[martens24]

I have an HP Desktop which has been working fine until tongight. As I insert a DVD in the tray and close it, the light blinks fast quickly and then stops. It is as if it won't even read the DVD. When I try to burn a new CD, it ejects the CD and asks me to insert a blank disk (even though I've done this with five new, blank CD's). I checked out the thread titled "CD/DVD Drive on Acer Aspire 5920 computer wont read DVD/CD's" and followed the detailed instructions and still nothing. The Device Manager shows it's there with no problems but there is an obvious problem. How can I get it to read a CD/DVD???

Thanks!

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Microsoft should have called Device Manager "Driver Manager" in my opinion because most items on that list merely tell you about the drivers being correct, incorrect or missing. It doesn't have a clue about what state the hardware is actually in. You could take a hammer to the CD drive (not that I'm suggesting you should!)and provided the cables were still connected, Device manager would still say it's working okay!

None of which actually helps you, forgive me for getting carried away!

Can you or a friend swap out the drive for a borrowed one which is known to be working?
That would very quickly determine whether your drive is faulty, much faster than any other troubleshooting process which might take hours or days.

Edited by phillipcorcoran, 02 January 2010 - 08:56 AM.

[phillipcorcoran]

Microsoft should have called Device Manager "Driver Manager" in my opinion because most items on that list merely tell you about the drivers being correct, incorrect or missing. It doesn't have a clue about what state the hardware is actually in. You could take a hammer to the CD drive (not that I'm suggesting you should!)and provided the cables were still connected, Device manager would still say it's working okay!

None of which actually helps you, forgive me for getting carried away!

Can you or a friend swap out the drive for a borrowed one which is known to be working?
That would very quickly determine whether your drive is faulty, much faster than any other troubleshooting process which might take hours or days.

Edited by phillipcorcoran, 02 January 2010 - 08:56 AM.

[rshaffer61]

Hello martens24.... Welcome to GeeksToGo,,
Optical drives do not need drivers to work as they are included in every OS since 95 I believe.
It sounds like the lasers are shot in the drive.
Is the drive seen in My Computer?
If so then the issue is the lasers. The only option is to purchase a new drive.
Trying a different drive would authenticate this if the borrowed drive does indeed work correctly.
How Old is the system and is there any warranty still in affect for it? If os then have it fixed under the warranty. If not a new drive will be as little as 30 USD from someplace like TigerDirect or NewEgg.
If you need assistance in locating a replacement let us know and we can help you with some suggestions.






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[martens24]

That was my assumption. I wanted to check here first. I have two drives. The second one works fine. I could open up the tower and switch the cords??? Maybe that will give me what I need to know. The system is about two or three years old. I'll have to see if I have any paperwork regarding any warranty that would still be in effect. Either way, good suggestion-I'll switch out the drives and see what I get. Thanks!

[rshaffer61]

You are welcome and please let us know how everything works out.