Hi, My cd-rom couldn't read my C

[ruxshin]

Hi,

My cd-rom couldn't read my CDs at all. It was working fine the previous minute, but the next minute, it couldn't find/read the cd in the drive. The LED still lights up and blinks whenever a cd is inserted into the drive, but then it cannot read the cd inside (as if I didn't insert any cd).

By the way, I'm using Windows 98, and I didn't install any software/hardware recently. My cd-rom failed in the midst of reading a data CD.

Can anyone tell me what happened to my cd-rom? Is it nearly dead? Can anyone help?

ruxshin

 

[edfair]

Data cds are worst case read problems. How about trying a stamped or burned cdr.
It is also possible that you are boderline with dirt. There are cleaning disks available to clean the head. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[ruxshin]

I can't clean the cd-rom drive since it can't even read the drive cleaner cd. Anything else that I can do to save my cd-rom?

 

[GDW]

I would recomend that you hold the CD at an angle into the light as to get a glare from the CD. look for dirt or finger prints. if dirt is present, clean the CD. If the CD is clean, then your CD-ROM might be broken. if possible try and replace the CD- rom with another new CD rom. if the problem is still there it is a driver or O/S problem

 

[ruxshin]

I've tried several clean CDs but my CD-ROM still could not read them. It's probably the CD-ROM's problem. I've tried reinstalling the drivers too but the problem is still there. What else can I do to troubleshoot my CD-ROM drive? Could it be the head?

 

[ruxshin]

I tried to access my cd-rom from command prompt but failed. It said drive not ready. I think that the cd in my cd-rom couldn't spin because I don't hear the whirring sound that it usually makes. The light also blinks continuosly.

Any ideas anyone?



ruxshin

 

[batchoychoy]

How old is your drive? If it is more than 5 years old and you dont hear it spinning. Its probably a hardware problem. If its dirty, you can still try cleaning it by repeatedly playing the cleaning disk coz everytime you close the drive, the CD cleaner will spin. To find out if the drive is dead, disconnect the IDE cable, turn on your computer and insert a CD and listen if its spinning. If it is still at a dead stop, it's probably the drive. If you intend on buying a new drive avoid Creative Infra. Ive used it only for a year and now it has a life of its own. Closes and opens by itself.

 

[ruxshin]

My cd cannot spin. So the cleaner cd cannot clean the cd-rom drive. Someone suggested that I clean the capstans of the cd-rom drive. Anyone can provide guides on cleaning the cd-rom capstans?

Another question, if my cd-rom is really dead, what should I get, a new cd-rom or a cd-rw?

 

[edfair]

You have to make that determination based on what you plan to do with it.
Do you need to burn? Do you want to watch movies? I would have both, or a DVD and a burner. But since I haven't had to make that choice recently I stay with the last choice which was a burner. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Spock7291]

Greetings,
After reading the posts so far it is apparent to me that there is a hardware disconnect of some type. How old is your system.

One possibility I have not seen mentioned is the possibility of "chip creep". Due to continual expansion and contraction caused by the heating and cooling of components inside you computer case chips and cable connectors that are not soldered in place or specifically clipped or screwed down tend to ride up out of their sockets or connectors.

If you open the case, disconnect the CD cables, and carefully reconnect them, ensuring a tight, firm connection that may solve your problem. I have seen it happen too many times to want to neglect such a simple possible solution.

Another possibility is corrosion. It doesn't take much to interfere with a signal path. This isn't near as much of a problem as chip creep but is, non-the-less, still a very real potential problem. With circuit cards you can see a visible difference if you have lightly corroded contacts when you gently "erase" along the contact fingers of the circuit card. The non-erased portion will be slightly dull or darker in color while the erased area will be bright and shiny.

In either case, as soon as you open your case you should insure that you and you computer are properly connected to each other to negate any possibility of ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) damage.

I am going to steal a note from Ed Fair's posts and request the same feedback:

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Howi]

If your CD is not spinning up (you might be able to hear it trying) this will prevent the hardware detecting the CD.
You may find that some CD's will work others won't.
It could be dirt in the CD drive but usually means "put hand in pocket and withdraw cash"
Sorry to be bearer of bad news - I have 4 CD-ROMS in this state that just will not spin up reliably.
What can you expect when they cost so little.

 

[dimlek]

I have had a relative problem.
My philips cd-rom 40x(they are concidered to be reliable) would start spinning/reading the data and then it would stop. Then it starts again and stops 30 secs later. There it would go again. As you can imagine, this was annoying as it took me 30 min to install a game which usually takes 5-10 min. I replaced my cd-rom with a Sony DVD which works fine till now.
I must agree with Howi that they don't give much attention to cd-roms any more as they are interested in selling DVD's and promote that technology, allways IMHO.
i am sorry of not being of much help, thought that sharing some experiences would make you decide easier.
Cheers

 

[ruxshin]

Hi,

I've took the cd-rom drive apart and tried to clean the capstans, although I didn't notice it to be dirty. However, when I list the cd-rom drive, I can hear some sort of rolling sound, is that natural? I think it came from the inside of the capstans, so I couldn't check. Maybe the motor is broken up somewhere inside, so it can't spin.

Anyway, after reconnecting the cd-rom drive (and I've made sure that it's properly connected), the drive still couldn't work. So quoting Howi: it's time to "put hand in pocket and withdraw cash".

Thanks for everyone's help.


ruxshin

 

[Howi]

The rolling sounds you can hear fooled me too for a short while till I realised they were ball bearings for the tray to run on.
Always worries me when I shake something and it rattles!!!

You can not expect to have a PC without spending money at some time - it could be a lt worse, HDD, CPU, etc
Go on treat yorself to a new CD-ROM