Troubleshooting CD-ROM drive

[TFLeonard]

Suddenly my internal DVD-ROM/CD ROM writer refuses to recognize blank CD-R's and CD-RW's. When then disc is inserted the drive seems to do a lot of seeking (led lights up on the outide of the tray etc.) and after about a minute or two the LED is steady and no more activity. I've tried ever piece of software that writes to CD's in both WinXP and WinME, and they all report that there isn't a disk in the drive. I have tried several different brands of CD-R's and CD-RW's. Therefore I am unable to write or erase CD's. Reading from CD's and DVD's works fine.

My setup is as follows:

Toshiba Satellite 2805 laptop with internal DVD-ROM SD-R2002.
Dual boot with primarily WinXP Pro and WinMe. (Problem exists under both OS's which makes me think I have a hardware problem?)

Anyway, I need some help figuring out if I can get the drive writing again or I need to get a replacement.

If I need a replacement, does anyone know if I can get an internal DVD-ROM writer (I might as well upgrade) that'll fit in my laptop?

 

[montag451]

First thing to try would be a cd cleaner.
Its a cd with very fine hairs on it to clean the lense(s)

 

[Inforcer]

Sounds like it might be a hardware problem. You may, however, want to try updating the firmware on your drive. Some manufactures have updates for them. That could help you.

Does it read and run pressed (normal) CD's?

If you decided to get a DVD burner, you'll need to check with Toshiba to see if you can buy replacements for it. If they don't have any information, you may just have to do a search. Something like "dvd burner toshiba 2805 replacement" or something similar.