DVD playback problem?

[mikehende]

Got a combo CDRW/DVD unit in a Sony Vaio laptop, the cd plays fine but the DVD does not play at all, I loaded and tried Cyberlink PowerDVD and the error message I keep getting is

"No DVD in drive"

I loaded Nero and a box appears with the title "DVD-Video Plug-in required" and the message is:

" Due to Patent License restrictions, MPEG-2 encoding/decoding/Playback is not available. This feature can be added by installing the DVD-Video Plug-in"

So what's going on here? Since Powerdvd does not ask for this plugin I don't know if this missing plugin is the problem? Any ideas please?

[kschang]

If you *do* have a DVD in drive, then your DVD laser in the drive is *dead*.

[Ai Haibara]

Can other programs 'see' the DVD, such as Explorer? You can also try playing the DVD through Media Player Classic and VLC, if the system does indeed still recognize that there's a DVD in the drive, let you browse the files to some extent, etc.

[mikehende]

After posting here, I uninstalled the Nero6 OEM version and reinstalled Nero 6 Ultra, the DVD still doesn't play but no more missing plugins message, instead the error message now is "Drive is not ready". I tried a copied disc too which I had burned myself, same result but this time when I tried the Power DVD it played the copied disc but it plays but very choppy.

Tried vlc, no change, doesn't recognize the disc in the drive just like Nero and Powerdvd. Since the CD plays perfect and it is a combo unit, can the DVD alone be damaged? Maybe if I can update the firmware?

[Ai Haibara]

As kschang mentioned, the DVD laser in the drive could be dead. DVD drives use one laser to read DVDs, a different one to read CDs, which is why you could still be able to play CDs even if the drive is unable to read DVDs.

[mikehende]

Is there any way I can tell for SURE if the drive is dead, remember that I can play the copied disc in Powerdvd but it is choppy? If the drive is dead then it shouldn't play at all? Don't wish to buy another one and have the same problem?

[SingSing]

Open nero burning rom, and put in a DVD and click disc info.

[Ai Haibara]

Oops. I replied too quickly, and missed the part where you said you could play it in PowerDVD. Does it play the same way every time, consistently? In your original post, you said you were getting a "no DVD in drive" error in PowerDVD. Does Explorer recognize the disc, or allow you to browse the file structure?

I'm getting the impression that the DVD laser may not be dead, but is working only intermittently or failing.

[mikehende]

Now, audio cd's doesn't play but it still reads and accesses data cd's, explorer does not recognize the disc whether cd or dvd.

[Ai Haibara]

Do the problems persist across reboots, and ejecting discs and re-inserting them?

[mikehende]

yes.

[Ai Haibara]

It does indeed sound like the drive is failing. If it was a 'regular' internal/external drive, I'd have also suggested taking the drive out and trying it with a different computer, but that's a bit more difficult to try with a laptop drive.

One thing to try first, though, is open the drive door and take a look at the lens. (I believe - though I could be wrong - that most laptop CD/DVD drives keep the lens on the tray itself.) A good cleaning (using a lens cleaner, or doing it manually (carefully)) might help, if it needs to be cleaned. But it sounds like the drive most likely needs to be replaced.

[SingSing]

Maybe you don't have to pay Sony big buck, if you can use one of these :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2010100005+1036508673&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=5

[mikehende]

Can't clean the drive with a lens cleaner because the cd can't be read. When we got this laptop the cd was being read by both Explorer Windows Media Player and playing fine, the OS was XP Home, we had to change the OS and used XP Pro, I am wondering if this might be a software problem? Also, do you guys think that updating the firmware might help?

[Ai Haibara]

Does the drive 'spin up' when you insert a CD and DVD? Does the lens appear dirty in any way?

I doubt a firmware update (or a re-flashing with the current version) would cause the drive to start working 'properly,' again. :/

[mikehende]

Yes, with both cd and DVD inserted I can always hear the drive working. I am not sure exactly what part is the lens, I am seeing a nickel piece of hardware with what looks like a tiny blue led light on top of it, if the nickel or metal part is the lens then it looks clean?

I do agree that a firmware should not be the issue for this problem.

[mikehende]

BTW, the Autoplay never worked, don't know why. I am now trying out DVDinfo Pro to se eif that can tell me anything.

[mikehende]

Can't seem to find out anything using DVDinfo Pro, is there any diagnostics software which can help with my problem?

[Ai Haibara]

Well, what I meant is, does the drive start to spin and accelerate a couple seconds after you insert a DVD and CD, as if it 'recognizes' the discs?

I'd take a picture of the trays on one of the laptops here and post, to help identify the lens (drawing a circle around it, of course), but I don't have a camera handy. Does any of it look dirty?

If you suspect the OS, you can try turning on the laptop with a bootable CD in the drive (assuming it's still set to boot from CD) and see what happens.

[mikehende]

That's a great idea, I will try that, booting off the cd and get back to you, thanks.

[mikehende]

I'll get to that lens issue soon, BTW, since I have XP Pro loaded in the laptop, why would it make any difference if I boot off the same XP cd?

[Ai Haibara]

Hm? I don't recall saying there would be any problems in using an XP disc to boot. You can try any bootable CD, even a Win9X CD, or the recovery disc that came with the laptop. It's mostly just to see if the drive recognizes the disc and boots from it.

[mikehende]

Came across this thread a little while ago

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=72133

it deals with upgrading the firmware which seems to help most but not all people including myself but at least I've found out that it is most likely this drive itself that has problems.

[mikehende]

You can try any bootable CD, even a Win9X CD, or the recovery disc that came with the laptop. It's mostly just to see if the drive recognizes the disc and boots from it.

Wait a minute, looks like you're misunderstanding me with something? The drive itself is being recognised by Explorer and the DVD softwares now but the "contents" of the drive only when I put a DVD in does not show, the cd files are being recognised.

[Ai Haibara]

I was referring to this:

I'll get to that lens issue soon, BTW, since I have XP Pro loaded in the laptop, why would it make any difference if I boot off the same XP cd?

...and just saying it wouldn't make a difference which bootable CD you were using if you tried the boot experiment.

I'm still suspicious of the drive's hardware, though, due to the intermittent way it seems to work, now.

[mikehende]

From that thread in the link it seems that this is a trouble drive simply put and I will replace it now that I know that the drive itself is the culprit.

[SingSing]

Maybe you don't have to pay Sony big buck, if you can use one of these :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2010100005+1036508673&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=5

[mikehende]

Aprreciate the referral and will look into it "very carefully" as I don't want any burner that has any media/read/write issues.