Sony dvd drive won't play dvd's i purchased, but will burn movies to dvd, and they will play.

Hi,

I have a sony vaio, product no:VPCF21Z1E (THIS IS THE BLURAY/3D MODEL). This is also windows 7. I am having a problem playing dvd's which i purchased. The odd one will play, but most won't play anymore. When i insert the disc into the drive, it tries to load up but won't, and keeps making a clicking sound. There is nothing showing up on the computer that the disc has been inserted into the drive. I can burn movies to dvd, and they will play no problem. I purchased a secondhand dvd drive, because i thought the old one was broken, and the same thing is happening with that also. I know little or nothing about computers, but was wandering, could it be a internal problem, i.e. hardware issue? Do i need to replace the dvd drive? Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot, and cheers.

 

Do you use your laptop in a dusty environment? I'm from India and I kept having this problem. Now I have a laptop with no optical drive at all. Instead, I bought a cheap external USB connected DVD writer. I keep it in a plastic ziplock pouch and only take it out when needed. 4 years and counting - no problems.

This is caused by dust on the optics - the plastic lens of the LED and detector. The drive will work, but not as effectively, especially at the extremes, i.e. it won't read or burn full sized discs. I never had much success cleaning off the dust - the act of cleaning screws up the alignment. Ask your repair shop if they will guarantee the repair for a few weeks. Alternatively, when you go to pick it up, take a selection of discs that are giving you trouble and try them out then and there.

 

Hi, Thanks very much for your reply. The environment which i'm in, can be very dusty. My fan over heats as well from being clogged with dust. How come the replacement dvd drive i bought, is acting the same way? Would you say this one is having the same problem? Should i replace the drive altogether with a new one, or can it be cleaned properly by a repair guy? Thanks again. Cheers.

 

I wholeheartedly recommend getting rid of the internal optical drive and buying an external DVD writer like I did. Mine cost around $20 and has served me well for 4+ years. You can get a caddy that fits in your optical drive bay and put a 2.5" HDD or SSD in there.

 

If you must have an internal optical drive, get some microfiber tape and seal up the opening for the tray. Remove the tape when you need to eject the tray and then put it right back. The laptop fan inside sucks in air (and dust) through all openings and crevices, and unfortunately the tray provides one of these.