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New DVD-R/W drive just....stops working??

Sulaco

Sulaco

Diamond Member
Hey guys,

I have a Samsung DVD-R/W drive I bought new OEM when I built my PC roughly 7 months ago.

This one to be exact:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151171

Anyway, earlier in the night i had been playing some LAN BF2 with my brother, and the drive had been working fine.
It also worked fine leading up to tonight, and I haven't noticed any problems.

Later, when putting in a new disc for a game I want to install, the light flashes and comes on, I can hear it spinning up and sounding like its reading. Then....nothing.

Worried, I try another game. Same problem. Both CD and DVD games....nothing. Each time it ejects just fine, the light is blinking, it sounds like its spinning up and trying to read, and it makes the "read" sound for 10-15 seconds, but nothing ever happens. The "My Computer" DVD drive icon never shows anything, no auto start dialog ever pops up, and I can't get it to recognize any discs.

I've restarted my PC, disabled/uninstalled the drive in Windows, downloaded new firmware from the Samsung website...and still nothing.

I'm really at a loss here. Does this sound like a failing/failed drive? Would it just all of the sudden STOP reading discs out of the blue, despite seemingly working alright up to now, and still spinning and trying to access the discs?

I'd really like to know before plopping down $20-$25 on a new drive, and going to the trouble of installing another one.

Please help!
 
Originally posted by: Sulaco
I've restarted my PC, disabled/uninstalled the drive in Windows, downloaded new firmware from the Samsung website...and still nothing.
Click to expand...
Did you actually succeeded in flashing the Samsung firmware?

 
No, within 2-3 seconds of opening the executable, the dialog box closes, with no error message.

Both BIOS and Windows however, recognize the drive just fine. Windows even reinstalled it after I uninstalled it and restarted.

And of course...it was working fine just a few hours ago.

I'm really at a loss here...
 
Did you try flashing it with the old firmware just for the hell of it?
Are there multiple ways of flashing it? ( like a DOS flash program instead of Windows based )
Try a bootable DVD/CD like the WinXP or Linux cd?

Weird option:
Power off the computer and disconnect the drive for a few minutes?
 
If none of the above fixes the problem and you're sure there's nothing wrong with the cables, it sounds like the drive is dead.
 
Just noticed this negative comment in the user review in your linked NewEgg site:

"Cons: Tried updating the firmware to SB03 version when system was in AHCI mode...this completely messed the drive up. Eventually figured out that you have to do the firmware flash in IDE mode. (I have an AMD SB750 system.)"

Could this apply? Have you tried burning something - a test CDR? Those units have two separate lasers - one for reading and the other for writing. Sometimes one goes and the other doesn't. Does anyone smoke in the vicinity? Colloidal particles from tobacco smoke can cloud a laser lens. Sometimes running a lens cleaner disk fixes it.

That is a really cheap drive - sometimes you get what you pay for. Be prepared to replace it.
 
Well, I appreciate everyone's comments and help.

However, I decided the only thing that would make sense is the laser. The drive was detected by BIOS and Windows, obviously spinned the disc and "tried" to read it, but nothing would happen.

Since I have a Microcenter about 10 minutes from my house, I went ahead and bought a $25 Sony OptiArc DVD/RW.

I hooked it up and Windows detected it immediately and it recognizes all discs right away.

I've owned my fair share of drives over the years, and I've never had one fail in 7 months time.
Still, I suppose it happens.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 
I have the same drive and it stopped writing disks, it seems to not be able to hold on to the disk as it spins up to write. Still reads fine.

There is a reason they are so cheep. Disposable products.
 
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