Toughbook CF-74 DVD Burner Problem-----Good, Cheap replacement??

Hey guys! I've had my toughbook for almost 2 years now, and I have been burning thousands of discs throughout it's life time. Now it's starting to act up and not recognize most blank discs. Pretty much all discs now....

As of now Sony are the only ones that are able to be recognized and burned. About 6 months ago I was able to use Verbatim's and TDK and others (I try and stick to Sony and Verbatim). But now when I insert a Verbatim DVD-R it will scan and scan and make this weird seeking noise then just stop. No AutoPlay, and even creating a DVD project and select Burn, it says to insert a DVD into the drive. Now the last set I bought were TDK's and were only able to burn at 1x or 2x (annoying). Also I can't burn CD-R's either, it will recognize them, but I get a power calibration error every time! It MUST be dying! I have been reading and reading about these Matsua drives going bad and doing the same as mine is doing now...I've tried almost every solution ANYONE had to offer for both the DVD and CDR, and nothing works.

My question is, can I pick up any slim internal DVD burner from like NewEgg or Ebay? I searched for the OEM one, but its like $400 or something insane. There are a bunch listed on newegg and ebay, for like $40 - $79, and just wondering which one would be a good choice? What interface is it? SATA right? I have the caddy so I wouldn't have to worry about that. I just don't want to buy one and it not work or not fit right. I want a good one that will last me a little while, as I burn movies all day every day! LOL

This one is from Ebay and is listed for $79

These are from NewEgg, and range from $39 - $65.

Which one is the right one for my CF-74 and do you think buying a new one will fix my issue? If you have a better place to get one, or a solution to my annoying problem please share! Thanks for reading!

 

Yeah you can go the newegg or ebay route, Sony Optiarc are the most recommended. Not familiar with your model, so I dont know if you have a 9mm or 12mm drive, you will have to check and see.

 

Thanks for the reply....I tried finding out what size my current one is, and can't quite seem to find it. The only one from newegg that indicates a size was the IDE one. If sony is the recomended one, then there is only one from there that will be ok. The others are Slot loading. I'll just keep trying to find what specs the original drive is and see if I can't find one that will be compatible with my cf-74. The original model number of the OEM drive is CF-VDM742U. All replacements for that exact model are $400 - $600! Who would pay that? LOL. Maybe if someone else knows which one I need they will reply and fill me in. Thanks again.

 

Hi! May I ask if you are handy enough and have guts to repair the drive?. Most drive has a plastic gear guide which purpose is to run back in forth together with lens mechanism. Overtime it worn and sometimes plastic is no longer capable of pulling the lens mechanism. If you have a broken cd rom lying around and sometimes got luck with the same plastic guide, replace it. After the replacement, I say you will be in heaven again. This is the first time I posted this repair technique and its also one of my secret, Lol.

Good Luck,

ohlip

 

Yeah, and after you take out the gear to fix your burner, you can pull the lazer from the donor cd/dvd and then plug it into a AA Mag-lite for a laser that will burn paper and pop balloons!

 

I actually cleaned the lens a few times and it fixed it for a week or so. Then doesn't read them again. Now ONLY Sony DVD-R will be read consistently.

I'm confident enough to take it apart and try and fix, but still am a bit unclear on what your talking about. I get the track/guide idea, but if it reads some and not others, would the track be the issue? I already took the caddy off of it and inspected the port to see if there was anything that stood out. I mean I get it, but don't know what part your asking me to change or fix. You say the plastic guide, but I believe the lens moves fine. I can watch DVD's and it reads some DVD's....so doesn't that mean that its moving along the track to read and write? Any explination why a drive will read and write with some and not others?

I have a DVD rom that I could sacrafice, but does it matter if it's from a desktop? If I could get some details I would try....but for $40-$50 for a new one isn't bad....I just don't want to get one that doesn't fit or don't work for some odd reason.

 

mnd....Pull out the cable ribbon and clean it. There are multiple cable attached to its connector. But if it is noise that you mentioned, try to look on the picture attached for reference. As I said overtime those plastic guide, worn out and split into two holding only by a tiny spring. That plastic guide is flexible and by rubbing to a metal for a certain period of time and it worn out and the gear is no longer capable of doing his job with the shaft.



ohlip

 

Ok. Thanks for the reply and the picture. I'll see what I can do tonight. I'll clean the connection points and see if anything inside looks worn out. The noise I was mentioning is when I put a "non readable" dvd in the drive. It sounds like the normal seeking noise but it lasts alot longer with the dvd's that can't be read. Pretty much any other dvd I put in it, seeks and seeks and then auto play doesn't open and in My Computer it says there is no dvd in the drive. I'll try all I can do and if it still is acting up I'll invest in a new one. Any chance you can look at the newegg link I gave above and recomend which one will be good for me? Someone said something about size and I just don't know what one mine is. I can't really find any "Good" information on the OEM drive inside my cf-74. Only places to buy it for super high prices. Thanks again for the replies and hopefully I can get this fixed or replaced with a decent new one.

 

The DVD in the CF-74 is exactly 1/2 inch tall, so that should make it a 12.7 mm.

 

Ok thanks. there is only one on newegg that specificly states it's 12.7mm.

"Sony Optiarc 12.7mm Slim 8X DVD±R Burner Black E-IDE(ATAPI) Model AD-7590A-01 - OEM"

Last thing....LOL. (You guys have really helped a lot!) Do I need ATAPI IDE or SATA model? Sorry for such noob questions...I know that the caddy has a board on it that transfer's the connection to the other side of the drive, but just not sure what interface it is. I haven't had to know that type of info until now.

EDIT: Just took the caddy off, and I am pretty confident that it's the ATAPI IDE....So i answered my own question. I'll see if I can clean it up and inspect the track and plastic pieces, or replace it if needed. Thanks for all your help guys! Really appreciate it.

EDIT 2: Took it apart and didn't see anything out of the ordinary....but sadly I must have messed it up more. Doesn't want to read anything now...lol. Totally my fault, I didn't disconnect anything or move anything. Just took the case off, cleaned it out (dust) and put it back together. I must have did something though, cause I put a dvd movie in it, and it won't open it. That wasn't an issue before (only blank dvd's)....I guess it's time to drop $50-$60 on a new one! But until then I'll take it apart again and double check everything. Everything happens for a reason, and I guess I was meant to get a new one....

 

If you might be interested in a slot loader, this one might work:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...40231&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_4043wt_1165

 

Yeah, it's confirmed DEAD! The laser will not move along the track at all now. No harm in messing with it now. I'll take it apart again tomorrow and see if I can get it working again until I order a new one.

The slot loading one isn't bad, but I think I'd like the tray one's better. I see a bunch every where for about $40 -$60. What brands should I look into, and what brands are NOT recommended? I just want one that will work out of the box, with no firmware updates if I can help it.

I noticed that the Sony one I was looking at said compatible with Windows 2000, and XP. I'm running Win7, you think that will make a big difference? I'm beating my self up over this now! LOL. It wasn't right anyway, but I totally broke it the rest of the way, and I didn't even do much to it....haha. Oh well, I'll do my research and try and find a decent one for cheap. Thanks again guys!

 

The laser will not move and seek coz as I posted, your plastic gear guide was totally torn down.


ohlip

 

Does the CF-74 require a CD/DVD drive set to master or a modified caddy to make any drive work?

I know my CF-72 does not boot from a cable select DVD drive, but works OK in Windows.

Glen

 

The gear was not bad. I screwed it up by taking it apart and moved the guide by accident. Now it won't move on it's own. And since putting it back together, it won't read anything and won't even eject on it's own. LOL.

Like I said, it was my OWN fault and I'm fine with that. It was dying as it is anyway. I got thousands of burns out of it! But I'm pretty confident it was not the plastic gear cause it moved fine and read everything before I messed with it today. It was just having issues with some blank dvd's. It's all good, I'm getting a new one in a few days.

Added 2 pictures of the guts. Everything looks fine, and still lubed. Just a little bit of dust. I moved the lens assembly an inch or so along the track manually and thought everything looked in order. I put it back together and the disc would spin but now it wouldn't move along the metal guides. It's like since I moved it, I must have misaligned the silver rod with grooves in it (to move it along the guides). But from the pictures, does the plastic piece look worn?