Resolved cd/dvd drives don't burn or read

I have Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 Service Pack 3, my CD/DVD burner does not read or write anymore. The cd drive doesn't work because I accidentally broke the door off, but the dvd drive hasn't burned for almost a year & it won't read either. I went to-
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060/EN-US#nextsteps . I uninstalled the upper & lower filters, when rebooting it did recognize new hardware & it had the small cd icon on the drive when trying to open it to play, but it again said to put a cd in even though there was already one in there. They wanted me to reinstall the DVD burner program which I can't do without a CD/DVD drive drive that works.

I also went to the device manager & under DVD/CD-ROM drives I had two items. I double clicked on the first one, selected driver, clicked on update driver, in the hardware update wizard I clicked next to install the software, then I got 'The wizard could not find a better match for your hardware than the software you currently have installed. I did the same for the 2nd one with the same result.

I also went here http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cd_dvd_drive_problems . It is a MS automated troubleshooting service. After running it, the result was: after the CD/DVD reading & writing troubleshooting was complete- We detected some problems with your system and were able to successfully apply the fixes. However, our verification shows that the problem still exists & the drive is not readable.
It then wanted me to look for other troubleshooting options & I haven't found anything that will fix my problem.

When looking up what is still being supported my MS it says- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 Service Pack 2. Do you think if I uninstall service pack 3 and went back to service pack 2 that my drives will work again? Could it be that the service pack 3 caused my problem? If so, how do I go about doing that? If not, what other choices do I have? I haven't been able to find any other options with all of my searching.

 

Hi, Did your problem develop after SP3 was installed or have you just noticed it? If your CD won't work because the door is broken off, you will be best advised to purchase a new one and get it installed.

If the problem occurred after SP3 installed, you could try a "system restore" at a point prior to that time. But you will still need a working CD unit to install your DVD software. Neil.

 

When rebooting, the CD drive light never went out & the DVD drive light never came on until I opened the door. I tried turning it off & the CD drive light did go off & when turning it back on, the DVD drive light blinked.

When I put a CD in the DVD drive, it makes a clicking noise about every 5 sec, after about 9 clicks, it stops.

I do know that I need to get a new CD drive but I was trying to get the DVD drive to read so I won't have to buy it now.

I have done a system restore & it didn't change anything.

I appreciate all of your help, is the DVD drive fixable or should I just buy a new one?

 

When you push the button to open your CD or DVD player, an LED light should come on and then go off after the CD or DVD carriage has opened fully.

If you put a disc in the carriage and push the button to close, the LED will flicker for a few seconds and depending on how the player is programmed, a screen may appear asking you to select what software you want to use to play the disc.

When you said the door was broken off, did you mean the front face of the carriage or has it got a separate door that hinges open followed by the tray/carriage coming out?

If the latter, you should still see the lights as I explained above if the CD player is OK. Have you set the CD/DVD to Autoplay when the disc is inserted?

I said in my 1st Post that you would need to renew the unit based on the costs in getting any Electronic unit serviced, compared to the relatively cheap price of new units. This also makes the assumption that you will be able Remove and Install the hardware in your computer yourself.

If you are not able do the work yourself, then get a quote from a reputable electronics firm first. [This indicates that the drive is not recognising that a disk has been inserted - this may be because the mechanical detection of the disk has failed or the read/write laser has failed.] Pete's quote in his Post.
Neil.

 

Yes, when I open the DVD door the light goes off after it is open.

After closing the DVD door, the light goes on & stays on but doesn't flicker. After a few seconds the light goes off. I don't get a window asking me what program I want to use to open it. It maybe used to give me that but not for quite a while which is why I go into My Computer & click on the icon for the drive to force it to tell me if it's working.

My computer tower is on the floor, I had used the CD drive & then forgot to close the door so when I swiveled my chair around, my knee hit it & jammed it crooked. It wouldn't go in or out so I pulled it out & a small piece of it broke off so that it doesn't work anymore. I don't know if I have it set to auto play. The CD drive worked great until I broke the door but the DVD drive hasn't worked for about 9mo.

I can put the DVD drive in myself. So if this one can't be fixed I will be doing that again.

 

I appreciate all of your help Pete & Neil, I will be getting a new DVD burner to replace them both. Thank you so much, Shirley

 

Only too pleased to help as I had a problem myself recently and swapped 6 Cd drives between comps to try and locate a fault. Hope you get a drive as Pete suggested and be careful with your swivel seat. Cheers Neil.