Author Topic: DVD drive not working (Read 1599 times)

Pwilsonscott · « **on:** October 28, 2005, 21:48 »

Hello

My DVD drive which has been working perfectly is now failing to play DVD's.When i insert a DVD the light flashes, but no disc is detected. The drive seems to play CD,s OK. Is there anything i can try before i have to buy a new drive ? I have tried a few DVD,s and they are all the same.

Thanks

Simon · « **Reply #1 on:** October 28, 2005, 23:08 »

Hi Paul, nice to hear from you again!

I'm not sure what to suggest here, but hopefully someone will have some ideas later.

Just one thing - it's not a region coding issue is it? Most drives only allow up to 5 region changes, then they lock to the currently selected region.

Pwilsonscott · « **Reply #2 on:** October 28, 2005, 23:20 »

Hi Simon

I hadn't thought of that. is there a way of checking what region the DVD drive is locked on ? Would it still recognise that there was a disc in the drive if it was locked on a different rgion ?
The problem first occured when i put Conflict Vietnam game in the DVD drive - it started to play and then got stuck. I had to press a reset button on my PC to get it to respond to anything.

Paul

sam · « **Reply #3 on:** October 28, 2005, 23:45 »

the other issue is if if the media inserted is a dvd+ or dvd-

Sandra · « **Reply #4 on:** October 28, 2005, 23:58 »

To check which region your DVD is on and how many changes left, open the Device Manager.
Right click on the DVD drive and select Properties.
There is a tab in there for Regions.

For some reason the DVD reading part of a DVD rom seems to often fail yet the CD reading part can be ok :?

Simon · « **Reply #5 on:** October 29, 2005, 00:04 »

I don't think games are region coded are they? So, that shouldn't be an issue for games. One way to check which region the drive is on, is to go into My Computer, then right click the drive icon, select Properties > Hardware (tab), then select the relevant drive from the resulting list, and click the Properties button. One of the tabs will be Region. You can see which region is selected, and also change it from there, but if you didn't know where to find that, the chances are, it hasn't been changed, as I don't think they can change automatically. Let's wait and see if Sandra has any ideas, but if money is not too much of an issue, if your drive is more than about 12 months old, you could probably get a much better one now anyway, as they have come on in leaps and bounds. You can get a dual layer, 8X DVD Writer from somewhere like Dabs for about £30 + Postage, so unless you have a software problem, it may be easier to upgrade to a new drive, rather than fiddle about trying to fix your old one, which it does sound like is on the way out.

Pwilsonscott · « **Reply #6 on:** October 29, 2005, 07:49 »

Thankyou.
Is a new DVD drive relatively easy to put in ?
My current drive is 2 years old.
My system is Microland Tech CB150.1 and the current drive is LiteOn
HD165H 16xDVD 48xCD drive

Pwilsonscott · « **Reply #7 on:** October 29, 2005, 07:55 »

Continued from previous -
At least thats what my paperwork says.
When i right click on properties its called JLMS XJ-HD 166S
Its on Region 2 with 4 changes left
The driver date is 1/7/2001 - i wonder if i should try to update that ?

Thankyou

sam · « **Reply #8 on:** October 29, 2005, 08:38 »

Quote

I don't think games are region coded are they?

not normally

Simon · « **Reply #9 on:** October 29, 2005, 08:59 »

Quote from: "Pwilsonscott"

The driver date is 1/7/2001 - i wonder if i should try to update that ?

It wouldn't hurt to try. If you use the driver update facility in device manager, it will probably say there isn't one, or you could try the manufacturers website, which a Google search reveals might be LiteOn. I had a quick look and I couldn't see that model number listed in their driver downloads, but you might be able to find it with a more extensive search, or contact their customer support.

Personally, given that the drive is two years old, I would recommend a replacement. I believe that there are two lasers, one for DVDs and one for CDs (although I'm not sure where that came from, it's just something in the back of my mind), and if your DVD laser is knackered, this may explain why it still reads CDs.

By the way, the 16X to which you referred is the read speed. The write speed of your current drive is probably only 2X for DVD. The 8X I mentioned is the write speed of later drives. Replacing a drive is quite easy. Basically, you just open the PC case, after disconnecting the power, then disconnect and unscrew the current drive, and slide it out of the case. Slide the new one in, and replace the connections and mounting screws as before, but make sure the jumper (the little bit of plastic that bridges over two of a set of 8 pins on the back of the drive), is set the same as the old drive, or set it to 'cable select'. There is usually a guide on how to set the jumper stuck to the top of the drive. Pop the case back on, and power up, and it should find it's own drivers, then Bob's your Auntie's live-in lover!

Pwilsonscott · « **Reply #10 on:** October 29, 2005, 23:12 »

Thankyou Simon, thats very helpful.

All the best

Paul

TR · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2005, 20:07 »

Also you could try This , works very very well :wink:

TR

Edited cause I still kant spell

Simon · « **Reply #12 on:** October 30, 2005, 22:00 »

That looks handy, Terry. Nice to see you, by the way!