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Is this a driver problem?

W

Wallydraigle

Banned
I have a DVD drive that came in the computer. It reads a CD-rom fine but freezes when I put a DVD in. It's not that it won't play it, it won't even read it, it just keeps trying but nothing happens. I ended up replacing the drive but now I'm going to try to recycle it. I downloaded the latest firmware for it but I really don't want to put the thing back in my computer if it's not going to work. Do you think it's the drivers or is it just messed up? Also if I do try it out is it hard to flash the firmware?
 
What are you trying to play? Movies, Apps or Games? If it is movies, you need a software player like WinDVD or PowerDVD. Please include more info next time. Don't bother updating the firmware unless there is a specific fix you need in it.
 
Okay, let me make myself more clear. Any and all CD-roms run fine with it. I have a software decoder and this drive previously played a DVD flawlessly. The only thing it cannot do anymore is read a DVD. It started this problem sporadically, and has gotten worse. At first I could put a DVD in and it just kept trying to read it, take it out, restart, and it would run it. When I replaced it I couldn't get it to play at all, even though CD-roms still ran fine. I have another question. If it is a problem with the decoder program would the drive still be able to read the disk but not play it? Or is the decoder necessary even to read a DVD?
 
I would open it up and look for loose read head ribbon cable.. most drives have several ribbon cables and they can work loose especially in shipping. I have repaired several drives this way. Of course if its still under warranty just RMA it.
 

Thanks for the suggestion. I opened it up and the cables seem to be soldered in place. It's my first computer and without the wisdom of the internet I was unaware of how badly Copmaq sucks. I'll never make that mistake again. They won't even acknowledge me. I think it's just a sucky drive.
 
Well the ribbon cables should connect to the circuit board with connectors, tabs on the side lift up to release the cable..you can open the tabs, fully reinsert the cables and get a good reseat. I had one once that the ribbon cable had one of the foil terminals folded back and not contacting..it is a delicate operation and must be done very carefully.
 
I'm back from Subway (yum!) and I opened it up again. All the cables seem to be permanently clamped in place but one. It seemed secure but I took it out and put it back in. I'm going to try it out. Wish me luck!
 
No luck. I put it back in and started up. It worked as well as before, CD-roms ran fine but no DVD. So I decided to flash the firmware just for kicks and it said it couldn't find the drive! Okay, sure. Out she came and the new Acer went back in. Looks like I have a handy backup CD drive without DVD capability. Oh well. What really sucks is that the thing is still under warranty, but Compaq won't even answer my emails. Thanks Madthumbs and Mastertech for trying to help me through this.
 
Well I guess it never hurts to have a backup cdrom.. 🙂 Hope you learned that Compaq sucks..a lesson many learn the hard way.. 🙁
 
Clean the laser with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol (sparingly) and lube the rails for the "eye transport" with white lithium grease. I've had this fix problems from my burner. Don't know if it will do the same with DVD drives.
 
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