Vaio Z VGN-Z37GD Blue Ray Recognition Issue

Hi there, Am new to this forum so please allow for that!
Have owned this laptop for over 3 years and still working well, except for the Blue Ray DVD reader/writer. Altho it still recognises, reads and writes ordinary DVDs, it refuses to acknowledge the existence of any Blue Ray discs and of course will not read or burn one!
Not sure if this is a hard or software issue, so when i contacted Sony they put me onto their only reconised repairer in my state of South Australia, Digital Domain. Their policy is to look at it at an initial cost of $75 to be subtracted from the total bill, once repaired. This is fair enough, except for the fact that i have absolutely no idea what the final cost will be - they are not prepared to give me any indication at all, and considering the age of my sony and the potential exorbitant cost of repairing/replacing internal Blue Ray componentry ( possibly 100s of $ ???)
Not sure if i am prepared to commit to this or just get an external potable Blueray burner for about $200 which can be used on other laptops as well.
Any suggestions welcome!

 

Well it sounds like the Blu Ray drive is broken which will most certainly mean that Sony will replace the drive. These drives seem to be around $500 on eBay so expect Sony to charge you more than this- (due to labor and upmark). If you're prepared to pay over $500 then send it in. If you'd rather do the replacement yourself you can buy a drive and swap it. Or like you were saying, you can just buy a USB BD burner and use that.

 

Thanx xxG!

 

Having said that, which BD burner would u recommend, and if not E Bay, where would be the best price to purchase one?
The 2 that i have been looking at are the Shintaro external slim BDR etc. usb drive and the LG BP 06 LG 10 both of which cost approx 200 dollars?

 

Sorry I haven't a clue on what's the best external BD burner. Perhaps another forum member can help you out there.

 

Try installing IMGBURN (a freeware disc burner) and bring up the hardware specs window. Might help with identifying the issue.

If you're feeling up for taking your Z apart, then the drive you're after is a UJ232a. Off eBay you're looking at around US$180 shipping not included.

Centrix Intl - Wholesale Distribution of Electronic Components
These fellas have an eBay store and I bought my UJ232a from a $1-reserve auction (ending up paying US$180 with shipping to New Zealand). As for modding my Z; because my Z didn't originally come with a blu-ray drive I'm missing some bits to the point where the drive is a little lose. But I can live with that.

Or, if the external drive is your thing then Centrix do those as well. For quite cheap and all pre-built and ready to go.

EDIT - take that back. It seems that they don't sell the UJ232a anymore. Though they still sell the externals, and for quite cheap to boot.

 

will do! Thnx sushimonster!