Member Avatar for actfray

Lately, my internal CD writer that came with my computer has not been burning from my harddrive the way it use to. It use to burn at the fastest speed without any problems, but now I get error messages whenever I try to burn a CD. So I slowed the burn speed down to the medium speed and then the slowest, and it works occasionally.

Someone told me that my writer could need replacing because it's about 4 years old. Ideally, I'd like to go ahead and replace it with a CD and DVD writer. Is 4 years about the correct lifespan for a CD writer?

Thanks,

Craig

HP Pavillion a300n
2.6 ghz
256 ram
40gb

  • 5 Contributors
  • 6 Replies
  • 112 Views
  • 2 Weeks Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

Dani AI

Generated

Several posters here raised valid points about wear and replacement. For the next step is not an immediate purchase but a short, targeted troubleshooting sequence that separates drive hardware from media, software, or system causes. , , and made useful suggestions; the checklist below builds on them with concrete tests and low-risk fixes.

  • Try a different burning program and enable verify so you get a clear failure log (ImgBurn is a useful, free option: ImgBurn). The burn log often shows whether errors are write failures, buffer underruns, or file-read problems.
  • Test with several brands/types of blank discs and also try reading commercial CDs/DVDs. If reads fail too, the optics or electronics are likelier culprits than the burning app.
  • Run the drive on another machine or use a known-good external USB burner on this PC to isolate whether the problem follows the drive or the computer.
  • Check for conflicts: uninstall virtual-drive software (Daemon Tools, Alcohol) and temporarily disable background backup/antivirus tasks while burning.

If those tests point to hardware, try these maintenance steps before replacing:

  • Clean the lens with a purpose-made lens-cleaner disc or carefully with low-pressure air; avoid harsh manual probing.
  • Find the drive model (Device Manager or the label on the tray) and look for a firmware update from the vendor/support site (start at HP Support if the PC is an HP).

If problems remain after these checks, replacement is reasonable. Confirm the drive interface (SATA vs IDE) and pick a current model with good firmware support. If the computer’s data path appears suspect, an external USB burner is a fast workaround. The approach above will show whether replacement is necessary and will minimize wasted purchases.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for TT4Titans

Well that is a question of debate.

A HDD has a MTBF (Mean Time Before failure) But that doesn't necessarily mean it may go out sooner or later than the MTBF or last for years.

For what a new CD/DVD dual format 16x cost i would just replace it.saw a 16x lite-on on newegg for 26 dollars.

Member Avatar for jbennet

i burn about 4 cds a week and one drive lasts me about a year

Member Avatar for jwenting

yah, lifespan is measured in operational cycles rather than time.

Several hundred burn operations combined with thousands or tens of thousands of read cycles should be the minimum (though for older drives the reliability is lower, especially for burn cycles).

Member Avatar for jbennet

yeah, i had a pc run a linux livecd solid for 4 months and it wore out

Member Avatar for willitwork

Not in my experience,but i'm guessing if you do alot of burning then maybe so. I would try replacing your IDE cable and see if thats your problem.

Member Avatar for jbennet

no the actual drive lazer or mechanism wears out

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.