CD Drive probs

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 30 Jun 2005 10:30 am

My CDRW drive, which is 4 years old, appears to be "unplugged" during normal operation of my computer. This momentarily stops my computer then shows the message that a device has been unplugged. It doesn't appear to be the power supply, because it will power up.

After it is unplugged, I can reboot and it reappears, and sometimes it won't come back until I shut down for a couple hours.

Is this a driver problem? CDRW problem? Motherboard problem? Any thoughts much appreciated.

Derrell Stephens · Post by **Derrell Stephens** » 30 Jun 2005 10:37 am

Try reseating all of the cables, both power and IDE. I am assuming it is an internal drive ... and you know what is commonly said about the word assume.

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 30 Jun 2005 10:58 am

Hi Derrell!
I have reseated the cables several times. Could be a bad IDE cable I guess. Thanks so much!

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 30 Jun 2005 11:17 am

If this is an internal IDE drive, there are several potential problem areas. The IDE controller, the IDE ribbon cable, another device on the IDE bus and finally a device addressing problem (such as a loose jumper).

Power off the PC, open the case and "reseat" all the IDE cables, both at the motherboard (or IDE controller) and at each device. "Reseat" is to unplug then plug back in, making sure the cable is inserted correctly and fully seated.

If you have two CD drives, unplug the other drive and see what happens with the drive that is giving you the error.

Device type settings can also cause some issues. If the PC originally came with the strapping as "Cable Select", make sure they are still on cable select and that you didn't change something. If it's the older Master/Slave, one of the drives should be set for "master" and the other for "slave".

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 30 Jun 2005 3:10 pm

Jack....thanks, gonna try some of this....

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 6 Jul 2005 12:45 am

get a new drive..sounds like this one took a vacation..

they do not last forever.and forever is really not very long anymore.

These things are made in some 3rd world country so don't expect to much from them....

Cables just don't stop working..or need reseating..

hardware does fail... dust, dirt, heat etc..will take it down...

A new drive does not cost much, it comes with new software + drivers and it will be a faster drive to boot..

Just make sure the new drive is compatible with your operating system.

I have a new PC..The DVDR drive took a hike after 6 months, and yes they replaced it for free..and the software that it came with far exceeds what the stock software was for the PC...

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 6 Jul 2005 2:20 am

Tony, fallback and regroup. As a part-time PC tech, cables and reseating are a legitimate troubleshooting procedure. I can't count how many problems I've fixed in the last 30 years by "reseating" cables.

True, that drives will fail, but more often it's something other than the drive.

As far as new drives coming with "drivers" - there are no drivers for Windows operation other than the built in Windows drivers. There are drivers required for old DOS operations, but for Windows you must use the default built in drivers.

The applications software can be better than what someone has, however, if someone has a full feature CD/DVD burning program, then they will have more than the "limited" or "lite" versions that come packaged with a new drive. e.g. I have the full (purchased) version of Nero 6, and the Nero that is supplied with some new drives is a stripped down version with limited features.

As far as "made in a 3rd world", ALL PC components are foreign made. You can't buy one made in the US or even a motherboard, controller card, sound card, hard drive, etc that is US made.

Ron Sodos · Post by **Ron Sodos** » 6 Jul 2005 12:57 pm

there are no drivers for IDE
thats comes from a full time PC tech

Reggie Duncan · Post by **Reggie Duncan** » 6 Jul 2005 1:05 pm

Thanks so much for your input! I have thrown the old culprit into the Mississippi River and spent $40 on a new much better drive. It is working flawlessly.

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 13 Jul 2005 2:52 pm

I have gone through a lot of CDrom drives. I am not computer illiterate. In the past month I had to replace 2 drives in my equipment. I mostly use CDRW drives, but I use a cheap cdrom drive to copy CDs to the CDRW. The drives which I replaced are the 56x drives ($15). I do have some cheap "Khypermedia" 52x24x52 CDRW drives($30) which continue to perform flawlessly. Guess I should just use those drives for everything from now on.

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 14 Jul 2005 2:58 am

Ron,
Your "Full Time" Tech is wrong.
Do a Google search for "IDE drivers" and you'll find a lot of them.

Jack might be a Part Timer now, but that's only because he's retired. You can take his advice to the bank, and I appreciate all he does here.

The original problem is solved, so I'm closing this.