Optical CD/DVD drives failiures - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / repair

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 06:02:22 am
content: They cost about 20 dollars/euros and last about a year or so. All of the sudden they just fail. You can keep buying them, and they will just stop working after a year or two. And there are no more expensive drives on the market (at least in my country). They only more expensive ones are the external drives.So, all of the sudden they can no longer recognize a CD/DVD. Or computer can not recognize the drive (in BIOS). Or it can recognize CD/DVD but can not read it. And so on.What makes them fail? What component fails? Is it planed obsolescence in the firmware, because it does seem that way?And don't tell me it is a dirty laser lens, because that is the first (and only) thing I check (clean).

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 10:48:14 am
content: It's usually the laser itself that's failed, maybe partially (as in still emits light, but not of the right wavelength/shape/intensity).

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 10:54:04 am
content: Motors fail more often. They still spin but backlash becomes too high, so laser cannot properly track the disc anymore. If the drive starts to work fine when put on the side (vertically), then it's certain that motor has failed.

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 11:38:20 am
content: Thanks.What about when the drive is not recognised by the BIOS?

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 12:44:44 pm
content: Why would anyone use one of these in 2016? I'm not trolling you - this is an honest question; I'm actually curious.

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 12:48:09 pm
content: My old computer does not support USB booting, so the only way to install OS is with optical drive.And may things are still on CDs and DVDs...

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 01:17:21 pm
content: I see about the lack of USB booting. But for the many things that come on CDs and DVDs, apart from music and movies, every time I encounter something on a CD (usually a full PDF manual for some product) once or twice a year, I'm like "wow, that's weird". Unless you're talking about your private data archive in which case it would be really good idea to migrate it to at least two locations that are not optical media while it's still readable. Sorry for the OT.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 08, 2016, 09:38:45 pm
content: I don't really use DVD drive anymore. Keep it in the PC just in case I maybe will need it once in a year. With amount of use they have, no wonder only cheap shit is sold for a purpose of basically pluging the hole.

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2016, 04:37:11 am
content: Floppy disk drives went the same way when they became mass produced commodity items, the quality and reliability dropped.My best and most reliable CD drive which would happly read a scratched CD was an origional single speed drive SCSI drive where the CDs had to be placed in protective caddies. It was well built and about 20 times the cost of today's drives.

author: chris_leyson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2016, 07:24:08 am
content: Windows 10 changed a graphics driver on my laptop, so I had to go and re-install the Win 7 driver to get things to work properly, Win 10 has also changed the CD/DVD driver so now I can't read a DVD, will have to change back to the Win 7 driver.

author: samnmax
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2016, 02:12:19 pm
content: Quote from: Srbel on September 08, 2016, 12:48:09 pmYou can use Plop Boot Manager (https://www.plop.at/en/bootmanagers.html) to boot from USB even if your BIOS does not support it. You can put the .img on a floppy and boot from it, and then boot the USB drive, it's a very nice tool!

author: tatus1969
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2016, 03:24:25 pm
content: Quote from: Srbel on September 08, 2016, 11:38:20 amDo you say that your drives only last for a year or so and then disappear from BIOS?

author: retiredcaps
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 09, 2016, 04:04:13 pm
content: I received a handful of computers over the last couple of years. All about 6 to 10 years old and they all came with DVD drives and all of them work. I did buy two PVRs that had known DVD failures, but I just wanted the PVR functionality so I didn't care about the non working DVD drives. Both dead drives wouldn't read a DVD or CD.I did get one blu ray player that wouldn't play blu rays, but would play DVDs.So with my experience, DVD drives are quite robust and easily last more than one year.A DVD is required for some linux distros to get installed. Some get confused when trying to install from usb.

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2016, 09:46:41 am
content: Quote from: tatus1969 on September 09, 2016, 03:24:25 pmNot just mine.

author: tatus1969
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 10, 2016, 07:53:34 pm
content: Quote from: Srbel on September 10, 2016, 09:46:41 amI am working with CDROMs from the very beginning, that has never ever happened to me. If I could not see a drive in the BIOS, it always turned out to be a problem with the cable, or with master/slave addressing/jumpers and alike. In that sense, SATA was ahugestep forward. I did had some drives dying, but that was after years of usage, and they either had dying laser diodes (they continuously lose intensity during operation), or just dirty lenses.

author: TheBay
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 10, 2016, 08:54:54 pm
content: I wonder if this is a PC fault, either the power supply or the motherboard and caused damage to them?I've got shelves of DVD Drives that are various ages and none have failed like that.Or do you keep buying the same model, maybe there is a design issue?

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 12, 2016, 11:11:06 am
content: The one that is not recognisable in the BIOS is SATA.I have tried a few cables.Of course, the older ones lasted longer. I am talking about newer ones (from 5 years ago or newer).It is not a PSU issue. Same thing happenes to a few people I new. We where talking about it, a few years ago, on how we had noticed this optical drives last about a year or so.I was also reading, in one of the PC magazines, that there are a lot of imported refurbished drives sold on the Serbian market as new...

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2016, 02:28:26 am
content: Quote from: Zbig on September 08, 2016, 12:44:44 pmI borrow DVDs from the library in Montreal. I pay enough taxes, I should be able to watch all the movies I want. I just need to reserve a document and wait for it to be available and I pick it up.Not everything needs to be "The Machine Stops" level.

author: tatus1969
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2016, 06:20:41 am
content: Quote from: Srbel on September 12, 2016, 11:11:06 amsounds like that being another Chinese trick?

author: jh15
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2016, 06:34:17 am
content: Thought everyone was used to planned Applescemce. toss it after 1.5 years.

author: Zbig
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2016, 03:25:43 pm
content: Quote from: Alex Eisenhut on September 14, 2016, 02:28:26 amIn the second sentence (the one you conveniently left out) I say "apart from music and movies". This, and the fact we're talking computer drives here, strongly implies I meant DVDs as a computer data storage medium. If the PC is your only way to play movie discs, fair enough, it was the case for me as well for many years. Anyway, I consider DVD video quality no longer acceptable for productions for which higher resolution material is available but I digress.

author: TheBay
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 14, 2016, 04:48:39 pm
content: Quote from: Zbig on September 14, 2016, 03:25:43 pmHad an unusual conversation the other day, was on my 3rd date with someone and she came back here.Gave her a tour around and then we went in the living room, she pulled 2 DVD's out of her handbag, she looked at me and said fancy watching one of these?I said I would, but I don't have a DVD player. To which she replied "But you have loads of technology and electronics, I thought someone like you would have the latest tech" Latest I questioned? I said yes it's not 1998!Thankfully she didn't see the record player on the AV rack

author: Alex Eisenhut
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 14, 2016, 11:56:38 pm
content: Quote from: Zbig on September 14, 2016, 03:25:43 pmI think you conveniently put that sentence in a post I didn't reply to...That sentence is in your next post.

author: Srbel
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 15, 2016, 08:32:35 am
content: Quote from: tatus1969 on September 14, 2016, 06:20:41 amI think this drive is Sony Optiarc.