How To Troubleshoot DVD Drives Fast

You really enjoy those dvd movies and games and the last thing you need or want is to experience problems with your dvd drive.

To prepare for the possibility of having your dvd drive leaving you out in the cold one morning,we will dicuss problems that may cause dvd failure as well as the procedures you should take to correct these problems.

As with all drives,be sure to double check the failure. If the dvd drive will not read the dvd,try running another dvd in the drive.Make sure the dvd has no scratches and is clean.

Visually inspect the drive if the drive is external and if the drive is enternal,check the computer.Check to see if the computer has good ventilation to help keep it cool.Here are the common dvd problems with their solutions.

DVD DRIVE HAS NO POWER

First..For external drives that have no power,first check to see if anything or anyone has caused the power cord to become unplugged.Rule out the wall outlet by plugging in another device such as a radio and see if it plays.

Second...If you've proven the wall outlet to be good,but you still don't have power,check the surge protector for any signs of damage.If the surge protector is good,check the cord.

Third..If you're certain the surge protector or wall outlet is providing power,double check the cord by plugging it in a few times.If no power is present,you will have to replace the cord or the drive itself.

Internal dvd drives receive their power from the connector from the power supply.Try another connector to the drive. if the internal dvd drive still does not receive power after using another connector,the drive is faulty.

DRIVE HAS POWER BUT TRAY WON'T OPEN

You may experience the tray failing to open.Should this happen,press the button a couple times to see if it will open.If the tray fail to open,reboot your computer and try to open the tray.

When rebooting the system,notice the monitor to see if the drive is recognized by the computer.Some systems will not display installed hardware during bootup.If this is the case,you will have to access your BIOS to check if the dvd drive is being registered.

You can also try the manual eject button on the drive to get it to open.Use something very small but firm to press in the pinhole in front of the drive to open the tray.

Shut the computer off and unplug it.Use something like a long paperclip to insert in the pinhole to open the tray. The tray may open a couple inches and you can grab it with your fingers to open it completely.

DRIVE IS NOT RECOGNIZED BY WINDOWS

Be sure the operating system is recognizing the drive by clicking on My Computer.Windows XP will show "drives with removable storage".If your drive is present, highlight the drive,right click and select properties.Click on properties and you should see "this drive is working properly".

If you see another message such as "this drive is not working properly",you may be able to update the device driver.If the drive is not present in My computer,reboot the computer and access the cmos setup.

In the cmos setup,the dvd drive should be present.The drive may not be properly installed or one of the cables have become disconnected if the drive is missing

If you check the drive cables and are certain they are connected correctly,it may be that the data cable is faulty and the drive controller may be at fault.And we can't overlook the fact that the drive itself may be bad.

DRIVE HAS POWER BUT WILL NOT READ DVD

First..try another dvd since a dirty or scratched dvd may not play.If the new dvd fail to play as well,check to see if the operating system is recognizing the drive

Click on My Computer and highlight the dvd drive.Right click and select properties.The statement "This device is working properly" should be present.If not or you see another message,try to update the device driver.

In the My Computer screen,highlight the dvd drive,and select the Properties screen,select Drivers,and then select update device driver.

Another cause may be the Windows Registry is corrupt. You can use software utilities such as PC Bug Doctor to repair your registry. Download this free repair utility at http://www.pcbugdoctor.com/download.html.

To make a backup of your registry with Windows 98, just go to Start, select Run, enter scanregw and click OK. This will run Scanregw.exe.

Restore your registry in Windows 98 by typing scanreg / restore at the Dos Prompt. You can also use.Winrescue XP at http://www.superwin.com/index.htm is a neat little utility for backup and restore of Windows XP.

The dvd drive or writer is an awesome storage and data backup drive.Use it to the fullest to enjoy music,video, audio,and more.Understand everything about this drive before something goes wrong.

Should your audio die on you,check the dvd to be sure it is not dirty or damaged.Look at the audio cable for signs of looseness.Inspect this cable to be sure it is inserted in the connector completely and that is indeed inserted in the correct connector.

If you have a dvd drive,take the time to visit the support web site and download the latest device drivers or patches to keep your drive running at peak performance.

About The Author

Otis F. Cooper is the author of the award winning PC Super Pack,the Computer Training By Video course.For hundreds more free PC repair tips,sign up for his bi-monthly newsletter and learn the PC free at http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com

allaboutpc@juno.com

---

TiVo: An Introduction for the Few Who Dont Know Yet

TiVo will change your life... for the better. Plain and... Read More

How to Read CRT Tube Part Numbers

All picture tubes, whether monochrome or color type are identified... Read More

Learn About The Three Basic Types Of Computer Mouse

1) Mechanical: This is a type of computer mouse that... Read More

Top Three Factors to Consider While Choosing a Data Center for Your Business

Data Centers are the core of the Internet. The computer... Read More

Purchasing Laser Toner Refills

Laser toner refills can be expensive. Over the life of... Read More

Investing On A 1D Bar Code Reader

Whereas 2D bar codes offer more security and safety for... Read More

A Review of Refurbished Toshiba Laptops

Toshiba offers a few of their refurbished laptops in the... Read More

How To Choose The Best Gaming Laptop

The gaming laptop is coming of age! It is steadily... Read More

Computer Components for Idiots

There are many fancy add-ons for computers, but the basic... Read More

How to Shop for Inkjet Printer Cartridges

Keeping Shipping Costs DownWhen shopping for inkjet printer cartridges online... Read More

What to Do Once You Are Infected with Spyware, Ad-ware or Viruses

What to do once your PC is infected with spyware,... Read More

Testing Diode -The Accurate Way on How to Test Semiconductor Diode Using Multimeter

Testing diodes is different from testing a resistor because you... Read More

High Definition DVD

High definition DVD, also known as HD-DVD (which actually stands... Read More

Video Display

Video displays are most recent technique used in both outdoor... Read More

What You Should Know Before You Buy Computer Equipment

You will have many factors to consider when deciding on... Read More

The Printer Cartridge Review

Years ago computers were huge and their accompanying printers were... Read More

Selecting an Ink Jet printer?With Low Operating Cost

Printer technology has made tremendous advances in the past five... Read More

War of the Disks: A Close-in Analysis of the Hard Disk Drive vs. the Solid State Disk

Much has been written about solid state disks (SSDs) becoming... Read More

Laptop Computers and the PVP Effect!

Roll over lumbering desktop computers, the limber laptop is here,... Read More

Can I Use My Old Ink With My New Printer?

The quick answer is...yes and no.Consider this. How many printer... Read More

Learn to Find Cheap Laptop Computers on the Internet

Cheap laptop computers are coming to a store near you.... Read More

Routing, Routed, and Non-Routable Protocols

ROUTING PROTOCOLSA generic term that refers to a formula, or... Read More

Laptop and Notebook Theft Prevention

Laptops or Notebook computers are an expensive personal and business... Read More

5 Ways To Backup Your Data...

The data on your hard drive is the most critical... Read More

Bluetooth Can Be Cracked!

Nothing is completely safe today. Adobe has recently released a... Read More

Wireless Notebooks: What You Need To Know About Going Wireless!

It's not exactly breaking news that our world is becoming... Read More

Adding USB 2.0

The process of adding USB 2.0 ports took no time... Read More

Dell Inspiron 600m Notebook Computer

After twelve years of owning desktop computers, I finally opted... Read More

Flash Memory Part 2: MMC and SD

MMC and SDFlash memory is available in so many formats... Read More

A Technical Introduction to Audio Cables

What is so important about cables anyway?One of the most... Read More

The Merging of Humans and Computers

Soon the human brain will be completely interfaced with the... Read More

The Top 10 Must-Have Laptop Accessories

You've laid out good money for your laptop computer, but... Read More

A Look Inside The Elusive Inkjet Industry

The Inkjet printer industry is booming. Office supply companies report... Read More