DVD Drive issue

[Guest]

My DVD drive has stopped working. I thought the problem was with my DVD
burning software (Sonic's MyDVD), which wasn't recognizing my Pioneer DVD-RW
DVR-104 drive. However, when I put any disk in (software, CD, DVD), it hums
for awhile and then stops. Nothing plays.

In Explorer, it shows up as DVD-RW drive, but even with a good disk in it,
when you click it, you get prompted to insert a disk. With a blank disk, I
get "D:\ is not accessible. Incorrect function".

In Device Manager, it shows up as PIONEER DVD-RW DVR 104. It does not
indicate any issues. I have uninstalled completely, reloaded the latest
drivers fresh, and the problem still occurs.

Additionally, although I have checked the drive types in the registry (type
=2), neither of my burnable drives (this DVD one, and a CD-RW) have the
recording tab available in properties.

Any ideas? This has been driving me nuts for weeks.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

Sounds like the laser is very dirty or has died. First try a standard CD
cleaning kit.... if no improvement, time to replace.

 

[Guest]

This is no dirty head issue. I see a lot of these complaints now being
posted, and now I am experiencing the same issue - all of a sudden neither my
CD-R nor my Emprex DVD-RW drives can write to disk. The wizard always says,
"insert a disk into the CD" when there already is a disk in the CD. The
problem seems to have arisen after I installed SP2 for XP Home. We need a
patch quickly for this from MS, becuase something is not right here.

 

[Rock]

My DVD drive has stopped working. I thought the problem was with my DVD
burning software (Sonic's MyDVD), which wasn't recognizing my Pioneer DVD-RW
DVR-104 drive. However, when I put any disk in (software, CD, DVD), it hums
for awhile and then stops. Nothing plays.

In Explorer, it shows up as DVD-RW drive, but even with a good disk in it,
when you click it, you get prompted to insert a disk. With a blank disk, I
get "D:\ is not accessible. Incorrect function".

In Device Manager, it shows up as PIONEER DVD-RW DVR 104. It does not
indicate any issues. I have uninstalled completely, reloaded the latest
drivers fresh, and the problem still occurs.

Additionally, although I have checked the drive types in the registry (type
=2), neither of my burnable drives (this DVD one, and a CD-RW) have the
recording tab available in properties.

Any ideas? This has been driving me nuts for weeks.

Resources for troubleshooting DVD problems in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308012

How to Troubleshoot Issues with Reading CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD Discs
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=321641

HOW TO: Troubleshoot Issues That Occur When You Write Data to a CD-R or
CD-RW Optical Disc in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=324129

CD-R Drive or CD-RW Drive Is Not Recognized As a Recordable Device
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=316529

Another option is to run cdgone.zip from
http://aumha.org/downloads/cdgone.zip

You will need to reload any the DVD burning software.

 

[Jim]

This is no dirty head issue. I see a lot of these complaints now being
posted, and now I am experiencing the same issue - all of a sudden neither my
CD-R nor my Emprex DVD-RW drives can write to disk. The wizard always says,
"insert a disk into the CD" when there already is a disk in the CD. The
problem seems to have arisen after I installed SP2 for XP Home. We need a
patch quickly for this from MS, becuase something is not right here.

Cari didn't indicate that this is a dirty head. There aren't any heads in
DVD or CD drives. Instead, the drives use a laser to send a beam of light
to the disk. The disk inteprets the results of this action to determine
whether there is a pit or not at the spot. Now, if the lens which focuses
the ligtht is dirty, the beam just may not hit the disk correctly. You can
buy CD or DVD cleaning kits which may remove the dirt. Hard drives don't
have this particular problem because they are sealed units.

A dirty head is a hardware problem, and no software patch will correct it.
Jim

 

[Guest]

Cari-
I double-checked, it's only software that doesn't do anything. I was able
to get a DVD play (a little glitchy, but clearly), so I doubt it's a dirty
laser. Any other ideas?

thanks,
Kevin

 

[Guest]

I must recant my earlier note. (You're correct Jim, I meant to say "laser
lens," not "head".

As it turns out, the problem I had was NOT Windows XP SP2 after all, as far
as I can tell. This morning I changed the Preferences - Burn option in
iTunes, to "Data CD", and now the CD burner works. So much for hasty
conclusions when it comes to this tech stuff.

 

[Bob I]

If the unit has to make numerous tries to read the DVD content, then yes
it could very well be a dirty lens. (glitchy due to waiting for data
from unit)

 

[Guest]

Once again I must modify my prior note(s). Subsequent to writing the note
below, I tried to use my CD-R and DVD-RW burners with XP Home's built in
software, and again the Wizard is unable to detect that a disk is in the
drive. The iTunes software however successfully burned a disk on the CD-R,
so perhaps it is the Wizard software built into Windows XP, or maybe Windows
SP2, or maybe some other installation that causes this issue.

 

[Rock]

Once again I must modify my prior note(s). Subsequent to writing the note
below, I tried to use my CD-R and DVD-RW burners with XP Home's built in
software, and again the Wizard is unable to detect that a disk is in the
drive. The iTunes software however successfully burned a disk on the CD-R,
so perhaps it is the Wizard software built into Windows XP, or maybe Windows
SP2, or maybe some other installation that causes this issue.

:

FYI, but XP's native burning tools won't work with DVD.