Please help any advice needed dell xps

[janb]

hi all

just wanting to know if any of u clever chappies can help me. I have a dell xps all in one that has stopped recognising cds but will still read a dvd! I am totally baffled! can anyone help?............pretty please

Thx

Jan

[Rooster-UK]

Have you tried running a laser-cleaning disk.

 

Are hese CDs and DVDs originals or copies? Do they play OK in other equipment?

[janb]

have tried it with both copies and originals it will play both on dvd but not cd! How do i do a laser clean?

Thx

Jan

[labrat]

grab a cleaning disk from pretty much any store....

 

if that doesnt work unfortunatly it is a new dvd drive

[Rooster-UK]

The most effective way of cleaning laser optics involved a certain amount of dismantling of the CDROM.

Not advisable unless you know what you're doing.

 

The safest way is to get a laser cleaning disc from a PC or audio retailer.

These usually have a couple of tiny brushes fixed to the data side of the disk. Put a single drop of the supplied cleaning fluid on one of the brushes, then play the disk. You may have to do this a couple of times.

 

When inserting a disk, the sequence is...

Laser assembly auto focuses on the surface of the disk.

Disk spins and laser reads the "Table of Contents".

It is then ready to play.

 

These steps HAVE to be completed in that order for the disk to play.

 

To work round the possibility that the lenses are too dirty to focus, make sure that, when you put the cleaning disk in, the brushes go in the slot centrally which will brush the lens as the disk is inserted. (Most CDROMS seeme to use linear tracking on a centralised sled.

 

If that doesn't cure your problem then I would suggest that you re-install the drivers for the CDROM.

[Conniff]

Is it Windows XP? If so put that cd in and see it it wall start. You don't have to do the install, just see if it starts. If so, that says it's a software problem.

[Tezcatlipoca]

Could you be more specific? Which CDs, exactly? Audio (regular) CDs? Data CDs? Both?

 

The acid test would be to try a series of CD types, at least two preferably, so see if they get read. Try a regular music CD and a data CD. Does it read or open either?

 

Also, pop the CD in, go into My Computer, right-click the CD/DVD drive icon, and select Explore. Does that read the data on the disk?

 

We need more feedback before we can accurately tell you what is wrong, janb.

[cazzajay]

I agree with Tez. Try Data and Audio CDRWs and CDRs as well as manufactured (pressed) discs.

 

Before disassembling the drive or forking out for a cleaning kit, though, try uninstalling it in Device Manager then searching for new hardware, and install the drivers that windows finds (probably generic ones).

[dx100uk]

go to maplins, get a can of compressed air and give the lens a good blast with it.

whilst in the pc, do the cpu fan, psu fan and any other fans / areas that have dust/fluff on them.

 

worked in pc's since before the zx80! dust/fluff cause 90% of all PC failures if not cleaned out.

 

dx

[cazzajay]

If it is dust, surely it wouldn't read DVDs either?

[kiptower]

dust may well be the problem , however

 

the laser reads the 2 types of disks at different wavelengths , and it could well be a logic fault in the unit , not an uncommon fault on dvd writers over 2-3 years old, average person could not resolve this, infact repair cost is higher than the replacement

 

with the cost of a new unit around £18 on line it is cheaper to replace , with a samsung or pioneer dvd writer

[janb]

Thanks for all the replies...i think i will try the compressed air thing 1st...its the cheapest option at this time and the pc is only a year old

Thx

Jan

[Tezcatlipoca]

Thanks for all the replies...i think i will try the compressed air thing 1st...its the cheapest option at this time and the pc is only a year old

Thx

Jan

 

If this doesn't work, you may have to think about replacing the whole drive.

 

I've seen a lot of drives before run into similar problems due to the laser head getting misaligned. The results are erratic; it will sometimes read one disc type but not the other, sometimes none at all, and sometimes only read parts of the disc. In all cases, it's actually cheaper to just replace the whole drive than to get it repaired.

Edited January 15, 2010 by Tezcatlipoca

[kiptower]

you put it in a nutshell Tez as prices have dropped the quality has also

 

the early pioneers were £300 now there £18 approx