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DVD Drive trouble...

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Faraaz, Aug 5, 2006.

  1. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    [​IMG] Hi, I've been having some strange problems with my computer's DVD drive for some time now and I've gotten so annoyed, I decided to post on here to see if maybe there's something I can do about it, because I am completely baffled.

    First of all, here's my computer's stats:

    Dell Inspiron 9100
    P4 3.2 GHz
    1 GB DDR RAM
    100 GB HDD
    4x DVD Re-Writer Combo Drive (Standard issue Dell drive...dunno what brand it is...doesn't say on the drive)
    ATi Radeon 9800 256 MB video card

    Alrighty, here's the problems I'm having:

    1) The drive does not recognise new dvds/cds when I put them in. For instance, if I put in the NWN Diamond Edition DVD to play NWN...then put in the Matrix DVD later on to watch the movie, it doesn't recognize the dvd! I go to the drive and open the contents through My Computer...and it still shows me the NWN dvd files...even though its not in the drive any more!! I have a software called BlindWrite, and when I opened it up, it said reading TOC and then correctly displayed the Matrix DVDs title...so I know that its probly a software problem...or is it? Why isn't my drive recognizing new DVDs when I put them in?

    2) My drive is having trouble reading DVDs which it DOES recognise...in the sense, I recently tried re-installing IWD2 on my system...but it gave me cyclic redundancy errors. It gave me the same when I tried to watch my Scrubs DVDs. Now, I tried these on my friend's computer and they worked perfectly fine. I was able to copy all the contents to his hard drive...which shows that the DVDs are fine. So why do I keep getting this error??

    3) Going back to the first problem, if my drive doesn't recognise the new DVD, I log off and log back on. Doing this sometimes results in the DVD being recognised, but most times it stays the way it is. Its completely random and trying it a anywhere from 3-10 times eventually gets the drive running fine. But I can never get it to work for sure!

    4) I'm unable to burn data onto blank DVDs. For instance, the other day I was trying to back up some Tekken vids I had made to free up my hard disk space. When I started the burning of the DVD (I use DeepBurner), it gave an error saying "Illegal Media Format - Your media is incompatible" or something like that. I'm assuming the drive is misreading the blank dvds again and the system thinks that the dvd isn't blank. Again, the dvds are fine, and I was able to hook up my laptop to my friend's computer and burn it via his dvd drive.

    HELP!!! My drive is completely crippled and its extremely annoying! Why is this happening and how do I fix it?
     
    Faraaz, Aug 5, 2006
    #1
  2. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    You chuck out your defective DVD burner and buy a new one, because, really, they're cheap at this point.
     
    Taluntain, Aug 6, 2006
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  3. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    Its built into my laptop...ehh, should I get an external DVD drive? Its just that I don't want to spend on a new drive if this one can be fixed..
     
    Faraaz, Aug 6, 2006
    #3
  4. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    Fraaz, have you called India...I mean Dell for some Tech Support?

    You can actually replace dead optical drives on Dell laptops quite easily. I have an Inspiron 5150 with a built-in DVD ROM/CDR-RW drive, and to remove it, all you have to do is shut down the computer, remove the battery, press the power button a few times (to fully drain any leftover power)...then you remove the bottom panel that holds the memory. There's a little back lever with an arrow on it, along with a screw the secures the drive. Unscrew it, and slide the lever over to release the drive. :thumb:

    Call Dell first and tell the rep you need a replacement drive for your laptop. If they try being stupid, and want you to send your laptop in for service, just hand up on them and look to eBay for the drive. :thumb: :D

    [EDIT]
    Fraaz, good news, you might be able to find a cheaper price if Dell decides to be dumb and not help in letting you buy a replacement drive.

    Hop on over to www.laptopparts.com

    For your Inspiron 9100 you actually have 2 choices for a replacement drive, a CD-RW/8x DVD-ROM drive or a DVD-RW/CD-RW drive. Dell Inspiron 9100 parts

    See? that was easy! :thumb: :rolling:

    [ August 07, 2006, 06:24: Message edited by: Kitrax ]
     
    Kitrax, Aug 6, 2006
    #4

  5. Faraaz Gems: 26/31
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    Gosh, thanks for that Kitrax! :D

    The reason I posted here, instead of going to Dell tech support, as has been so admirably demonstrated within just 2 posts, is that the folks here at SP are way better when it comes to help!!

    I'm so glad I decided to come over here looking for help with BG2:SoA waaaaay back when... :D
     
    Faraaz, Aug 7, 2006
    #5
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