Optical device stops working

[Crazewolf]

Have Pioneer DVR-116D device that is visible in My Computer and Device Manager shows no problems. OS is Windows XP SP3, just stopped working. Won't read DVD's or CD's,now. Anybody have any ideas what to do? Not ffinding much info on Searches. Thanks in advance if any can help.

[redwudz]

First check your IDE cable from the motherboard to the drive. It may have come loose. If you get no results there, substitute with another IDE cable. The same applies to SATA burners.

In XP and most OS's the driver for optical drives is part of the OS and is not that likely to be the problem, unless you have made a recent change in your OS that may have corrupted or interfered with the driver. Have you installed any programs lately that could have caused problems?

I'm guessing when you insert a DVD or CD, the OS doesn't see it? Last possibility is that your drive itself is dead. With the present price of optical drives, I would probably get a new drive and see if it cures the problem.

And welcome to our forums.

[Brainiac]

I have a HP burner that started acting up. My solution: I am replacing it with a new DVD burner. They are so cheap now that replacing the drive saves me a lot of headaches.

To answer your question, check all connections and make sure they are properly seated. I'm sure others will chime in with more exhaustive advice.

Brainiac

[Bjs]

Check psu ... if five volt rail supply ok os will see it but other drive functions will not be possible if 12 volt rail is faulty.

[fritzi93]

In addition to the above:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060/EN-US/

Last resort and probably a long shot but hey, if you're on the point of chucking it for a new one...I've used the fix in the KB article with success a couple of times. It solves a particular type of software/driver conflict. The optical drive may or may not be visible in Windows, that point is not definitive for a diagnosis, although the article may lead one to think so. Note that it may require a re-install of certain programs afterward, the article lists a few.

Good luck.