Member Avatar for kilegoty

hello to those who read this...
i have a laptop that has a cd and dvd writer drive on it... up until recently, i have never had any problems with it buttttt lately it has been acting really funny. if i am writing a cd, whether it be audio or data onto a cd-r or even data or a movie onto a dvd-r, the writer speed is about half and sometimes even less than it usually is. there were even a few instances when it was crawling at speeds of about 0.7x give or take and it has never done that... it usually performs at the max speed no matter what. i know that i have never changed the speed to anything else before burning anything so that would rule that out. if anyone has any insight for me, i would greatly appreciate it.
thanks for checking this out,
kilegoty

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Several good practical suggestions already from and . The steps below focus on concrete diagnostics and fixes that were not yet detailed in the thread — a short, ordered checklist to separate software causes from a failing drive and to restore normal burn speed if possible.

Start with software/OS checks. Confirm the optical driver is using DMA (not PIO): open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc), expand "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers", open each Primary/Secondary IDE Channel, Advanced Settings, and check Transfer Mode for each device — it should show "DMA if available". If it shows "PIO Only" or is greyed out, uninstall that IDE channel and reboot; Windows will redetect and normally restore DMA. Also run full, up-to-date antivirus/anti-malware scans and perform a clean boot (disable non-Microsoft startup items) while testing a burn to rule out background interference.

Isolate media and software. Try at least two brands of blank discs and a different burning application to exclude bad media or application-level throttling. Monitor CPU and disk activity (Task Manager) during burns; heavy CPU or continuous AV scanning can force the drive or software to fall back to slower modes. If available, test the same media and ISO on another PC or an external USB burner to compare results.

Drive hardware and firmware checks. Identify the exact drive model in Device Manager (DVD/CD-ROM drives -> Properties -> Details). Search vendor or Dell support for firmware updates only when the model and firmware match exactly; flash firmware only on AC power and follow vendor instructions. A lens cleaning disc can help optical issues; do not use aggressive mechanical blows. Reseating the bay (as noted) can temporarily help contact problems, but recurring faults usually indicate mechanical/laser wear and justify replacement or an external USB drive as a reliable workaround.

Recommended order: software scans and clean boot → DMA check/reset → try known-good media + alternate burning app → firmware/cleaning → replace drive if problems persist.

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Member Avatar for Serunson

Have you dropped the laptop recently? Sometimes after a large impact (such as dropping it) the laser is put out of line or damaged and so the speed is reduced. Also check for spyware/Viruses that may cause CD/DVD burners grief. What is the specifications of your laptop? And what make is the DVD/CD burner in the laptop. If the problem is just the CD/DVD re-writer than consider buying a new one to replace the existing one.
How old is the laptop? It may still be in warrenty, so you can take it back and get it fixed.

Member Avatar for kilegoty

Hey there,
I have not dropped the laptop ever... not really even a slight bump. I am very careful with it because I use it for live music and production. I don't know if I have any type of viruses or sypware that would affect it but my whole system has been acting a little weird lately. Perhaps you could help me analyze a hijackthis log? I am not sure of the specs of the drive at all I just know it is a cd and dvd burner that came stock on my Dell laptop. My Dell is an Inspiron E1405 with Windows XP Media Center Edition, SP2, Core Duo processor, 1gb of RAM, and a 120gb hard-drive. If you need to know anything else I will be glad to tell you... hopefully you can help me out man - it has been acting really weird lately.
Thanks a bunch again,
Kilegoty

Member Avatar for Suspishio

In past Dell Latitudes I've had to remove the CD drive and reinsert it to get recognised. That would do for a while till I had to do the same thing.

It was the drive itself that was knackered. I bought an external USB device to get round this.

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