Possesed DVD Drive

[scandalousjack]

I recently purchased a second DVD burner for my computer and a couple of weeks later I noticed that it would spontaneously open a bit and then close again. Every once in a while it would open up all the way and just stay there (again spontaneously).

I haven't notice any correlation between what I am doing and when it opens half-way.

Just yesterday while I was ripping my CD library to my HD, I noticed that roughly 1 out of 3 times, when I opened the top drive, the one below it (the problematic one) would open as well. As you can imagine this causes problems when I'm half way through ripping the CD and the drive tray pops open.

I don't even know where to start diagnosing the problem. The drive works fine, it will read and burn CDs and DVDs, it just pops open on its own.

Any ideas on what might be wrong and how I can fix it? Please include even the most basic things that I might have overlooked.

P.S. I am at work right now, but when I get home I'll post the make and model of the drive and other system specs.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

could you possibly have both drives set to master?

 

[amdskip]

You need to do some swapping of cables and see if it is the drive or the computer doing this. Hook it up by itself, etc.

 

[phios]

Maybe you bought a faultly drive that is extremely sensitive to changes in the +12 volt line from your power supply. Any drop in voltage on the line might trigger unexpected results. I'd suggest getting a new one.

 

[mechBgon]

The drive doesn't happen to be behind a flip-down bay cover, does it? e.g. like the Lian-Li ones.

 

[Atheus]

I am doing this remotely, just to p1ss you off.

 

[scandalousjack]

Originally posted by: amdskip
You need to do some swapping of cables and see if it is the drive or the computer doing this. Hook it up by itself, etc.

Thanks for the tip, I'll try it later today when it's not in use.

 

[scandalousjack]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
could you possibly have both drives set to master?

How can I find out if they are both set to master?

Originally posted by: mechBgon
The drive doesn't happen to be behind a flip-down bay cover, does it? e.g. like the Lian-Li ones.

Yes, they are both behind flip-down bays. However, I don't think that the flip-down covers are causing it because when I push the eject button, it comes all the way out smoothly.

The Top drive is a NEC 3550A and it works fine.
The lower drive (mounted directly below the NEC) is a Benq DW1625 LS and it's acting up.

They are sharing the same power cable, could this be a cause of the problem?

Thanks everyone.

 

[mechBgon]

Try moving the drive back from the bay cover about 2 millimeters and see if that helps. I'm going from experience on this.

How can I find out if they are both set to master?

Look at the Master/Slave/Cable Select jumper: pic to help, see the green jumper cap? The stamped markings above show what the jumper's position is setting it for.

 

[scandalousjack]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Try moving the drive back from the bay cover about 2 millimeters and see if that helps. I'm going from experience on this.

How can I find out if they are both set to master?

Look at the Master/Slave/Cable Select jumper: pic to help, see the green jumper cap? The stamped markings above show what the jumper's position is setting it for.

So, I slid the drive back like you suggested and things seems to be better. Thanks for the pict and explanation about the master/slave stuff.

 

[TSCrv]

Originally posted by: Atheus
I am doing this remotely, just to p1ss you off.

heh good old days when sub seven was fun to play with... i know trajans liek that do have a feature where you can randomly open/close cd drives, run a virus checker... sounds simple but ya never know... hehe

 

[neutralizer]

Originally posted by: TSCrv

Originally posted by: Atheus
I am doing this remotely, just to p1ss you off.

heh good old days when sub seven was fun to play with... i know trajans liek that do have a feature where you can randomly open/close cd drives, run a virus checker... sounds simple but ya never know... hehe

And netbus.