Acer Laptop DVD RW no longer reading DVDs

[Mucho]

My friends Acer Laptop running XP, DVD RW suddenly no longer reads DVDs, it however, reads Audio CDs. So far I've try doing a system restore and uninstalling and reinstalling without success. model: GSA-4082N

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I've seen this happen before... on my father's ACER laptop, with a LG DVD drive... also no explanation.
Maybe LG gave ACER a bad batch?

 

[Old Hippie]

I vote the DVD's laser is shot.

 

[corkyg]

The Old Hippie has it right. There are two lasers in such drives - one for DVDs and the other for CDs. When one goes out and the other does not - it usually indicates a failure of the one. Could be as simple as dirt. Run a cleaning DVD disk and see if it helps. If not - replace the drive. It is not usually a software problem when one works and the other doesn't.

 

[Kirby64]

Originally posted by: corkyg
The Old Hippie has it right. There are two lasers in such drives - one for DVDs and the other for CDs. When one goes out and the other does not - it usually indicates a failure of the one. Could be as simple as dirt. Run a cleaning DVD disk and see if it helps. If not - replace the drive. It is not usually a software problem when one works and the other doesn't.

I wouldn't bother with a cleaning DVD. Laptops have the laser exposed when you open the drive. Cleaning DVDs are usually for laser's you can't get at.

Go with a Q-tip, some isopropyl alcohol, and gentle scrubbing to see if that helps 🙂 I'd consider that to be far more effective than a cleaning DVD.

 

[Mucho]

Acer wants $400 to replace the DVD RW since its over a year old. Time for a USB one.

 

[JustaGeek]

Why don't you replace it yourself...?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...iption=slim+dvd+burner

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Mucho
Acer wants $400 to replace the DVD RW since its over a year old. Time for a USB one.

$400!!

Tell them to take a running jump then replace it yourself.