DVD drive unique fix

I have a Sony desktop computer with one F drive that would not read any disc. Sony sent me suggestions, none of which worked.
I thought maybe the drive was dusty, so I got my wife's hair dryer, opened the drive and blew cool air into it.
I put in a disc, and it read fine. All of them do now. Can you believe it?
Bill

 

I periodically use a CD cleaner kit. The Disc has little brushes to clean dust etc. off the laser and coupled with compressed air, this will generally keep players in good condition. Neil.

 

I am glad you indicated you used the hair dryer with the heat off. That seems like common sense but sadly, I have seen where it is not.

Computer case fans are notorious (actually it's a good thing) for drawing in cool air through EVERY crack and crevice - but also through the cracks in our optical drives cases - not such a good thing. So dust over the lens has been a problem forever and as noted, folks have been using compressed air/gas for some time. That said, I would recommend using a can of compressed dusting gas instead of a hair dryer if for no other reason than you can get more force with the cans, and get in closer with the nozzle tube.

Just be aware, those cans do NOT contain compressed "air ". In fact, it is highly toxic with some form of difloroethane which can adversely affect your central nervous system. Sadly, in part due to restrictive buying on cans of spray paint by minors, some junkies are "huffing" this stuff.

So it is good stuff, when used correctly. Also, because it is compressed gas, it can quickly cause severe freezer burns (frostbite) on your skin, but can also cause damage to some parts. So ensure you keep the can level so gas, and not liquid is spewed out.

Many folks, like me use an air compressor. These are actually best because they are much more thorough, and don't spew out toxic gases. However, NEVER use an air compressor unless (1) it is of the oil-less variety, (2) you have equipped it for use on electronics with a moisture and particulate filter, (3) you do it outside, (4) you use a wooden glue stick or something similar to hold the fans stationary while blasting, and (5) set the PSI to 80 - 90 PSI and/or hold the nozzle back a bit reduce the pressure. Do not allow the fans to spin up from a blast. That can cause them to spin faster than the bearings were designed for.

FTR, I recommend inspecting the interiors of our computer cases monthly and clean out the heat trapping dust as necessary.

 

Thanks for the info - i have a few optical drives that do not read some disks , so i shall try your solution when time permits - the drives would read commercially sourced disks but not user burnt , and frustratingly would not spin the lens cleaning disk, so i could not start to determine the cause.
(As aside , I actually install an old cd-rom drive - without the signal cable connected - in a spare bay and store the oem recovery disk there for safe keeping)

 

While that may be convenient, I don't like that idea and here's why. We should be doing periodic (I recommend monthly) inspections of the interior of our computer cases for heat trapping dust, and cleaning as necessary. In most situations, that requires moving the computer to inspect, and lugging the computer about (hopefully outside) when cleaning is necessary. If we forget to eject the disk before moving the computer, the disk could be jostled about and damaged while trapped inside the bay - to the point of jamming the tray in place.

Plus, and sadly, most people do not even think about "physical" security of their computers, and often more importantly, their data. If the computer burns in a fire, gets soaked in a flood, or stolen by a burglar, there goes the recovery disk too.

The disks you need to fully restore your computer and data need to be stored in a safe place - preferably "off-site ". For example, I keep a [fairly] recent backup of all my data (worth MUCH more than all my hardware) in my safe-deposit box at the bank (these boxes are tax deductible, BTW - if you also keep important papers in there! ).

Is that convenient? No. But it sure is secure, robust, and a near certainty I can fully recover from pretty near any catastrophic event.

I also keep very current backups in a fire resistant strong box in a different part of the house, away from my computers/network and away from my kitchen, furnace room, and garage (most common "ground-zero" locations for fires in homes).

And finally, I keep near real-time backups on an old networked computer I use as a NAS. But that NAS is in the same home as the computers it backs up, so it too is subject to fire, flood, and theft. So "local" network storage is NOT a "physical " security measure.

Convenience typically comes at the expense of safety and security. Don't let convenience be the deciding factor - then ultimately ruin your day.

 

Forget all the hassle ... store it in the "Cloud ".

Then wherever you go, there's all your stuff.

 

Yeah, that is what I was alluding to when I said, "local" network storage is NOT a "physical" security measure.

I just wish I could trust the "cloud" to keep badguys away from my data. I can't - but that might be just me being too paranoid.

 

Encryption (multi-level), Scatter, ...

 

to Bill , you could add damage from terrorist attacks as well in your rationale for keeping the oem recovery disk separate from a computer case storage.

 

If the computer is missing or destroyed, the Recovery disc for it is rather useless.

 

No. Not necessarily. It depends on the type of recovery/backup up you have. If the purpose is ONLY to take the computer back to a factory state, then yeah, a recovery disk will not be of much help.

But if your recovery disk also includes your data, then the disk will be helpful.

 

But of course.