Dvd burner problems

[bilko]

for some odd reason, about a week ago, dvd burner stop reading all dvds. i cant burn or even watch dvds any more. im about to reformat but i wont if i can fix this problem.

ive tried a few things: i tryed 3 different dvds, i checked if the plugs were pluged in, and i went though the trouble shooting guide.

the dvd burner is Sony DVD RW DW-U12A
im running XP home
i use power dvd
p4 2.66 processor
512mb of ram
and updating the firmware

i cant figure it out. help me out guys

[gitreel]

did you try cleaning the lens?

[jtoolman2000]

Does it still burn CDs? If so you probably blew the DVD laser. Has happened to me!

[spiderman2k1]

I had two sony burner's both suck big time. Nothing but problem's. Pioneer and LG are very good.

[handyguy]

For Sony, uninstall in control panel, system, restart your computer. Thats all you need to do. What firmware?

[bilko]

nah, i havent tryed cleaning the lens, but i have a fealing thats not going to work, but ill give it a try.

yeah, i can still burn cds. i didnt know you could the dvd laser.

dude, i uninstalled and reinstalled that drive like 4-5 times now. the peice of crap wont work.

and about the firmware, it must have been sony. there was an a updated one i download from there site (after it busted). so, i dont know the name of it unless its sony.

im goin to try to clean the lens tonight, but if it doesnt work im going to format (someone told me to try that, and i need to do it anyway). if it doesnt work, im just goin to try and get a new one.

[lechtin]

Bilko,

Sony has a drive check utility on the same site where you can find the firmware updates. I'm not sure if it works with all drives, but it's worth a look.

[bilko]

hey lechtin,
where did you find that? i looked for it but i didnt find it. can you post a link? thanks.

[lechtin]

Here's the link

http://sony.storagesupport.com/cdrw/diagnostics.htm

I could not find your model, but did find this utility listed under the DRU-120A.

[bilko]

yep, didnt work. i stuck a dvdr in, and it just sat there and stoped responding. i didnt even try a cdr because i know that fuction of the drive works. i burner 3 cds last night.

i hope i can get a lens clearer tonignt because i want to fixed and over with.

anyone else have any help or ideas?

[spiderman2k1]

i have a idea that i try when I had two sony burner that would not work right. I return them and went back to my Pioneer AO4 not problem and LG 4081 no problem's. It's a fact Sony burner's suck. People think there good son just has a big name brand to back them up.

[jtoolman2000]

Dude, I told you, the DVD laser is DEAD! That's why you can still write and read CDs but not DVDs. It happened to me and that's what I learned through members of this forum. There really not much one can do about it except use it for CD burning. I gave mine away to my daughter.

[spiderman2k1]

bilko jtoolman2000 is right your burner is dead. There is one thing you can try and if this does not work then your burner is dead. Try copytodvd or cloneDVD if those program's do not work they your out of luck. Some time's nero has ASPI driver problem's

[jaxxboss]

On my older pc I have the same problem. I have 2 dvd writers installed. One is from an older HP and is a 300i (nec1100) and the other dvd burner is a liteon ldw400d ( a sony clone).

Both can still write to a cd but not a dvd, AND I have yanked both and installed them in my newer pc and both will burn a dvd no problem. So its a software hiccup somewhere. Running xp pro. Anyone else have a clue besides "its the dvd laser"? Like I said, they both write on the other desktop.

[hochanh46]

I bought a DRU-530A at Circuit city 3 months ago and now it stop working with any kind of DVD(Not playing DVD movies, not found DVD disk in tray...). I have firmware update from Sony. Drivecheck test could not perform with any kind of DVD (Sony+RW, HP+RW, Memorex+RW...). But it can work with CD (Playing, writing). Please help me. Thanks.