Liteon DVD-RW Issue

Hi all,

I've done an exhaustive search on this, but to no avail.

In my computer, whenever I click on this drive link I get an empty windows explorer page instead of a message instructing me to insert a disk.

This drive has been been acting strange of late, as it cannot read an unclosed DVD data disc. Nero verifies the data alright, but when I remove the disc and reinsert it the drive treats it as a blank disc.

The drive will play previously burned movies or audio discs however.

The DVD-RW is a Liteon ATAPI DVD A DH20A4P model, and it is about two years old.

Could a weak laser be the cause of these issues, or am I looking at a failing IDE bus?

Thanks.

 

I thought about taking the cover off the drive and gently wiping the lens with a microfiber cloth.

 

Maybe un-install the drive in device mgr and let windows detect it again?

 

Tried to blow it out with vacuum cleaner exhaust (I have a Filter Queen Vac), but it did not help.

I was wondering if updating to SP3 of late caused this, but the drive started acting up just before the update was installed. Sometimes, Windows Explorer can read the contents of a DVD data disk, but Nero 6 can't seem to recognize the data...except on data CDs. I reinstalled Nero 6, and even tried version 7 (latest updated version), but not much help there.

I would like to try the drive on the same channel as the harddrive, but Liteon frowns upon that arrangement.

Would plugging the ribbon cables into opposite buses be a good idea? Would the PC boot under that setup, or would I have to change the BIOS settings first?

 

Good idea, but I've already tried that.

I even unplugged the drive, rebooted without it, and reinstalled it again.