CD writer over? Advice needed!

[pseah]

Device: RICOH MP7120A

This has been working like a charm for about 2 years. Burnt data and audio flawlessly using Cd Creator and also Nero. This week it stopped working all of a sudden. I did not change anything!! It just won't read or write. It will still pop open but nothing happens. When I try to write a CD, it just asks me to insert blank CD over and over again and the CD is BLANK????

Has the lifespan of this CD writer over? Time to get a new one or can I still fix it? A driver problem? Or just wear and tear?

Any advise from PC experts appreciated. Thanks for reading!!

 

[Erasmus-X]

CD recorders do wear out over time. One of my buddies burns at least 10 discs per day and he's gone through 3 high-end drives over the last 4 years.

I on the other hand, I very rarily burn discs. I generally only use my burner for MP3 audio discs for the car and as we all know, a 700 MB disc goes a long way for that. For that reason, my 4-year old Teac CD-R56S (6x SCSI with no RW capability.....it's THAT old!) still works without a hitch. It's funny, but I actually don't mind waiting 12-13 minutes for a full disc write to complete. There's plenty of things I can do to occupy myself in the meantime. Hehe...

Time to get a new one or can I still fix it? A driver problem? Or just wear and tear?

Well, see if you can test the drive in another rig first. If the problem persists, it's probably time to just buy a new one. You don't exactly "fix" CD-RW drives, given how cheap they are now. You can go to Best Buy and pick up a $50 Digital Research drive (a rebadged Lite-On; good, reliable drives BTW) and sometimes there'll even be a mail-in rebate for it. There's really no reason to drop 100 bones on a Plextor or Yamaha anymore.

 

[Double Trouble]

If you didn't change anything (hardware or software) and all of a sudden the drive won't read or write anymore, I'd say it's pretty likely the drive is kaput and you'll have to snag another one. 'Fixing' CDRW's is simply not a viable option these days -- the prices are just too low to make it worth doing. If you keep a close lookout, you could get a decent one for $20 or $30.... If you keep an eye on the hot deals section, you could get one for less

 

[pseah]

Thanks for both of your replies!!! I will be shopping for a new one this week......I would say in the last 2 years I have burnt over 500 discs so definitely got my money's worth out of this Ricoh...will check out the Lite On.

Appreciate your comments and advice!