Most likely cause of extreme slow down in DVD-RW read performance

[dwango]

I had to disassemble my machine to reattach a fan mounting hook to my motherboard (which required access to the bottom of the board). In doing this, I had to of course remove a bunch of components and what not. However, apart from the minor jostling that my Plextor PX-708A received from moving the case around, I didn't touch the drive. But now the drive can barely read the data off a CD. When copying data from a CD to another drive, Windows' time estimation jumps from 2 minutes to 5, to 10, to 20 and so on. I thought that it could be an IDE cable problem, but the drive is a slave on the same cable as another DVD-ROM, which works the same as it used to. What might be a probable cause for such a change in performance? Could it be that a piece of dust was dislodged and somehow found its way onto the lens? And if so, are there any recommended ways to clean a DVD-RW drive?

Thanks

 

[unlockthesource]

Your best bet is to take a trip to your local radio shack or bestbuy and pick up a can of compressed air. Thats your best bet for dislodging dust and cleaning electronics.

Then, with the computer off, stick a straightened paper clip into the tray release of the drive. Open the tray about half way and spray the air. Use a series of short sprays.

Alternate method: turn the computer on, open the drive while the systems is booting. When the tray begins to open hit the power button

If that doesnt work, email plextor (good luck...)