Burner died?

smashguy37 wrote on 9/25/2007, 8:49 AM

A few weeks ago I was playing a CD in my DVD drive and it started to skip every now and then...and it was definitely not a lack of memory or anything. I can't really remember but I think it was making a funny noise too. Today I went to rip a track from a CD for something in Vegas and nothing happened. It won't read CDs or DVDs. I haven't tried burning, but I'm not wasting discs on testing.

I've only found one case on Google where somebody with the same drive had it stop working on them, the other ones I found were just that it stopped burning or they got an error message. Device manager says it's working fine, I get no errors...but it reads nothing and I don't hear the disc spinning up in there. The drive is a "HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-4167B" (an LG one).

It's only about 2 years old, but at this point I'm assuming it's dead. Any other things I should test before I replace it? Nobody else on my end has any clues. Thanks.

(Sorry this isn't really Vegas related but you guys are quick and helpful).

Comments

Stuart Robinson wrote on 9/25/2007, 9:32 AM

I had an LG drive (originally because it supported DVD-RAM) that did exactly the same thing. I had to keep inserting and ejecting a disc repeatedly until it would consent to reading it. Cleaning didn't help, so in the end I swapped it out for a Plextor.

TheHappyFriar wrote on 9/25/2007, 9:32 AM

dead. if you have an extended warranty call & get the free replacement. :D

smashguy37 wrote on 9/25/2007, 12:14 PM

Thanks guys.

Soniclight wrote on 9/25/2007, 12:24 PM

Join the club. I had a brand new BenQ which I only had used for playing, never burning DVDs. Maybe used it 20 times max over a year period.

Well, whud ya know... it died on me and by the time I got around to looking at it, the 1 year warranty had expired, uh... two weeks earlier.

Oiy vey :)

MH_Stevens wrote on 9/25/2007, 1:35 PM

Don't fret - get a new one. I just got the SONY 830A dual layer in Staples for $35 and it's great. Plays HDV files full res flawlessy burns have always verified - no write errors.

farss wrote on 9/25/2007, 3:05 PM

Just check the cables!

Unplug both ends of the ribbon cable and plug back in again.
Probably not the problem but I've fixed a 'faulty' burner in my duplicator this way.

Bob.

JJKizak wrote on 9/25/2007, 4:41 PM

I am always thankfull when my burner dies. Gives me an excuse to upgrade to a new one, maybe 4 generations ahead in technology.
My Plextor is also dying which surprised the hell out of me.
I heard this funny sound coming from the burner, amplified it and recorded it and raised the volume and it was saying "help me" in a little pigmy voice. So I opened it up and looked inside and there was this funny looking spider with a human head. To be continued.
JJK