N00b question about my kid's CD-ROM

[Megg]

Let me preface this by saying this computer is 7? or so years old. Dinosaur, in computer terms. Luckily, we have an identical setup that had the motherboard shoot craps, so spare parts are an option.

Anyway, my boy's CD-ROM stopped reading CDs. Very odd. The device manager sees the device, it has power (the pretty little green light lights up), and when I put a disk in the drive, it spins briefly, but nothing happens. When I then go into My Computer and try to manually open the files, it shows as no disk in the drive. Frustrating.

I thought it might be the drive itself (longshot, but I had no other ideas) but when I swapped the two CD-Roms (identical), I had the same problem on the second drive. Anyone out thee smarter than me and have an idea? I would really appreciate the input.

[Broomjockey]

Standard trouble checking time, until the smart people show up:

What kind of drive is it? CD-ROM? CD-R? CD-RW?

What kind of discs aren't working?

Are you able to get updated drivers for the CD drive? What operating system are you using? XP? Vista? Which version of which OS? SP2/3?

Did anyone change anything before it stopped working?

Did you try a system restore to before it stopped working?

Did anyone feed the computer?

Did you do the hokey pokey dance of computer resurrection?

[Andara Bledin]

Have you tried replacing the cables?

After the automatic first move of checking all connections, you should try swapping the cables.

I had a problem with a hard drive, once, and the issue turned out to be that the power cable had a break and if it got nudged, the hard drive wouldn't get enough power to spin up.

^-.-^

[Megg]

What kind of drive is it? CD-ROM? CD-R? CD-RW?
Basic, old school 52x CD-Rom. They probably don't even make them any more!

What kind of discs aren't working?
No disc at all will play. Games, CDs, apps, drivers, nothing.

Are you able to get updated drivers for the CD drive? What operating system are you using? XP? Vista? Which version of which OS? SP2/3?

Drivers seem to be okay in device manager, may or may not be able to get new ones, but it worked fine one day and crashed the next. Running windows XP Pro, no idea about the SP version. I think 3, but probably wrong.

Did anyone change anything before it stopped working?
No.

Did you try a system restore to before it stopped working?
No. It is a less than one month old install, I may try that though.

Did anyone feed the computer?
Hahahaha! Nope, though I checked that.

Did you do the hokey pokey dance of computer resurrection?
And turn myself around? DAMMIT! I knew I was skipping a crucial step! Thanks!


Seriously, I will have to check the cables, if that doesn't work, try the drivers. It is most likely related in some way to its being freaking ancient, but I got more duct tape!

[Broomjockey]

I believe if you push the "windows" key and "print screen" it brings up the system information screen. That should let you know if you're using Service Pack 2 or 3.

Also, sometimes drivers look like they're working fine, but cause issues. If you do decide to do anything with them, try and download them direct from the manufacturer, then uninstall the drivers on the system before using the new ones.

[Andara Bledin]

If you go to My Computer, there is an option on the left to View System Information, if you need info on your system.

^-.-^