cdrom drives not functioning

[pantangs]

I was wondering why my cdrom drives in my dell pentium 4 computer will not work.the computer has a philips dvd8631 writer burner.When i put a dvd or cd in the drive doesnt spin it just makes clicking noises.I went to the device manager and it doesnt show any yellow exxclamation marks to say something is wrong.I am also using nero for all my dvd and cd burning so i cant figure what the problem is.

[SingSing]

The drive does not need software control to spin up, so your drive is having problem. repair or replace.

[ahhaa]

I'm starting to wonder if there's a firmware virus going around! I have just had the same problem with a Lite-On drive, and there seem to be many posts lately about similar happenings.

Try a cleaning disc first, then try it if you can on another machine. The clicking may be something mechanical too- the drive needs to know the tray is closed before it spins up. They aren't hard to disassemble...



movie trivia:

DISASSEMBLE? NOT DISASSEMBLE NUMBER 5 !

[pantangs]

I tried upgrading the firmware and checking device manager and it shows no problems.A friend gave me a external harddrive burner to use and i plugged it in the usb and it worked.I have two burners on my computer and both dont work so im wondering what it could be.I could see one breaking down but not both at the same time.I am using a philips dvd+-rw 8631 and a plexter burner716a.I have tried uninstalling them and tried to see if it needed new drivers and still no luck.

[Ai Haibara]

The discs not spinning and the clicking noises do tend to hint at mechanical problems, not firmware or software. I believe Windows only polls the drives to see if they respond (and maybe say they're okay, whether they actually are or not ), not whether or not reads/writes work, etc. (In other words, whether or not they're there. )

Take the two drives out and try them in a different computer, to be sure. Also, it might be a good idea (if the drives ever allow it, or if you don't mind taking the covers off) to clean the lenses and make sure there's no extra buildup of dust within the drives.

[ahhaa]

Did you by any chance change any OEM burning software? Look in My Computer at the drive legend, and insert a DVD disk- does the description of the drive change?

[pantangs]

Hi how do i find the drive legend and whats it suppose to say?

[ahhaa]

oops, I just meant the description as in CD-ROM, CD R/W, DVD R/R- the words under the icon symbol. On mine, when I inserted a DVD, the legend would change to ROM from R/W, telling me it was able to 'see' the disc enough to read and reject it.

[handyguy]

Putting some software on your computer can make your drives disappear. Try using Restore. Or uninstalling the software. Roxio can make them disappear.

[pantangs]

The drives show they are there.I even uninstalled nero and reinstalled it and nothing happened.The thing is i have an external drive which read and burns fine.

[budz]

I was wondering why my cdrom drives in my dell pentium 4 computer will not work.the computer has a philips dvd8631 writer burner.When i put a dvd or cd in the drive doesnt spin it just makes clicking noises.I went to the device manager and it doesnt show any yellow exxclamation marks to say something is wrong.I am also using nero for all my dvd and cd burning so i cant figure what the problem is.

Your drive is probably dying a slow death or is dead. Fyi your drive is a rebadged BENQ 1620. Have you used the Nero Clean Tool after you uninstalled it? Download the Nero Clean Tool from Nero's website. To make sure your drive is dead or alive install it in another computer.

[handyguy]

Have you thought of cleaning your lasers?

Important, esp. if there are smokers around.