Troubleshoot my DVD Drive. Please?

[fyre]

My dvd drive won't read dvds. When I put one in it makes a lot of noise and shit like it's trying to read it, but it doesn't. Any ideas? It is still showing up in Windows so it's not like it's totally fried.

[KarthXLR]

did ya google search already?

[fyre]

did ya google search already?

I did, but I didn't have much success. I didn't know what to search for.

[Blues]

ur lazers stopped pew pewing.

[Fail Medic]

Can it read a CD like an audio CD? 

Would one of those cleaning discs with that stupid little brush on it do any good, I wonder?

[HeK]

It's likely fubar, best move is to replace.

The sounds you are hearing is the drive continuously seeking, as the drive cannot read your media.

[Blues]

ur lazers stopped pew pewing.

It's likely fubar, best move is to replace.

The sounds you are hearing is the drive continuously seeking, as the drive cannot read your media.

YOU ALWAYS DO THIS HEK, YOU JUST HAVE TO REPHRASE EVERYTHING ALL SMART LIKE EVERY TIME TO COME OUT ON TOP. WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER, THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS HEK, AND WHY WE CAN NEVER BE MORE THAN JUST FRIENDS!

[rumsfald]

It doesn't look like anyone has suggested this yet, but it sounds like.....

[Luinbariel]

[quote author=Blues link=topic=2454.msg70252#msg70252 date=1236309309]
ur lazers stopped pew pewing.

It's likely fubar, best move is to replace.

The sounds you are hearing is the drive continuously seeking, as the drive cannot read your media.

YOU ALWAYS DO THIS HEK, YOU JUST HAVE TO REPHRASE EVERYTHING ALL SMART LIKE EVERY TIME TO COME OUT ON TOP. WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER, THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS HEK, AND WHY WE CAN NEVER BE MORE THAN JUST FRIENDS!
[/quote]

Did you see his title?

[Dave]

haha

[Squishy3]

And technically, it's not the drive, if the drive was fubar it wouldn't open at all. it's the laser that went bad. but replacing a laser practically costs as much as getting a new disc drive, so there's really no point. why companies overcharge for laser eyes I will never know.

[Dave]

And technically, it's not the drive, if the drive was fubar it wouldn't open at all. it's the laser that went bad. but replacing a laser practically costs as much as getting a new disc drive, so there's really no point. why companies overcharge for laser eyes I will never know.

prevents supervillains.

[KarthXLR]

[quote author=Squishy3 link=topic=2454.msg70512#msg70512 date=1236461518]
And technically, it's not the drive, if the drive was fubar it wouldn't open at all. it's the laser that went bad. but replacing a laser practically costs as much as getting a new disc drive, so there's really no point. why companies overcharge for laser eyes I will never know.

prevents Dave's bears.
[/quote]

[fyre]

So even though Device Manager says it's fine, I'm pretty much fucked?

Are laptop dvd drives standardized, or will I have to buy one directly from Dell?

[Squishy3]

[quote author=Dave link=topic=2454.msg70518#msg70518 date=1236463231]
[quote author=Squishy3 link=topic=2454.msg70512#msg70512 date=1236461518]
And technically, it's not the drive, if the drive was fubar it wouldn't open at all. it's the laser that went bad. but replacing a laser practically costs as much as getting a new disc drive, so there's really no point. why companies overcharge for laser eyes I will never know.

prevents Dave's bears.
[/quote]
[/quote]I would give you a +1 if that wouldn't bring us closer to the apocalypse.

[KorJax]

So even though Device Manager says it's fine, I'm pretty much fucked?

Are laptop dvd drives standardized, or will I have to buy one directly from Dell?

Well if worse comes to worse you could always just buy these things:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6827136156

or this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6827151178

USB DVD drives  :-*

[rumsfald]

Device manager can only tell you that the electronics are fine (controller/decoder/interface chips, etc). It won't always tell you if you have a mechanical fault (e.g., bum lazer, bum motor, broken track, broken door, etc).

Check your model to see if you have a "standard" size drive bay, if so, you might get a replacement from anywheres. Odds are, since it is a Dell, you will have a custom size bay and need to buy from them.

[HeK]

And technically, it's not the drive, if the drive was fubar it wouldn't open at all. it's the laser that went bad. but replacing a laser practically costs as much as getting a new disc drive, so there's really no point. why companies overcharge for laser eyes I will never know.

I have done this, it is not worth the time, let alone the money.

Check your model to see if you have a "standard" size drive bay, if so, you might get a replacement from anywheres. Odds are, since it is a Dell, you will have a custom size bay and need to buy from them.

A good number of laptop cd/dvd drives are standard IDE slim drives, only mounted in a sled.
Depending on the model, you can swap out the guts with a generic drive. I've done this on Toshiba laptops using bits from Dell servers, and vise-versa.

[fyre]

How would I find out if it's a standard size? I kinda doubt it is, because it's fairly thin. It's an Inspiron 700m.

[HeK]

Take the drive out and look at the label. Google the model, it should say it's something like a 5 inch slim, or slimline drive.
I did a quick google on the model, it looks like a generic slimline in a sled. You can get a replacement from Newegg.

If unsure, post the brand and model here and I can confirm for you.