problem with cd-dvd drive

[hiya5150]

i have a cd/dvd drive for about a year now, never had a problem. it's an LG. lately, i have trouble burning my rewritable cd's. i've been using memorex rewritables, and i even bought brand new ones, i thought age was the problem. after i finish burning a video file, replay is very jerky and difficult to watch, or i get an error, and cannot play the file at all. Verification takes forever, and even reading the rewritable 'bad' cd takes very long. do you think it's the drive itself that needs to be replaced. would reinstalling the hardware help? are there any settings that i can play with? (though i never did in the past). the mpg files that i burn are impeccable on my hd and so mangled on the cd

any help, please?

 

[rclarke250]

Have you added any Hardware lately? Might be low power from power supply, You can try firmware from hitachi-lucky goldstar...But most likely it's the drive.

 

[Blujacket]

Just a note, I've had a lot of problems with a variety of drives when using the Memorex CD-R disks, haven't tried their CD-RW. The black ones were especially bad on a Dell drive. I really like the DuraBrand CD-Rs that WalMart carried but when I was last there all they had was the Memorex. Got some Imation from OfficeMax instead.

 

[cdogg]

Something probably changed with the transfer speed rate between the CD Writer and the rest of your system.

If video files play well from your hard drive, try this:

After burning the video file to CDRW, re-copy the video file from the CDRW back to the hard drive in a new location. If the new video file copy plays fine, then the problem is not the Memorex media but instead points to a speed issue.

First of all, CDROM drives transfer much slower than your hard drive. There are many possibilites:

1) DMA is disabled
2) A lot of processes are running in the background stealing resources from CDRW playback
3) Your PC is infected with a virus, spyware, and/or adware
4) Your hard drive is severely fragmented
5) You have a combination of the above

DMA is usually the number one cause with slow transfer speeds. How to make sure it is enabled depends on your version of Windows, but generally it can be found in Device Manager. If that doesn't help, try to eliminate the other possibilities I listed. It also doesn't hurt to try a different brand of media (although I doubt that's the problem if things worked fine before). If you have any questions, don't hesitate to post back.

Some helpful links:

http://security.norton.com/default.asp?langid=us&venid=sym

http://www.geocities.com/cc210026/spywareinfo.html

faq615-3144


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[BadBigBen]

Hi there, what Cdogg suggested is good, check that out first...

then I would suggest reinstalling, if not already, Adaptec's ASPI Drivers (they are needed by most burning progs)... if they where already installed, then reinstalling them just fixes them, if they where broken...

Ben

 

[Nelviticus]

If none of the above work try removing and reconnecting your IDE cable. There's a lot of vibration inside PC cases and sometimes connectors work themselves slightly loose.

Finally try blowing into your drive - it could just be dusty.

Nelviticus

 

[hiya5150]

all of your suggestions sound plausible, and I thank you for taking the time to address my problem. I had almost discounted the shabby quality of the cd as being the cause of the problem, when i realized that I used to use Sony cd's, and never had a problem, and recently ( over a while, granted ) have been using memorex. i have tried burning on my old sony's and the problem seems to be better if not totally fixed.

i'll try that first, though that means trashing about 25 cd-rw's at $2 + (canadian ) a piece. if that doesn't pan out, i'll try the other solutions.

btw, is cleaning a cd drive something that should be done and if so how often. my drive is about a year old

 

[cdogg]

How often depends on use. Typically every 3 months or so is more than enough for average use.

Just make sure you buy a high-quality laser lens cleaner that's certified for CD-ROM drives (preferably backed with some kind of guarantee). I've seen countless optical drives ruined because of a cheap version.

 

[Nelviticus]

You shouldn't need to clean a modern optical drive and many manufacturers recommend that you DON'T use a lens cleaner as they can do any number of nasty things, like leaving fibres on the laser lens, knocking it out of alignment or even scratching it. Remember, in normal operation the lens doesn't touch anything.

If dust is getting into the drive then something is amiss, as normally it can only get in when the tray is open. If it is dusty (i.e. you see a lot of grime on the tray) then blowing into it is about as effective as using a cleaning disc.

Nelviticus

 

[cdogg]

Like I said, high-quality cleaners do exist and are completely safe. But like Nelviticus said, it should only be attempted if you have a problem that can't be solved by using a can of compressed air to "blow-clean" the lens.

One thing I will correct in the previous post is that dust "usually" gets in from clinging to CDROM discs that are not properly stored. That is the #1 reason of having a dirty lens. In contrast, the tray is only open a small fraction of the time you use your drive, making it unlikely that very much dust will enter while you are loading a disc.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[jurgen36]

: cdogg
Yes and no to your last msg. If you live in a high humidity area like I do, blowing out the dust will simply not be good enough. The humidy tends to dew down at night time and makes a very hard cake like substance. Even a cd cleaning disk will not do the job. We had to actually open quite a few of our drives and scrape the caked down dust off. Very carefully of course. A modified old toothbrush does the job. Regards

Jurgen

 

[BadBigBen]

Hiya5150 - another possibility that you should concider, updating the firmware of your drive, so that it can recognize more CD-r's that are on todays market, that where not there a year ago... this could solve the problem, as I read your last statement about it working with the SONY's and almost having no problem with them...

Ben

PS - good luck... and keep us posted...

 

[cdogg]

Jurgen,
Well, yes there's always an exception! I try to stay as general as possible without listing every single footnote.

To anyone else following this thread, it's worth pointing out that opening a drive does void any warranty that it might still carry. But if it's already expired, I suppose you have nothing to lose.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind"
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884