Blu-Ray drive doesn't see media

[Dave C.]

I've purchased lg blu-ray burner for my system that has following
specs:

asus p4pe motherboard
on-board SATA connectors Promise RAID
PCI-SATA card with another 4 sata connections SIL 3114

WinXP and linux live CD detect the blu-ray drive itself, i see icon
in my computer and Device Manager states that device is working ok.
However, none of the CDs/DVDs I try can bee seen. Just get message
saying "please insert a media in the drive". Is there anything else i
need to try to make this work? Is there any possibility that my
fairly old mobo is having problems working with sata optical drives.

thanks

If it can't see factory pressed CDs or DVDs, it is defective. -Dave

 

[Dave C.]

thanks for the quick reply. What i was more concerned about is there
a chance that the drive is visible to OS but due to problems with
either drivers or hardware(such as old sata card) it wouldn't be able
to read media

Nope. There is no chance. Optical drives don't really require
drivers. Either it is working OK, or it isn't. If your operating
system can see the drive, then the drive should be able to read media.
If it's not reading media, it is defective. Exchange it. -Dave

 

[asdf]

I've purchased lg blu-ray burner for my system that has following specs:

asus p4pe motherboard
on-board SATA connectors Promise RAID
PCI-SATA card with another 4 sata connections SIL 3114

WinXP and linux live CD detect the blu-ray drive itself, i see icon in my
computer and Device Manager states that device is working ok. However,
none of the CDs/DVDs I try can bee seen. Just get message saying "please
insert a media in the drive". Is there anything else i need to try to
make this work? Is there any possibility that my fairly old mobo is
having problems working with sata optical drives.

thanks

 

[asdf]

If it can't see factory pressed CDs or DVDs, it is defective. -Dave

thanks for the quick reply. What i was more concerned about is there a
chance that the drive is visible to OS but due to problems with either
drivers or hardware(such as old sata card) it wouldn't be able to read
media

 

[Paul]

I've purchased lg blu-ray burner for my system that has following specs:

asus p4pe motherboard
on-board SATA connectors Promise RAID
PCI-SATA card with another 4 sata connections SIL 3114

WinXP and linux live CD detect the blu-ray drive itself, i see icon in my
computer and Device Manager states that device is working ok. However,
none of the CDs/DVDs I try can bee seen. Just get message saying "please
insert a media in the drive". Is there anything else i need to try to
make this work? Is there any possibility that my fairly old mobo is
having problems working with sata optical drives.

thanks

Run the Nero InfoTool, and see what capabilities the LG burner lists.

http://majorgeeks.com/Nero_InfoTool_d120.html

This is an older screenshot, but shows what the utility will display.
The read and write tick boxes, show the capabilities of the drive.

http://majorgeeks.com/screenshots/n/neroinftool.gif

Please list the exact model number of your LG burner.

Paul

 

[asdf]

Run the Nero InfoTool, and see what capabilities the LG burner lists.

http://majorgeeks.com/Nero_InfoTool_d120.html

This is an older screenshot, but shows what the utility will display.
The read and write tick boxes, show the capabilities of the drive.

http://majorgeeks.com/screenshots/n/neroinftool.gif

Please list the exact model number of your LG burner.

Paul

Here is the info reported by nero infotool.
Couldn't get the read and write speeds since the drive cant see disk.

Drive Information
------------------
Drive : HL-DT-ST BD-RE WH08LS20
Type : Blu-ray Rewriter DL
Firmware Version : 1.00
Buffer Size : 4 MB
Date : ?
Vendor Specific : 
Drive Letter : G:\
Location : 2:0
Mechanism : Tray
Read Speed : n/a
Write Speed : n/a

Read CD Text : Yes
Return C2 Pointers : Yes
Read CD-R : Yes
Read CD-RW : Yes
Read DVD-ROM : Yes
Read DVD-RAM : Yes
Read DVD-R : Yes
Read DVD-RW : Yes
Read DVD-R DL : Yes
Read DVD+R : Yes
Read DVD+RW : Yes
Read DVD+R DL : Yes
Read BD-ROM : Yes
Read BD-R : Yes
Read BD-RE : Yes
Read HD DVD-ROM : No
Read HD DVD-R : No
Read HD DVD-R DL : No
Read HD DVD-RAM : No
Read HD DVD-RW : No
Read HD DVD-RW DL : No
Read HD-BURN : No
Read Digital Audio : Yes
Read CD+G : No
Read VideoCD : Yes

Write CD-R : Yes
Write CD-RW : Yes
Write DVD-R : Yes
Write DVD-RW : Yes
Write DVD-R DL : Yes
Write DVD+R : Yes
Write DVD+RW : Yes
Write DVD+R DL : Yes
Write DVD-RAM : No
Write DVD-RAM : Yes
Write BD-R : Yes
Write BD-RE : Yes
Write HD DVD-R : No
Write HD DVD-R DL : No
Write HD DVD-RAM : No
Write HD DVD-RW : No
Write HD DVD-RW DL : No
Write HD-BURN-R : No
Write HD-BURN-RW : No
Buffer Underrun Protection : Yes
Mount Rainier : No
SolidBurn : No
Labelflash : No
LightScribe : No
Modes : Packet, TAO, DAO, SAO, RAW SAO, RAW SAO 16,
RAW SAO 96, RAW DAO 96

Region Protection Control : RPC II
Region : none
Changes User : 5
Changes Vendor : 4

CSS : Yes
CPRM : Yes
AACS : Yes
VCPS : No

Disc Information (G:\)

 

[Paul]

Here is the info reported by nero infotool.
Couldn't get the read and write speeds since the drive cant see disk.

Drive Information

------------------

Drive : HL-DT-ST BD-RE WH08LS20
Type : Blu-ray Rewriter DL
Firmware Version : 1.00
Buffer Size : 4 MB
Date : ?
Vendor Specific : 
Drive Letter : G:\
Location : 2:0
Mechanism : Tray
Read Speed : n/a
Write Speed : n/a

Read CD Text : Yes
Return C2 Pointers : Yes
Read CD-R : Yes Write CD-R : Yes
Read CD-RW : Yes Write CD-RW : Yes
Read DVD-ROM : Yes
Read DVD-RAM : Yes Write DVD-RAM : Yes
Read DVD-R : Yes Write DVD-R : Yes
Read DVD-RW : Yes Write DVD-RW : Yes
Read DVD-R DL : Yes Write DVD-R DL : Yes
Read DVD+R : Yes Write DVD+R : Yes
Read DVD+RW : Yes Write DVD+RW : Yes
Read DVD+R DL : Yes Write DVD+R DL : Yes
Read BD-ROM : Yes
Read BD-R : Yes Write BD-R : Yes
Read BD-RE : Yes Write BD-RE : Yes

Read HD DVD-ROM : No Write HD DVD-R : No
Read HD DVD-R : No Write HD DVD-R : No
Read HD DVD-R DL : No Write HD DVD-R DL : No
Read HD DVD-RAM : No Write HD DVD-RAM : No
Read HD DVD-RW : No Write HD DVD-RW : No
Read HD DVD-RW DL : No Write HD DVD-RW DL : No
Read HD-BURN : No Write HD-BURN-R : No

Read Digital Audio : Yes
Read CD+G : No
Read VideoCD : Yes

Buffer Underrun Protection : Yes
Mount Rainier : No
SolidBurn : No
Labelflash : No
LightScribe : No

Modes : Packet, TAO, DAO, SAO, RAW SAO, RAW SAO 16, RAW SAO 96, RAW DAO 96

Region Protection Control : RPC II
Region : none
Changes User : 5
Changes Vendor : 4

CSS : Yes
CPRM : Yes
AACS : Yes
VCPS : No

The level of support in there appears normal.

The second review here, reports a presumed laser failure. At least,
that is what LG support suggested.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16827136176

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray

Blu-ray - wavelength of 405 nm - violet colored - InGaN
DVDs - 650 nm - red colored
CD - 780 nm - near infrared

Maybe if no media works at all, it has something to do with
the level of ATAPI support via your SATA controller chips ?
If you have another computer with SATA ports, try the drive
on a Southbridge SATA port, for best compatibility.

Another option, is to use a ribbon cable interface coming
from your Southbridge chip, and one of these adapters. I
keep this around for emergencies. I'm still waiting
to buy an adapter that works in the other direction.
(I know which one I want, but no one stocks it.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200156&Tpk=ide2sat

That adapter design isn't the best, because it can be
a bit hard getting the ribbon cable off the adapter
later.

HTH,
Paul

 

[Jan Alter]

The level of support in there appears normal.

The second review here, reports a presumed laser failure. At least,
that is what LG support suggested.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16827136176

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray

Blu-ray - wavelength of 405 nm - violet colored - InGaN
DVDs - 650 nm - red colored
CD - 780 nm - near infrared

Maybe if no media works at all, it has something to do with
the level of ATAPI support via your SATA controller chips ?
If you have another computer with SATA ports, try the drive
on a Southbridge SATA port, for best compatibility.

Another option, is to use a ribbon cable interface coming
from your Southbridge chip, and one of these adapters. I
keep this around for emergencies. I'm still waiting
to buy an adapter that works in the other direction.
(I know which one I want, but no one stocks it.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200156&Tpk=ide2sat

That adapter design isn't the best, because it can be
a bit hard getting the ribbon cable off the adapter
later.

HTH,
Paul

Simple test to see if the drive is working is to drop a Windows installation
disk into the drive (ie XP, Vista, 7), set the bios to start with the CD-ROM
and see if the computer allows start from the OS disk.
If it doesn't start then it is the drive or possibly the cable. If it does
then it's software related.