The Shrine

(Bare with me I went to school as a programmer and never really got into hardware/networking)

I got a new computer. Everything works fine.

From my old computer, I added an old dvd drive (non-writeable, just plain old dvd drive), it worked in my old computer 3 days ago, I loaded up software. The drive is now in my new computer.

I can see the dvd drive in windows (F:, I think). The drive has power. I can even right-click and hit the eject button.

I've put in a dvd (software)...spins, but nothing. I've dried a dvd movie...nothing. The drive spins and spins and spins, but nothing. I haven't tried a normal cd.

What could be going on? Do I need drivers (i don't think so)? Jumper problem? What do you think?

Meh, this just happened not too long ago with my DVD-RW drive that I bought in 2006. It had power, would open, was viewable in windows and BIOS, and would spin up forever when I put a disk in, but would not display any data in Windows.

I replaced it. C'mon, it's like what, $20?

Try hooking it back to your old pc, make sure everything is still working ok and you didnt mess it up in the process

It sounds like you haven't gone onto the manufacturers website at all? Might be worth checking for any sort of update before going through the trouble of testing to see if it's a hardware issue.

Shrinweck wrote:It sounds like you haven't gone onto the manufacturers website at all? Might be worth checking for any sort of update before going through the trouble of testing to see if it's a hardware issue.

That would be correct. Manufacturer of what? The dvd drive?

Mully wrote:

Shrinweck wrote:It sounds like you haven't gone onto the manufacturers website at all? Might be worth checking for any sort of update before going through the trouble of testing to see if it's a hardware issue.

That would be correct. Manufacturer of what? The dvd drive?

Yea, the manufacturer of the DVD drive. I think Shrinwrek is suggesting you look for a Firmware update for the DVD drive.

But I have to agree a new DVD Burner will run you $20 and it will even have a SATA connection, which is soooooo much nicer than those old bulky IDE ribbons.

Mully wrote:(Bare with me I went to school as a programmer and never really got into hardware/networking)

I got a new computer. Everything works fine.

From my old computer, I added an old dvd drive (non-writeable, just plain old dvd drive), it worked in my old computer 3 days ago, I loaded up software. The drive is now in my new computer.

I can see the dvd drive in windows (F:, I think). The drive has power. I can even right-click and hit the eject button.

I've put in a dvd (software)...spins, but nothing. I've dried a dvd movie...nothing. The drive spins and spins and spins, but nothing. I haven't tried a normal cd.

What could be going on? Do I need drivers (i don't think so)? Jumper problem? What do you think?

It sounds like a jumper issue. If you have a another drive on the same IDE channel that is set to master this is probably the issue. By Default, most DVD drives set themselves to Master for performance issues with setting them to slave. I would remove the drive, make sure it is set to slave, replace the drive, make sure the IDE cable you are using is functional and seated correctly. If these steps do not work, I would check the BIOS to make sure the IDE bus is enabled. Most newer computers use SATA so their could be a feature that disables the IDE bus. If that is not the case, try another IDE device (hard drive from the old computer) and see if that works. If you cannot access the drive from windows, then I would say it is a hardware issue with the IDE bus and return the PC for a new one.

bah, you beat me to it. Here i thought i would look all smart...

I agree it sounds like a jumper problem. You need to move the removable bridge in the back of the drive to the right setting. I assume your new PC set the new DVD drive as the master, so the old DVD drive needs to be on slave. Usually, there is a picture drawing on a sticker on the drive that shows what pins to connect the bridge to, or sometimes removing the bridge altogether, each is different.

I would be thats the issue.

well, at least you don't have a zune.

When I talked to him at work he said it is viewable from Windows, it just doesn't want to read a DVD. So I don't think it's a jumper issue at that point. It could be a firmware issue I guess. I think he tried a DVD and gave up too quick

Yeah. He said in his original post that he can see the drive and can even eject the drive via the GUI, but it just spins discs. I would put it back into the old PC and see if it works there first. He may have broken something moving it around. Then I'd download updates from the manufacturer's web site. If neither of those work, I'd just replace the whole thing since they're so cheap.

Seraphina wrote:When I talked to him at work he said it is viewable from Windows, it just doesn't want to read a DVD. So I don't think it's a jumper issue at that point. It could be a firmware issue I guess. I think he tried a DVD and gave up too quick

Just because it's viewable in Windows and has power doesn't rule out a jumper issue. Windows knows it's there because it's got a data connection and it ejects because it has power, but if the jumper's set wrong that could explain the whole thing.

If you've checked the jumpers and it still doesn't work I'd just recommend getting a new DVD-RW as well; they're so cheap these days it's just not worth the aggravation of trying to fix the old one at that point.

You can always solve your problem AND increase the functionality for cheap. I would:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... u=L12-1164

Or you can use the one device that will solve all of your computer problems:

swapped regular cd drive with dvd drive to make dvd drive master. didn't originally have a jumper, so i put one into c.sel. worked for a little while. now same problems.

i believe the drive is dying/dead. read a few reviews looking for a firmware/driver update....


oh well.


anyone have a spare dvd rom i could have? lol

Mully wrote:swapped regular cd drive with dvd drive to make dvd drive master. didn't originally have a jumper, so i put one into c.sel. worked for a little while. now same problems.

i believe the drive is dying/dead. read a few reviews looking for a firmware/driver update....


oh well.


anyone have a spare dvd rom i could have? lol

I do. But the shipping costs would be more than the value of the drive :-)

Zeus wrote: I do. But the shipping costs would be more than the value of the drive :-)

Thanks, but I think Lewis is getting me one. I'm broke as a joke and $30 hurts after already buying a new computer (dvd drive-less).

Lewis = Louis

Louis wrote:Lewis = Louis

Yeah, but how do you know which spelling I choose when I *say* it?!?!!?!?