HP DVD Writer 840b - Wont play DVD's ?

[phpdog]

Hi ,

I have a HP DVD Writer 840b - Lightscribe drive , and i just noticed it wont play a DVD.

It just says insert disc, even when i have discs in the drive.

I also have another DVD Writer a Sony DVD-RW ... and in my computer there shown like this :-

HP DVD Writer 840b - DVD-RAM Drive
Sony DVD-Writer - DVD-RW Drive

I think ive played DVD's in the HP before , i just never noticed this until now , its only 1 month old.

Is this right ?

 

[mcintcmi]

I have a HP 740i DVD. I could play a game on DVD one day then the next time I put the DVD in the drive would not see it. It play CDs fine. I ran the windows media decoder check and I have a workable decoder. I purchased a new game disc and the new one has the same problem. Can a drive be broken in this way ? Only able to read cds and not DVD? Or is it only a software problem?

 

[mcintcmi]

I purchased a new DVD drive and installed it while keeping the old drive in. The new one reads DVDs perfectly while the broken one only reads CDs. Strange but true. Hope this helps someothers.

 

[furballi]

Is this a "factory" DVD? Do you have multiple burn applications in the HDD? Can the drive read data on the DVD?

 

[rcalzada51]

Windows may have loaded the incorrect driver or a driver that may not fully support the newer drive. Go into your device manager and uninstall the drivers for your new HP DVD Writer 840b drive. Go to the HP support site here and download the latest support drivers. Shut down completely and then restart the computer and let it detect it again. Re-load the correct drivers for your drive. This should clear up your problem.

 

[corkyg]

Doesn't look like you are alone.

840b

I have HP-740e w/Lightscribe - never a problem.

 

[furballi]

Bad reader. The NEC 3550 is quite affordable at $35.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: furballi
Bad reader. The NEC 3550 is quite affordable at $35.

But is it Lightscribe? I have an unwritten rule - never use your burner for a reader! That goes way back to 1994.

 

[furballi]

Why pay the HP Lightscribe royalty fee? I don't have time to wait for the laser to draw pictures which will reduce the life of my burner. Lightscribe = Dud technology.

 

[smopoim86]

i have a 640b that has never had problems.....

Is there updated firmware or drivers for that drive?