Member Avatar for blaze420711

hi. i have a toshiba laptop(not sure what model number is) and for a while now(i would say prolly since last year) i have been having a hard time with the drive loading stuff. when i pop the drive out and put cd's, dvds, software discs, game discs what ever it may be and i push in the drive to have the computer recognize it and load it, it usually doesn't load. i have to pop the drive out and push it back in at least 4 or more times for it to load. each time i put it in it ends up making noise like its going to recognize and load and after 5 minutes of the laptop making noise it stops and doesn't load i will finally get it to load after 15 to 20 minutes of fighting with it. sometimes i can't load anything up at all unless i shut all the programs down and shut the computer itself down for a while and turn the computer back on an hour later. it get really frustrating when i am copying cd's and dvds cause after each copy i have to shut down my computer for an hour and make another copy after i turn it back on. it works when i restart it instead of shutting it down but it only works when i restart it once and then i have to shut it down completely to let it sit for an hour. was wondering if anyone know's whats wrong or if anyone has ever came across this problem before. i appreciate any feed back that will help. thanks.

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As reported by , the Toshiba's optical bay will spin and make noise but often fails to recognize discs unless reinserted many times or left powered off for a long period. and have already flagged optical/cleaning and replacement as possibilities. The checklist below focuses on isolating hardware vs software causes and on safe, reversible tests to narrow the root cause.

  • Boot into BIOS/UEFI and confirm whether the drive is listed; absence there points to a hardware/connection fault.
  • Test a range of media (factory-pressed DVD, burned DVD, commercial audio CD, a game disc). Patterns of which media read and which fail help distinguish laser power/age, tracking, or media-format sensitivity.
  • Isolate the OS: boot a live USB or connect an inexpensive external USB optical drive. If the external drive behaves normally while the internal drive does not, the internal unit is at fault; if both fail, software/driver or power issues are more likely.
  • Inspect the OS: look in Device Manager for error icons and in Event Viewer for I/O or ATAPI errors. If the drive is invisible to Windows but present in BIOS, consider removing the device from Device Manager and rebooting. A known Windows cause involves the UpperFilters/LowerFilters registry values at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} — back up the registry before any edit.
  • Close or remove virtual-drive and burning utilities (they can hold exclusive access).
  • Reseat the optical bay: power down, remove AC and battery, slide the drive out, inspect the slim connector and latch for debris, then reseat. Do not open the drive itself; check warranty terms first.

A drive that only works after a long cooldown commonly indicates failing laser electronics or a thermal fault in the drive’s control board. In practice the usual remedies are replacing the slimline unit or using a low-cost USB external drive. Before buying replacement parts, record the laptop model (sticker on the underside) and the drive/part number on the tray so a compatible slimline SATA unit is selected. Back up important data before any hardware work.

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Member Avatar for rubberman

First, try cleaning the drive - get a CD/DVD cleaning disc - and see if that helps. If not, replace the drive. It is either a dirty lense / laser emitter, or it the lense / emitter is out of alignment. If the latter, there is nothing you can do other than replace the drive. I have had similar problems in the past that the cleaning disc would fix.

Member Avatar for blaze420711

ok. do you know if amazon.com or walmart sells them?

Member Avatar for airlaptopcooler

Any local electronics store would carry these disc's rubberman was refering to! Just go to one of your local stores, and tell them that you need a CD/DVD cleaning disc, and they'll get you it :) Hope this helps!

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