New DVD drive doesn't work

I replaced my old CD/ROM with a Pacific Digital DVD 8X R/RW/CDRW. The installation went fine and my computer recognizes the new drive but when I put a disc in nothing happens. I hear a couple of faint clicks but it doesn't sound like it's spinning at all. I have rechecked all the connections. The BIOS has it listed. I hooked it up exactly the way the old one was. Could it just be a bum drive?

Windows 98 SE (build 4.10.2222)

800 megahertz Intel Pentium III
32 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Board: GATEWAY Tabor3 CopperMine WS440BX Tabor3 CopperMine 40005
Serial Number: A
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Intel Corp. 4W4SB0X0.15A.0019.P14 05/09/2000

20.54 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
10.95 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

Pacific Digital DVD 8X R/RW/CDRW [CD-ROM drive]
(replaced TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1402)
Generic floppy disk drive (3.5 ")

QUANTUM FIREBALLP LM [Hard drive] (20.54 GB) -- drive 0

512 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'J6J1' has 256 MB
Slot 'J6J2' has 256 MB

 

Hi Paula,

Questions for you:

1. Did you install the DVD/CDRW software? If so, then did you get any errors when you did?

2. I presume that you put a store bought CD into the drive and nothing happened. Was that the case with the old drive also? If so, then you might have the auto start feature disabled/turned off.

3. If you mean that you put in a new CD-R disk, you try to create a data disk, and nothing happens (assuming you installed the software that came with the drive), it is quite possible the drive is bad.

4. Can you explain what you mean by nothing happens when you put in a disk?

George

 

There was no software other than Roxio Easy CD-DVD creator. It requires no drivers according to the instruction sheet. It's recognized in the BIOS and Device Properties. What I mean is that it doesn't spin. The drive I replaced wasn't a writer. I replaced it for that reason and because the drawer stuck a lot. Please give me a magic solution. I can't bear the hassle of taking everything apart again.

 

It sounds like you got a bum drive out of the box. Can you possibly install it another system to be sure? If it is bad then the store should replace it right away for you.

 

I think you're right. I can put my old one back in. I was just hoping not to have to do that again. I'm not a computer whiz so it was a huge undertaking. But if I gotta, I gotta. Thanks so much for all your help.