[cobhcf]

Hi guys. I have this HP Pavilion ze5500 laptop for over an year and it has a QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-241 combo drive on it. Everything was well until now. Now suddenly my CD drive wouldnt read SOME DVDs and CDs which it has been reading a while ago and when i try to write cds using nero, the burning goes successfully and it says burning has been successfully done. But if i plug the cd again, it doesnt show anythig. it still looks like a unburnt cd.

Also sometimes when i put a cd in, it makes strange noises as if the cd is hitting the top or something. Not very loud but mild. Also the reading speed is dead slow. It used to be very efficient before but it gave up now. I am trying to install the latest firmware. I went to http://forum.rpc1.or...ownload_id=1439 to look for firmwares but it has 3 of them. Iam not sure which one to install. Can you guys please help me with this. It would really be helpful if u people could help.

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Device Properties:
Driver Description QSI CDRW/DVD SBW-241
Driver Date 7/1/2001
Driver Version 5.1.2535.0
Driver Provider Microsoft
INF File cdrom.inf

Optical Drive Properties:
Manufacturer QSI
Device Type DVD-ROM/CD-RW
Speed DVD:8x, CD:24x/16x/24x

Device Manufacturer:
Company Name Quanta Storage Inc.
Product Information http://www.qsinc.com...cial_Product_en
Firmware Download http://www.qsinc.com...ial_Download_en
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the detailed information abt my cd drive.

Cheers!
Kumar

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Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go. It could be that the optical lens is dirty. There is on going debate about the best way to clean these. I found this on google:
http://www.infopacke...rush_part_2.htm

I have a Samsung DVD/VHS combo unit and the DVD stopped working. Samsung told me to try cleaning it with one of those cd cleaners mentioned in the above link. I did and it worked.

It could be that you need a firmware update. I have an old HP 450 Mhz PIII and wanted to upgrade the CPU. I contacted HP via their web page, gave them the specific data from my computer (serial number, model number etc from the HP label) and they told me specifically what I could upgrade to. I am sure if you did this, and asked them to identify the specific firmware upgrade you should use for that particular unit they used in the build, they will tell you. Give that a try.

[austin_o]

Hi and welcome to Geeks to Go. It could be that the optical lens is dirty. There is on going debate about the best way to clean these. I found this on google:
http://www.infopacke...rush_part_2.htm

I have a Samsung DVD/VHS combo unit and the DVD stopped working. Samsung told me to try cleaning it with one of those cd cleaners mentioned in the above link. I did and it worked.

It could be that you need a firmware update. I have an old HP 450 Mhz PIII and wanted to upgrade the CPU. I contacted HP via their web page, gave them the specific data from my computer (serial number, model number etc from the HP label) and they told me specifically what I could upgrade to. I am sure if you did this, and asked them to identify the specific firmware upgrade you should use for that particular unit they used in the build, they will tell you. Give that a try.

[cobhcf]

Thanks mate, i will try that. But is it really safe to clean the lens with Qtip and alcohol?

Cheers!

[austin_o]

like I said, this is an on going debate. I would try the soft bush cd cleaner first....It is a cd disk with some soft bushes that sweep the lens clean.

[cobhcf]

Hi there, iam back. My drive is still not working. I got this firmware update from hp.com for my drive and that dint fix it. I bought this ( http://www.bestbuy.c...d=1051384652107 ) cd/dvd lens cleaner from best buy and tried cleaning the lens. But no use. PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME. shuld i try cleaning the lens with alcohol and qtip?????

Cheers!

[austin_o]

I looked at the cleaner you got at Best Buy. Looks like it is as good as any other. If it didn't work, you could try the alcohol/qtip routine. No guarantee that will do it either, but it is worth a try if you want to give it a shot. It may be the laser died?

Lets see now, just looked at my collection of dead cd drives. I have three.

Edited by austin_o, 27 June 2005 - 06:58 AM.

[cobhcf]

LOL, 3 drives? thats a lot. anyway, my laser is not cmpletely dead yet. it recognizes some of the cd's and DVD's. i will try the alcohol, qtip process. i will let you know what happened.
Thank you.

Cheers!

[austin_o]

well, it is three over several years, not really so bad. Good luck with the qtips!

[markman]

I have this same cd/dvd rom, for the last few weeks i have had the same problem, my labtop is hitting two years old however. I have found cleaning it has not worked.

Please let me know if the cleaning worked for you, as maybe mine just needs replacing. Also i dont see why the alcohol wont work as its one of the best remedies, just be carfeul!

[cobhcf]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. But been busy for a while.
By the way, regarding the cd writer, after i tried Qtip, it works better. But not great. It still doesnt read some music cds and dvds. Probably i need to replace it. My hdd also gave up last week. I had to buy a new one. Looks like this month has been really bad.
Anyway, try it markman, see if it works for you at least.

Cheers!