Help Me Fix my CD/DVD ROM Drive Thing

username n/a · #1 03-12-2011, 09:34 AM

So, I got my sister's laptop for my birthday yesterday. Today I tried to upload some CD's onto it. When I put the CD in the drive the thing made noise for a couple of seconds, but then it stopped. My dad and I tried to fix it, but we failed. The computer is a Sony Vaio and the drive is a Pioneer DVD-RW DURKDO8 ATA.

kthanks<3Rob

tastybasslines · #2 03-12-2011, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by username n/a

So, I got my sister's laptop for my birthday yesterday. Today I tried to upload some CD's onto it. When I put the CD in the drive the thing made noise for a couple of seconds, but then it stopped. My dad and I tried to fix it, but we failed. The computer is a Sony Vaio and the drive is a Pioneer DVD-RW DURKDO8 ATA.

kthanks<3Rob

I'm not a computer tech, but the fact that it started spinning is good. Was the disc clean? It could stop because it cannot read it. I would also go to Windows Explorer and check if it is reading the title of the disc. If it is and you are putting a clean disc in, then the only thing I can think of is installing software drivers for it, if there are any, but before that, I would trouble shoot at Pioneer's website.

Ziltoid · #3 03-12-2011, 09:44 AM

Is it on channel 3? L1 or L2?

Did you try to change the battery?

Did you reboot?

Did you try to reset the internet?

Got some duct-tape?

Did you blow inside the cartridge?

Jimbob Jones · #4 03-12-2011, 09:50 AM

Turn it off and on again, then hit it with a hammer if it still doesn't work.

MIJ-VI · #5 03-12-2011, 10:11 AM

OP, were you using commercially produced CDs, or home burnt ones (CD-R, CD-RW)?

If it's the latter, then please visit Pioneer's web site and look for a list of blank CD & DVD brands which are qualified for use with the DVD-RW DURKDO8 ATA (or its nearest equivalent model since that unit is likely to be an OEM drive which Pioneer only sells to PC vendors and thus does not market themselves).

username n/a · #6 03-12-2011, 10:15 AM

All the CD's I've tried have been clean, scratch free, and commercially produced.

MIJ-VI · #7 03-12-2011, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by username n/a

All the CD's I've tried have been clean, scratch free, and commercially produced.

Do those CDs work in other computers? If so then:

Plan A: Google the make & model # of the drive to see if anyone else has the same issue. CD/DVD Drive Doesn't work

Plan B: Look at getting an external USB-based DVD burner (~$65 - $90) with the aim of ripping all of your audio CDs into high bit rate .mp3 files.

KeithBMI · #8 03-12-2011, 10:46 AM

Hey,

Start a birthday thread for me.

Thanks,
Keith

username n/a · #9 03-12-2011, 10:51 AM

I remembered your birthday, but you get no thread because I got no thread.

Sonic_Death · #10 03-12-2011, 10:54 AM

Could just be a hardware issue. I've seen a ton of problems with laptops in the past few years where the cd drive isn't sitting properly in the laptop case so that either the disk will not insert, or if it does insert, won't be properly read by the computer.

Without being invasive, you can try to play around with either clamping down on the case (above and under the cd drive) or shifting it around from the outside.

If you think it is a software/driver issue, you can try to pursue the steps the people above mentioned.

Bob Lee (QSC) · #11 03-12-2011, 12:21 PM

Some manufacturers are really on the ball: Monkeys Laughed at Our CD Driver Problem - Made by Monkeys | Blog on Design News

geeza · #12 03-12-2011, 01:00 PM

Step 1: Slap sister for messing up laptop, then giving it to you for birthday.
Step 2: Rinse
Step 3: Repeat

Auzzie-Phoenix · #13 03-12-2011, 01:17 PM

Laser lens might be dirty, try running one of those cleaning cd's in it. If she smokes, it might be a buildup of cigarette tar on the lens, in which case the drive would need to be disassembled and the lens cleaned with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol. It's possible there is a problem with the drive, in which case look on ebay for a replacement.

Alternate: check to see if windows recognizes that there is a cd-drive installed. If not, restoring the hdd to factory status should fix the problem, but you will usually need to reinstall any extra software. Make sure you back up data first.

MIJ-VI · #14 03-12-2011, 04:12 PM

Yup. ^ A dirty laser lens might be the problem.

Can the drive read DVDs?

What's the exact model # of your Sony Vaio?

Is the notebook's BIOS set properly? (The notebook's manual should have a section on this.)

Which OS are you using (exact version # please)?

Does the OS have a system of privileges which can be set to allow or deny access to particular features such as using optical drives?