Problem with my Pioneer DVR-104

[Killafiend]

Hi, I have a Sony Vaio desktop (from last fall) and it has a Pioneer DVR-104 DVD-RW drive. I used it mostly to watch my DVD's (since I have an 17 inch flat panel LCD screen). Anyways, lately whenever I watch DVDs theres always a scratchy distortion noise in the background. I assume it's because I use "Hardware Accleration" when I watch it on PowerDVD. But when I turn it off, the scratchy distortion is still there. I figured it was a hardware problem instead of having to download codecs to solve it, cuz whenever I play Mp3's or video thats already in my computer, there is no scratchy distortion noise. Also, whenever I popped in a music CD in the DVR-104, the scratchy noise exist there as well. Can someone help me?

Also Note that I have an ATI Radeo 9000 Pro 128 mb graphic card. Also, the scratchy noise hasn't always been there.

[Perro Grande]

Try getting a cleaning disc or cleaning kit for your drive. It sounds like it might be dirty.

Also -- check all the connections to the drive, and make sure DMA is enabled for the controller and device corresponding to the drive.

[lordsmurf]

Copy-n-pasted from somewhere else: (... works well!)

These instructions are for the Pioneer burners. However, it should work just fine on other writers.

1. Unscrew 4 screws on both sides of writer, not the funny looking middle ones !
2. Take of the front mask and the top cover
3. unscrew 4 screw on top of the inside cover.
4. take of the inside cover.
5. Apply a small amount of Isopropyl Alcohol to a cotton bud.
6. Clean the laser lens GENTLY with the wet cotton bud.
7. Dry the lens GENTLY with a dry cotton bud
8. Reassemble the drive in the reverse order
9. BURN some MEDIA at 2X

Isopropyl Alcohol is a surgical spirit and is used as a cleaning fluid in the tv and electronics industry it is commonly used in tape head and VHS tape cleaning kits. It is commonly referred to a "rubbing alcohol" and can be bought for mere pennies at your local pharmacy.

Tryt to use a Q-TIP brand cotton bud. Others tend to be more coarse and can scratch your laser eye. The Q-TIP ones also tend to not be furry or leave cotton strings.

[hodge29]

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[Killafiend]

Do I need a sound card or something? I already used a DVD-lense cleaner and still the scratchy noise exist.