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

---

Thumb Drives - Great New Technology!

The ability to easily move data from PC to PC with minimal inconvenience is just another benefit computers have brought to the current business world.Over the past... Read More

Testing Capacitor-How To Test A Capacitor When Breakdown Under Load

Have you ever come across power problem where once you switch on the power supply and the fuse blow? You have checked all the components in the... Read More

Printer Ink Cartridges - The History

You are working at your computer and trying to print out important documents and all at once you find you are out of ink. Years ago that... Read More

Rackmount Computer Keyboards

The other piece of vital equipment to accompany the rack mount computers and the monitors are the rack mount computer keyboards. Rackmount computer keyboards are built with... Read More

Buying Cheap Refurbished Laptops

When comparing refurbished laptop models, ask about these specifications:Central Processing Unit: The CPU or processor is the heart of the computer. The more software you want in... Read More

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

It's not exactly breaking news that our world is becoming increasingly wireless. Many of our daily activities that once needed a wired connection can now be done... Read More

How To Choose The Best Gaming Laptop

The gaming laptop is coming of age! It is steadily increasing in popularity as performance quality goes up. Gamers now regularly consider laptops or notebooks when searching... Read More

A Review of HP Laser Toners

Hewlett-Packard is, along with Brother and Samsung, one of the most readily available brands of laser toner. This is due, in part, to the fact that HP... Read More

Your Hard Drive is Going to Explode ? Why a UPS is Essential

It's most peoples worst computing nightmare. You wake up in the morning, flip on the computer, and it doesn't boot. Sometimes the problem rears its ugly head... Read More

Is A Laser Printer Right For Me?

The average home computer user definitely does not need a laser printer. Sure laser printer prices have fallen considerably in the last couple of years. But have... Read More

Used Laptop Computer: Your Quick Purchase Inspection Guide ? Part 3

Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you sift through the mass of available used laptop computers to narrow your search down to the right... Read More

Whats In An LCD Display?

Who needs an LCD display? Well, if you're like me, having one huge hunk of a monitor sitting on your desktop is just not feasible. Not only... Read More

Heliodisplay --Computer Video With No Screen

Science-Fiction meets reality with this new video display technology.The Heliodisplay includes patented and patent pending technology to transform normal ambient air and display video images into free-space.... Read More

Be Free with Wireless Speakers

Are you tired of laying wires through your house, creeping through small places just to get the right sound effect? Wireless speakers are the answer to your... Read More

Unclogging Epson Print Heads

Tools needed:1 - 10cc Injector1 - 4" - 5" of fish tank air line tubing (Wal*Mart fish department) Windex (No Drip works best)We are going to flush... Read More

Surge Protector: A Simple Mechanism Description

A surge protector [AKA surge suppressor] is an electrical plug-in device designed to distribute safe electrical voltages to other electrical or electronic devices. Surge protectors resemble power... Read More

Purchasing Laser Toner Refills

Laser toner refills can be expensive. Over the life of the printer, expect to spend many times more on laser toner refill than you paid for the... Read More

Video Display

Video displays are most recent technique used in both outdoor and indoor environments.Video displays are used to display live actions at either sporting event, cultural show, or... Read More

10 Solid Reasons To Make Your Next PC A Notebook

Notebook computers are becoming very popular. They seem to be popping up everywhere: on tv shows, on airplanes, in movies, or in your friend's lap. These sleek... Read More

How to Shop for Inkjet Printer Cartridges

Keeping Shipping Costs DownWhen shopping for inkjet printer cartridges online keep in mind that postage can add significantly to the cost of a single inkjet cartridge. In... Read More

Learn to Find Cheap Laptop Computers on the Internet

Cheap laptop computers are coming to a store near you. In fact, there are many there already. That's because, like any newfangled electronics device, laptop computers were... Read More

SED is Coming

One of the bigger challenges facing display manufacturers is to develop a picture with the same warm characteristics as Cathode Ray Tube, but with far less weight... Read More

Power and Your PC

The power coming into a computer is the most critical component, and it may be one of the most overlooked. It is just taken for granted that... Read More

5 Tips For Buying The Right Laptop Computer

It's easy to be intimidated by all the laptop models on the market today. There are literally dozens and dozens in every price range.The key to finding... Read More

Inkjet Jargon Explained

With all the technical terms out there, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with inkjet jargon. Unfortunately, understanding the differences between the various terminologies is... Read More

7 Steps to Cleaning the Laser Toner From Your Laser Printer

Cleaning a laser printer, fax, or copier of laser toner can be easy, provided you know what you're doing and use the right tools. This article will... Read More