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    CD/DVD drive not reading discs

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by chipmoney, Dec 6, 2009.

  1. chipmoney

    chipmoney Notebook Evangelist

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    Yesterday my CD drive was working fine, I was able to play oblivion and read CD's/DVD's. Today when I tried to ply oblivion it would not read the disc, or any other disc I tried with it.

    I tried restarting, I booted into both Vista and Windows 7 and it won't work in either OS.

    When I insert a disc the disc never spins up, it makes a clicking sound a few times and then just goes silent.

    Anyone have any suggestions?
     
    chipmoney, Dec 6, 2009
    #1
  2. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    Does it spin the disk at all?

    Do you see it in Device Manager?

    Try to uninstall it and do a reboot - it should recognize it and hopefully it will work.

    Also, try cleaning the laser's lens with a QTip with a very small bit of rubbing alcohol - use the other side of the QTip to polish the lens after.

    Lastly, power down the machine, unplug the power, remove the battery and press every single button/key at least once (including the power button) to dissipate any static buildup. Let sit for 10 minutes.

    Do any of these ideas offer any help?
     
    tilleroftheearth, Dec 6, 2009
    #2
  3. BrandonSi

    BrandonSi Notebook Savant

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    Is it a module, does it slide out of the laptop? If so, try taking it out and re-inserting it, then rebooting.
     
    BrandonSi, Dec 6, 2009
    #3
  4. joshuaLX

    joshuaLX Notebook Evangelist

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    Does the drive show up in "My Computer"?
     
    joshuaLX, Dec 7, 2009
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  5. spradhan01

    spradhan01 Notebook Virtuoso

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    Mainly, does it show up in BIOS?
    If not then its toasted like mine a month back for no apparent reason.
     
    spradhan01, Dec 7, 2009
    #5
  6. chipmoney

    chipmoney Notebook Evangelist

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    it shows up in the device manager.

    I haven't tried these yet, but would cleaning the lense help when it doesn't seem to be trying to read the disc?

    It is not a module drive so I cannot take it out easily.

    It shows up in the My Computer Screen

    It shows up fine in the Bios
     
    chipmoney, Dec 8, 2009
    #6
  7. Bog

    Bog Losing it...

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    It may be that the lens is not unable to read data of the disc, but that the motor for spinning up the optical disc has failed. Can you even hear the drive spinning up?
     
    Bog, Dec 8, 2009
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  8. chipmoney

    chipmoney Notebook Evangelist

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    I've now tried uninstalling and rebooting without any success and turning off my laptop removing the battery and pressing all the buttons without any success.


    the disc does not spin up it moves some but it never gets anywhere near to the speed it got to when it worked.
     
    chipmoney, Dec 10, 2009
    #8
  9. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    John Ratsey, Dec 10, 2009
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  10. chipmoney

    chipmoney Notebook Evangelist

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    That didn't do anything either.

    I think I'll probably end up sending it in since it's still covered under the warranty.
     
    chipmoney, Dec 11, 2009
    #10