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A friend has a toshiba A205 S4777 and reinstalled software from manufacturer discs. Afterwards the multi disc driver will not read cds but reads DVDs with no problem. Device Manager shows everything working correctly and computer reads the drive letter. I tried to upgrade the driver and no success. Uninstalled the driver and reinstalled off the manufacturer disk and no success. Where do I go from here?

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Following 's final update, the following explains why a drive can fail on one disc family and what practical, low-risk options exist for similar cases.

Optical pickups handle CD and DVD light at different wavelengths; many slimline drives use separate diodes or optics for each. A fault confined to one diode, its driver, the focus mechanism, or the pickup lens/coating will often make only one format unreadable while the other still works. Useful diagnostics that keep risk low: run a commercial lens-cleaning disc, try a gently moistened high‑purity isopropyl swab on the lens (very light pressure), test a variety of pressed and burned discs (CD‑R, CD‑RW, commercial audio/data), and verify booting from a known-good pressed disc. If read/write behavior differs between pressed and burned media, that points toward laser power/focus or optical contamination rather than OS drivers.

When cleaning and simple checks fail, replacement is the practical path. For laptops, swap the entire slimline drive (check connector type and bezel height) or use an inexpensive external USB optical drive as a maintenance-free workaround. Replacing the pickup module alone is rarely cost-effective. Take normal precautions: remove battery/power, ground against static, and avoid aggressive solvents on the lens.

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found answer: Either bad optics drive or the eye is damaged; in this case bad eye

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