CD Burner problem - some songs skip or won't play at all

[Volcano13]

Hello,
My desktop PC is less than one year old and I already had to replace the CD burner once. On every CD that I burned, the first 2 or 3 songs would skip, then the rest of the CD would play fine. If I looked closely, I could acually see a gap near the center of the play surface on the CDs that were affected. The manufacturer replaced the burner and everything was fine for a couple months. Now I am experiencing similar problems, but this time it occurs in the middle or at the end of the CD. Again, you can see some "gaps" toward the end/middle of the CD that do not appear on a good CD. I've tried playing them on a Walkman and in the car, both have the same issue. I haven't tried on the PC, but I rarely listen while I'm on my PC anyway.

Could it really be another faulty CD burner that needs to be replaced? How about the software - OS is Windows XP SP2, and I'm using Windows Media Player. Or, could something be damaging the burner itself? The PC had a constant rattling sound and the original burner sometimes made a loud grinding sound. The new one does not grind, but the rattling was still present whenever the PC was turned on. The technician that installed my second burner said that some PCs just always rattle and vibrate. But I was a little skeptical and eventually noticed that the side panel was loose. When I put it back correctly the vibrating disappeared. But could something with the vibrating have damaged the CD burner?

I know there are a lot of issues/questions here, but I need to know where to go next - checking software or getting a new burner.

Thanks!

 

[dglienna]

Easiest thing would be to replace the drive. It seemed to work for a while, so I'd guess that it is causing the problem.

It's simple, but you have to make sure of the jumper settings on the back of the drive. Match the new drive settings to the old drive, and you'll be fine. If they are wrong, the machine may not boot. Turn off and move jumper!

-David
2006 Microsoft Most Valueable Professional (MVP)
2006 Dell Certified System Professional (CSP)

 

[Johnthephoneguy]

You could try turning the speed of your writing down, maybe it is trying to write too fast(even if it is capable of it).

 

[Foada]

You may also want to make sure that you don't have a virus scan or some other type of background software running while you are burning the cd. I have had similar problems and found out that the spyware monitor was running in the background and creating "gaps" in the recording.

If you choose to battle wits with the witless be prepared to lose.