Troubleshooting Optical Drives

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Dell Confidential - Internal Use 1

George J Adhikari

Troubleshooting

Optical Drives

TroubleshootingOptical Drives


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Optical Drives

Introduction:Introduction:

Optical drives are the devices that read or write

data to & from the optical disks with the use of Laser. Anoptical disk is a storage medium from which data is read &

to which data is written using Lasers. There are three types

of Optical disks.


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Types Of OpticalDisks:

ROM:CD-ROMs orDVD-ROMs come with data already encodedonto them. The data is permanent and can be read any number of

times, butROMs cannot be modified.

WORM:Stands for write-once, read-many. With a WORM diskdrive, you can write data onto a WORM disk, but only once. After

that, the WORM disk behaves just like a ROM.

Erasable : Optical disks that can be erased and loaded with newdata, just like magnetic disks. These are often referred to as EO

(erasable optical) disks.

Types Of Optical Disks


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Types Of OpticalDrives:

CD-ROM:- CompactDisk (Read Only)

CD+/-R:- CompactDisk-Recordable

CD+/-RW:- CompactDisk-Rewritable

DVD-ROM:- DigitalVersatile Disc (Read Only)

DVD+/-R:- DigitalVersatile Disc-RecordableDVD+/-RW:- DigitalVersatile Disk-Rewritable

Types Of Optical Drives


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CD & DVD ROM Drives :

CD orDVD-ROMdrives are atype ofdiskdrive

thatcanonly readdata fromaCD ora DVD. CDs are

more oftenusedforaudio purposes while the DVDs for

videos because oftheirstorage capacity.These drives howeverdonthave the capability

toappend, erase orwrite any formofdataontoadisk.

They canonly serve as amediareadingdevice

CD & DVD ROM Drives


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CD+/-R & DVD +/-R Drives :

CD+/-RorDVD+/-Rdrive is atype ofdisk

drive thatcancreate CD-ROMs & DVD-ROMs Respectively.

This allows users to "master" aCD-ROMorDVD-ROM for

publishing. A feature ofmany ofthese drives,calledmultisessionrecording, enables youto keep addingdatatoa

CD/DVD-ROMovertime. Tocreate CD-ROMs orDVD

ROMs, you'llneednotonly aCD+/-R (orDVD+/-R)drive,but

alsoa software package. Often,itis the software package,notthe drive itself,thatdetermines how easy ordifficultitis to

create CD orDVD-ROMs.

CD+/-R & DVD+/-R Drives


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CD+/-RW& DVD +/-RWDrives :

This atype ofdrive thatenables youto

write ontoitinmultiple sessions. One ofthe problems with

CD+/-RorDVD+/-Rdrive is thatyoucanonly write to

themonce. WithCD+/-RWora DVD+/-RWdrives and

disks, youcantreatthe opticaldisk justlike a floppy or

harddisk, writingdataontoitmultiple times & erasingit

as well. Forthe drive to erase & write data,italsoneeds a

supportedsoftware & acompatible mediaas well.

CD+/-RW & DVD +/-RW Drives


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CommonIssues With OpticalDrives :

Excessive Noise fromthe OpticalDrive

Drive NotDetected

Unable ToEjectDrive

Unable ToWrite To Media

Troubleshooting Optical Drive Issues


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1) OpticalDrive Makes Excess Noise :

Optical drives may generate various types ofnoises when the drive is accessed. This noise should be asoft whirling noise when the Optical drive is accessed. Thisnoise should only be generated when the media is accessed.

It is abnormal for an Optical drive to experience any of thebelow symptoms.

No noise

Clicking during accessing the Media.

Noises when the OpticalDrive is not being accessed.If you are exhibiting any of the above issues it is likely that

the Optical drive is defective and it is recommended that itbe replaced.

Optical Drive Makes Excessive Noise


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2) OpticalDrive NotDetected :

In case the Optical drive is not detected in the

device manager, then we will follow the following steps

Optical Drive Not Detected


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Step 1: Checkifthe drive is detectedin BIOS:-

Make sure the drive appears in Setup. The drive

has to be detected in the Basic Input/OutputSystem

(BIOS) before Windows can see the drive. The hardware-

identifying name should appear next toS

econdary Master,Secondary Slave, or Primary Slave.

If the name of the drive exists, skip to step 3. Else

continue with the next step.



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Step 2:Reseatingthe Cables :-

If a drive name does not appear for each drive

and None is listed in the BIOS, open the PCcase and reseat

the drive cables.

1-Audio Connector 3-IDE Connector

2-Jumper Settings 4-Power Connector



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Remove both the IDE ribbon cable and the power cable

from the back of the Optical drive. Reinsert both cables into the back of the drive making

sure that the cables fit snugly into their connectors and

there are no bent pins in the connectors. Use a different

power cable that is not in use, if possible.

Remove and reinsert the Optical drive's ribbon cable from

the connector on the motherboard. Be careful to not

dislodge other ribbon cables.

Replace the cover and plug in the power cord.

Turn on the PCand re-check to see if the drive is listed in

the BIOS



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If the drive is still not recognized in BIOS, then

try a different power cable, & a known good IDE cable. Ifa different power cable responds positively, issue might

have been with the power chord. If the IDE cable works,

then it might have been the IDE cable & will have to be

replaced. If drive not recognized despite that, then thedrive has to be replaced.

If the drive name appears in the BIOS, then exit

BIOS& boot to windows normally. If windows recognizes

the drive, you are done. If windows doesn't recognize thedrive, continue to the next step



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Step 3:Checkingforthe OpticalDrive inthe

CommandPrompt :-Restart the computer & boot to safe mode with

command prompt. Insert a software disc (or a DVD movieif the drive is a DVD player) that was purchased from a

store. Type the following at the command prompt: diskpart.

Press Enter, and type the following at the commandprompt: listvolume

Press Enter and look at the list that displays. Note thedrive letter (Ltr) next to the drive that contains the disc.

Contd...



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Contd

Type Exit and press the Enter key to return to thecommand prompt.

Type the drive letter for the drive that contains the disc

followed by a colon (:).

Press Enter and type the following at the new command

prompt: dir

A listing of filenames and folders should appear.

Ifthe directory onthe disklists,the drive is beingrecognizedby the PC& is readingnormally. Continue to

the nextstep

Ifthe directory onthe diskdoes notlist,thenthe issue is

hardware related& the drive has tobe replaced.



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Step 4:Uninstallany recently addedsoftware :-

Uninstall any recently added soft wares, from the

Add/Remove Programs utility.

Follow any instructions that appear, & restart the P

Cifprompted to. After a software title has been removed,

open My Computer & see if the drive is recognized.

If the drive is not listed, continue removing recently added

software programs and checking My Computer untilWindows recognizes the drive. If the CD orDVD drive

does not appear, go to the next step.



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Step 5:Use the systemrestore :-

Use system restore to go back to a timewhen the drive worked. When done, double-click MyComputer to see if the CD orDVD drive appears with theother drives. Continue to the nextStep if the drive does

not appear.

Step 6:Refreshingand/orInstallingdrivers :-

Delete the drive listed under the device

manager & restart the computer, to refresh the drivers.Then you may also try deleting the drive listed under thedevice manager & then downloading & installing latestdrivers from the Support website.



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Step 6:Clearingthe Registry filters :-

Clear the registry filters (for Windows XPand 2000 only). If you do not have Windows XP or 2000,then try installing drivers from the driver cd & if it stilldoesnt work; replace the drive.

Follow the steps given below to clear theregistry filters

ClickStart, Run, and type the following into the Openfield: regedit

Click OK. The registry editor appears. In Windows XP, click File, Export, type a filename that is

easy for you to remember, and clickSave.

Contd



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Contd

In Windows 2000, clickRegistry, ExportRegistry File,type a filename that's easy for you to remember, and click

Save. A copy of the registry has saved for back-up

purposes.



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Click the plus sign (+) next to the following items in the

list: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

SYSTEM

CurrentControlSet (or the current control set with lowest

number if that is all that is listed) Control

Class

Select 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318.

Select UpperFilter in the right window and press the

Delete key.



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Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes.

Select LowerFilters in the right window and press theDelete key.

Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes.

Delete all other UpperFilter and LowerFilter values

within the 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318

key.

Close the registry editor and restart the PC

Check Device manager& the retorttoa

PCRestore as the lastoptionleft. Ifissue stillcontinues,

consultL2 & replace the drive.



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3) OpticalOpticalDrive WillNotEjectNormally :

The CD orDVD tray may have to be

manually ejected when the drive loses power, a disc is

inserted wrong, a damaged or scratched disc is used, the

drive fails, or the PC

stops responding.

Before youbegin

Get a paperclip and restart the computer.

Use the following steps, in order, until the door is opened:-

Unable To Eject Drive


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Step 1:Usingthe keyboard:-

If the keyboard has a CD/DVD Eject

key, press it. The Eject key is usually marked by a triangle

pointing up with a line underneath.

Step 2:UsingWindows :-Double-click My Computer. Right-

click the icon for the CD, CDRW, orDVD drive that is

stuck, and then click Eject. Look At the screen shot



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Step 3:Try EjectIn BIOS:-

Restart the PC& boot to the BIOS

screen, and press the eject button in front on the drive

panel. If the drive door opens this way but does not openin Windows, another software program is taking control

of the CD driver. Try shutting down or configuring any

software programs that create discs or monitor the CD or

DVD drive.



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Step 4:Usingthe manualrelease hole :-

Close all programs and shut down the PC.

Unplug the power cord from the power outlet. Look for

the small hole on the faceplate of the CD orDVD drive.

This is the manual release. The location of the manualrelease hole will vary



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Straighten the paperclip and insert it into

the manual release hole until resistance is felt. Once theresistance is felt, keep pushing the paper clip until the

drawer opens a little. Remove the paper clip and gently

pull out the drawer until the disc is accessible. Remove the

CD and turn on the PC.

Step 5:Checkthe PowerConnector:-

Turn off the PC. Unplug all power cordsfrom the back of the PC. Press and release the Power

button on the front of the computer. Remove the side

panel.



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Locate the power cord that connects to the back

of the CD orDVD tray that is having the problem. Unplugthe power cable and wait five seconds. Find a different

power cable that is not being used, plug the different

power cable into the back of the drive, making sure that it

fits firmly into the socket. If a different power cable is notavailable, re-plug the original power cable into the back

of the drive, making sure that it fits firmly into the socket.



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Replace the side panel and plug in the

power cord. Turn on the PCand press the eject button onthe front of the drive. If the optical drive does not have the

manual eject feature or if a disc has shattered inside the

drive, the Optical drive may need to be replaced.

4) OpticalDrive WillNotEjectNormally4) OpticalDrive WillNotEjectNormally ::

Use the steps in this document to

troubleshoot problems that occur while trying to createmusic or data discs with yourCDRW orDVD+RW drive.

Before continuing make sure that the disc you are trying

to burn with is high quality and matches the drive

capabilities. If you are unsure, use CD-R type.



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If the disc already contains data, set it

aside and use a new CD-R orCD-RW disc. Use thefollowing steps if the writable drive is still unable to write

data to a writable disc. Try writing to a CD after

completing each step to see if the problem is resolved.

Step 1:Checkthe Device Manager:-

In Windows XP, clickStart, and right-click My Computer.

Select Properties, click the Hardware tab, and then clickthe Device Manager button.

In Windows 98 and Me, right-click My Computer. Select

Properties, and click the Device Manager tab.

Unable To Write To Media


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Click the plus sign (+) next to

DVD/CD-ROMDrives (or similar) category.



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If the CD orDVD drive is not

showing up in Device Manager, close Device Manager& follow the troubleshooting steps listed in earlier

slides for the issue Drive NotDetected.If the CD or

DVD drive is listed, continue using the following steps

to troubleshoot.

Step 2:Reduce the BurningSpeed:-

Decrease the CD writer's burn speedby half. decrease the write speed from within the

software that you are using to write discs (Ex-Sonic

RecordNow, Roxio Easy CDCreator etc).



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If Using Windows XP; then use thefollowing steps

ClickStart, and then My

Computer.

Right-click the drive icon, and

select Properties.

Select the Recording tab and

reduce the Current Write Speed

by half (for example, from 16x

to 8x).

Click OK and close the My

Computer window.



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Try writing to a CD. If the drive fails to

create the CD, go to the next step.

Step 3:Enable RecordingIn XP:-

If you are using Windows XP and you aretrying to use the drag-and-drop burning capabilities of

Windows XP (not other burning software like

RecordNow or Easy CDCreator), use the following

steps to ensure that native burning is enabled:



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If you had to enable

recording, try writing to a CD by dragging and

dropping files into the writable disc's open Window. If

the drive fails to create the CD, go to the next step.



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Step 4:Enable DLA if DLA is available :-

If you are usingDLA to create discs(not other burning software like RecordNow or EasyCDCreator), use the following steps to ensure thatDLA is enabled:

Place a blank disc into the drive.ClickStart, andthen My Computer.

Right-click the writable drive icon, and selectProperties.

Click the DLA tab and select Enable DLA on yourdrives.

Note : DLA and Windows XP drag-and-drop burningcannot both be enabled at the same time, and only one

writeable optical drive can be enabled to useD

LA.



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Double-click My Computer and right-click the driveicon containing the disc that is enabled forDLA.

Select Format and fill out the drive label name.

ClickStart on the Window that is open.

Once finished, the disc can be used to write

files to it. Try writing files to the disc by dragging anddropping files into the open window for the disc. If thedrive fails to create the CD, go to the next step.

Note :If you want a CD-R orDVD+RW that you created

to play in another computer, use the make compatiblefeature ofDLA. With the disc in the drive, right-clickthe drive icon in My Computer, select MakeCompatible and follow the information on the windowsthat appear.



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Ensure that the disc you created canwork in other drives. Remove any disc that you createdand place them into a differentCD orDVD drive andtry to open the files on the disc. What happens?

If the files can be read from a different drive, thenthe disc is not bad. You are done.

If the files cannot be read in another drive, ensurethat the type of disc that is being used matches thework you are performing (for example, a CD-R isnot being rewritten to, or being formatted as if it was

a CD-RW). If the files cannot be read in another drive, ensure

that you are using the CD writing software that camewith the computer.



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If the files cannot be read in another drive, use a

new disc that it is not scratched or dirty and trycreating the disc again.

If the files cannot be read in another drive, use anew disc that is from a different brand ormanufacturer and try creating the disc again.

If you stillcannotcreate adiscthatcanbereadinanotherdrive,gotothe nextstep.

Step 5:Reseatingthe Drive Cables :-Reseat the drive cables as mentioned in

Step 2 for the issue Optical drive not detected. Then, trycreating a disc again. If you still cannot create a disc

that can be read in another drive, go to the next step.



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Step 5:RefreshingDrivers :-

Open Device Manager and select the CDDrivename.

Click the Uninstall orRemove button (in WindowsXP this is the square button with a red X).

Click Yes or OK to remove the CD listing. Do notrestart the computer.

Close Device Manager.

If your computer has Windows XP or 2000, go to the

next step without restarting the computer.If your computer has Windows 98 or

Me, restart the computer and skip the next step (clearthe registry files).



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Step 6:ClearingRegistry Filters :-

ClickStart, Run, and type the following into theOpen field: regedit

Click OK. The registry editor appears.

In Windows XP, click File, Export, type a filenamethat is easy for you to remember, and clickSave.

A copy of the registry has been saved for back-up purposes.

Now browse to the following address in the registry

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlS

et/Control/Class



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Select 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-

08002BE10318.Select Upper Filter in the right window and

press theD

elete key.C

onfirm the deletion by clicking Yes.S

electLower Filters in the right window and press the Delete key.

Confirm the deletion by clicking Yes. Close the registry editor,

restart the computer, and wait until Windows configures the

necessary drivers for new hardware.



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Try creating a disc again. If you stillcannot create a disc that can be read in anotherdrive, go to the next step.

Step 7:Use SystemRestore :-

Use system restore to go back to atime when the drive was recognized by Windows. Thisstep is applicable only for Windows Me and XP.

When done, use the CD orDVD

drive again to see if it works. If it works, you are done.If it does not, go to the next step.

If, after you have tried all thesesteps, the drive still cannot read commercial disc, the

drive is probably bad and should be replaced.



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Thank You

Author:

George J Adhikari

Troubleshooting Optical Drives

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