Member Avatar for Ludington

Hopefully someone can help me with my CD drive. It's not reading some of the CDs I put into it. My CD writer / DVD ROM combo drive is reading and running CD-RW disks but not reading normal CD-R disks. It also varies with programs & games. My drive will read and start up my old NHL 2002, but it won't read my new game ( FATE ) which i bought last week or my fish & sea turtle screensaver disk. ALL of the disks work in my other computers just fine. It sounds like it tries to read it by making a couple of small sounds then stops.
On a very rare occasion the drive will read the CD, but it not very often.
This problem happened to an older computer I had, I did a system recovery and the problem on that computer has apparently cured itself. I'd rather not go through another system recovery if I don't need to.

I have already checked other threads and tried various methods such as uninstalling the driver and rebooting into safe mode but nothing is working.

I have:
HP Pavillion 1100n
Windows XP

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by sejhone

Dani AI

Generated

Brief expert add-on for (and others who land here later): the pattern — some discs (CD-RW) read while many pressed CDs and CD-Rs fail, cleaning and a system recovery already tried — points more toward hardware/compatibility than a simple OS driver bug. and suggested sensible first steps (drivers, cleaning), but a few targeted checks will narrow the cause quickly and either avoid an unnecessary purchase or confirm replacement is needed.

Try these in order (high-yield first):

  • Boot test: boot the PC from a known-good pressed boot CD (Windows install or a Linux live CD). If the BIOS/bootloader can read it, the drive is probably OK at firmware/BIOS level and the issue is inside Windows.
  • Cross-check media: test an original audio CD, a retail game disk, a burned CD-R from a different brand, and a CD-RW. Note which types fail; that pattern is diagnostic.
  • Hardware check: power down, reseat or replace the IDE/SATA data cable and power connector; for IDE drives confirm jumper/master settings or try a different port. Try the drive in another machine or a known-good drive in this machine.
  • If the drive reads only intermittently, rip any readable discs immediately to preserve data.

Windows-specific items to try before replacing the drive:

  • Remove third-party virtual-drive or burning software (Daemon Tools, Alcohol, Roxio, Nero) which can install filters that break real drives.
  • Backup the registry and then check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} — delete UpperFilters and LowerFilters if present, then reboot. (Back up the key first.)
  • In Device Manager check for yellow-exclamation devices (as reported) and set IDE channel transfer mode back to DMA if it fell to PIO.

If all of the above fails the most practical path is replacement. Internal drives are cheaper and faster; externals are convenient for multiple PCs. For longevity prefer drives from reputable makers with firmware-update support and a warranty; moderate read/write speeds (not the absolute highest) can be more reliable when burning discs.

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Member Avatar for dcc

Have you tried replacing the drivers?

Ludington eh? I spent two summers in Pentwater just up the road in the late sixties.

Member Avatar for tommydddd

I would try one one those store bought cd/dvd drive cleaners.

Member Avatar for tommydddd

hit the send button too fast...

I'm having trouble copying DVDs from drive to drive. And sometimes I have to keep "marking" my drives "enable recording on this drive." Seems tohave a mind of its own. I'm using Sonic on a Dell e310 with a lite-on DVD-ROM

Member Avatar for Ludington

I tried cleaning the drive but it's only reading the disk every so often now, which causes me to fear a decline in performance. The cleaning didn't seem to do the job though.

I tried a system recovery hoping it was the same problem I had on my older HP, but it's still not working properly. Looks as though i'll probably have to buy myself a new drive and go from there.

:?: Any good drives that are low in cost but good on long term usage? What kind of speed should I get for a good disk drive? what about maybe an EXTERNAL drive? I might have more interest in that if they can work as well as an internal? Anyone have suggestions?:?:


Thanks everyone for your help, it is greatly apprechiated!!

dcc: Hope you enjoyed your stay the West Michigan area.:)

Member Avatar for sejhone

i have a problem also in mr dvd/cd rom drive, it cannot detect a cd, and also the broadband plugit, when i open the device manager ther is a yellow exclamation point in the dvd ram

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