HELP! with my dvdrom/cdrw drive!

[MarblesMike]

Hey all,

This is my first post here, so I check the FAQ page and will try to make this easiest as possible. I have a fairly new (since August) Sager NP2720 laptop. It has Windows XP. I'm currently having trouble with my Toshiba (factory) dvdrom/cdrw drive. The computer reads the drive as being there (even ejects it when I right-click on it in My Computer) but when I insert ANY kind of disc, it doesn't do anything, and reads as if there's a blank disc in there. The drive was working fine earlier, but I noticed that I'd been having trouble burning video-cd images (it'd stall at the last second!)...then all of a sudden it stopped even reading discs. So far I've scanned my system for virii, tried updating and rolling back the driver (no new ones, no old ones, apparently Toshibas don't need drivers???), and finally tried uninstalling it and letting my computer redetect it on startup. None of these have worked. I hope someone can help me so I don't have to buy an external or send the laptop back to the manufacturer. I hope it's not a bad laser!

Cheers and thanks in advance for any help!
Mike

[twendanewhite]

Yep that sounds like a bad drive, could be a bad laser as you said.
I have a problem like hat wih my Cd Burner.

[Bovon]

Burners use lots more power than a normal CD or DVD reader does. We have had people come here with drives that will read but fail when attempting to burn...a new, larger power PSU solved some of those.

Not saying that is your problem, but its a little difficult for me to understand how a laptop can be powered enough to run CDRW's etc., but maybe they do.

Since it no longer even reads a disk...it sure sound like the laser is weak or dead

[miriam]

Whether or not you have problems with your optical drive, it's a good idea to clean it at least once a year using a cleaning kit. This helps remove any accumulated dust or grime before it becomes a problem.