Member Avatar for ggeoff

Hi

Although my PC detects my disc drives and can play from them when I try to write to the RW drive I get a message "No disc detected". I am using Roxio Creator LE Dell Edition.

I have cleaned the laser carefully using methylated spirits and a surgically clean cotton bud.

The Dell drive is the oringinal circa 2006. I might just as well have binned the crive and bought a new one rather than bother to clean it. But is something that I could do to check the drive before scapping it?

Thanks

Geoff

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Dani AI

Generated

Quick expert summary and practical checks that build on , and without repeating those posts verbatim.

The symptom—drive present and able to play discs but the recorder reports "No disc detected" when an RW is inserted—usually falls into two buckets: a software/OS-layer detection problem, or the drive's write-laser/optics are failing (reading needs less laser power than writing). The checklist below separates the two and gives safe, reversible steps to try before replacing hardware.

  • Media and software: try several known-good media types (pressed commercial CD/DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW) and an alternate burning tool (Windows built‑in burner or a lightweight utility such as ImgBurn/CDBurnerXP). Different software interrogates the drive differently and can show whether the OS actually sees a blank disc.
  • OS-level checks: confirm the IMAPI (Windows Image Mastering) service is present and not disabled; scan Event Viewer for cdrom/imapi errors; in Device Manager verify the optical drive entry has no errors. As an addition to 's re-install suggestion, check and back up the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} and remove UpperFilters/LowerFilters values only if present (create a restore point and export the key first).
  • Hardware checks: swap the data and power cables or try a different SATA/IDE port and power connector. Test the drive in a second PC (as suggested by ) to isolate OS vs hardware. Listen for spinning/clicking; if the drive reads pressed discs but never recognises blank media, the write laser is the likely failure.
  • Cleaning and firmware: lens cleaning is useful when done gently with high‑purity isopropyl alcohol and a lint‑free swab; avoid aggressive solvents or rubbing. If software/OS checks fail, check the drive/vendor for firmware updates but proceed cautiously—wrong firmware can cause permanent problems.

Given a 2006 drive age, replacement is often the fastest, most reliable fix if the above diagnostics point to a failing write laser.

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

If its a software/Windows problem, sometimes, these quarky issues can be resolved by uninstalling the faulty device from device manager, letting the OS find the device again. Another method to determine if its a software problem is to take this drive and plug it into another computer and see if it works.

If its a hardware problem, my experience is when this sort of thing happends to those drives, its usually more cost effective (when considering effort and time) to get a new updated, drive.

Before you toss it, if you have another PC, and some time, I would give it a last check to see if you can get it to work in another system. After that, I wouldnt spend too much time if I was unable to resolve it.

Member Avatar for rubberman

I used to use Roxio a LONG time ago. I long since switched to Alcohol 120% for Windows disc ripping and writing. It has been 100% more reliable than Roxio's cruft. Here is a link: http://www.alcohol-soft.com/

Member Avatar for ggeoff

Thanks ITG-JM

I'll try your suggestions.

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