to the manufacturers website and download the latest driver (you should be able to find it unless your drive is out of production). if you still have no joy it could be that the drive is faulty perhaps? or the disc (do they work on other devices?). hope this is of some help.
2006-11-15 06:53:55 · answer #1 · answered by green_knight_1982 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
this is a common problem,and has happened to me on several occasions,but to this day i cant find a cause
what i used to do though is if i want to use a disc with data on it is right click the cd/dvd drive and click explore,this will access the drive and then if its a program you can set up from there or browse the files
there are many ways you can fix this,such as running a cd lens cleaner to clean the lens,then doing a system restore,but unless you know the date when this startd this could be difficult
also you can uninstall the cdrw from hardware manager and restart the computer,when the p.c restarts it will install the nessecary drivers and enable the drive,hopefully this may cure the problem
there has been a rumour going round that if you have a copied version of windows xp operating system,then if you install the update"genuine advantage " then if its scans and finds that your xp is a copy,it will start to corrupt your hardware after around 6 months unless you install a genuine version
this can be such things as dissapearing drives,restarting for no reason and loss of sound,even total closedown
however this is only a web rumour so dont take it as gospel truth,i have known mates who have copied windows and they have not suffered any problems
good luck
2006-11-15 07:48:24 · answer #2 · answered by brianthesnail123 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am going to ask what is most probarbly the most annoying question.. when was it working last?
Can you remember if anything happened to the laptop, installed anything, any install when wrong, has it been dropped... has it been used excessively... has it simply got dust in the lense.. as its a laptop you can usually see if the lense it dirty.. you can GENTLY clean it as the mechanism is very delicute.
Make sure all the correct drivers are installed ok and all the supporting software is still installed for the drive.... when you go to the drive properties in device manager is it shown as a dvd combo drive or something like that...
when you say that it doesn't pick it up.. do the files show up when you go to mycomputer and choose the drive.. if whatever on the cd shows up in the drive folder.. then you may just be missing the program that you need to play whats on the cd.. eg, dvd player software may be having problems, or audio player.
if you are used to it asking what you want to do.. then perhaps you or someone else has perminantly selected the wrong program to play a certain file type..if you go to your folder options you can make sure you have the correct program selected for the file type... or you can go to real player or windows media player (the version enable to play dvds as they have the correct codecs) and go to the options/preferences to look at file types and choose the type that relate to dvds and audio cds..... you could also try to start the disc from inside the program ie, file/open etc...or play dvd...
thats all i can think of at the moment.. as you say if it burns and read one type of disk then it should work with another...unless if its only failing with dvds then you may need a new drive as the focusing in the drive may be up the wall.
good luck.
2006-11-15 07:28:19 · answer #3 · answered by jimbob 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what kind of cd doesn't work? because apparently it works for copied cds. you should probably take it to a computer repair shop. they will normally charge nothing just to tell you what's wrong. good luck!
2006-11-15 06:45:27 · answer #4 · answered by stitchfan85 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if u putting blank cd it will do that u need to format the cd and then u can use the cd for anything
2006-11-15 07:41:20 · answer #5 · answered by x_x_andre_x_x 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Possibly the reading laser is out of alignment. Get it checked by a professional
2006-11-15 06:44:50 · answer #6 · answered by urbanrt 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If your computer is not working properly while you are working on it, it could be a problem with device drivers, hardware or software.
Detailed instructions at http://tinyurl.com/yk5zpr
2006-11-16 04:55:05 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
call the manufacturer
2006-11-15 06:46:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
buy a new one o.k
2006-11-15 06:58:49 · answer #9 · answered by Dan 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋