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  • #1

    Question about my CD drive

    A couple days ago my Cd drive quit working. The light does not come on, the drawer does open and shut and the My Computer menu does not list it as existing. Am I correct in asuming this means I need a new one or is there something else it could be? The machine's at least 5 years old, probably 7 or 8.

    Also, if I do need a new one, does anybody have any recommendations?
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  • #2
    First thing to check is the power.

    Do you know how to open a case and trace power lines?

    The best way:
    Turn off the machine. UNPLUG the power cord from the back of the machine (big fat black plug).

    Sit on floor, with machine in front of you. Backside of machine should be to your left, the front of the machine should be to your right, you need to face the blank side panel of the case.

    Open case.

    Look for a square box (top of case, left side) with a bunch of black orange red yellow wires coming out of it. Power unit .

    Where is your CD rom at? Probably, with this view, top right side.
    Look for a white 4 pronged plug to the back of the CD Rom. Make SURE that white plug is NICE AND TIGHT in the plug spot. (be careful, don't JAM IT, just needs to be snug). Also check your data ribbon (gray, wide) make sure it's tight to the back of CD rom.

    Look at your other hardware. Are they all happily plugged in?

    Take hands out of case.

    Plug power plug back into power spot on back of machine. (DONT PUT THE CASE BACK ON YET )

    Turn it on.

    Boot up, check BIOS first (F2 or F10 or F12)
    Look in your hardware section listing what you have
    F10 to save all changes and exit

    Let it boot to OS
    Login
    Go to Device Manager in Control Panel and check your listings.


    If after all this, it's still not there? It may be dead. Easy to fix, just find another one that's a relatively close speed, and hook it up.

    Cutenoob
    In my heart, in my soul, I'm a woman for rock & roll.
    She's as fast as slugs on barbituates.

    Comment

    • #3
      I think Cutenoob's diagnosis is about 90% accurate.

      However, if that doesn't work, here are my guesses:

      (6%) The power supply is losing it's spunk in being able to provide enough power to the whole machine and is slowly failing. (The fix is replacing the power supply.)

      (3%) A "pigtail" of wiring or plug may have failed. (The fix is using a different plug on a different "pigtail" of the power supply.)

      (1%) Something freakish and completely unrelated to the power supply or drive. (The fix is taking the whole thing apart and isolating each piece bit by bit until the issue is found.)

      First, I'd recommend following Cutenoob's advice to see if that will fix the issue. If not, feel free to send me a priv message and I'll give you more advice to help fix it.

      Or Cutenoob can, it's up to you both.

      Just tryin' to help,
      Blade_Raver
      Fixing problems... one broken customer at a time.

      Comment

      • #4
        Awww thx.

        True, a PSU may be dying after 7 or 8 years of use...back then...what was the normal/avg size? 300W?

        I dunno how a pigtail could die - if there's no mice or ghosts chewing it up, how exactly CAN a pigtail die?

        May also be board IDE slot dying too....Or Data cable dying....

        Let us know and we'll help you smore.

        BTW the reason I said to leave case off when you boot it up is so that if you see any more problems in the OS - you have the hood open, so to speak, for easier access.

        Once it's diagnosed and working correctly, shut it back down, put case on....etc.

        Cutenoob
        In my heart, in my soul, I'm a woman for rock & roll.
        She's as fast as slugs on barbituates.

        Comment

        • #5
          Quoth Cutenoob View Post
          I dunno how a pigtail could die - if there's no mice or ghosts chewing it up, how exactly CAN a pigtail die?
          Corrosion on the connection. Rare, but if it was bad when it was made, it's not unheard of.
          Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

          http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

          Comment

          • #6
            Smoorman76,

            Did you follow Cutenoob's advice? How did it go?
            Fixing problems... one broken customer at a time.

            Comment

            • #7
              CD-ROM drives do sometimes die, though I usually see it on something mechanical rather than electronic.

              The one in my PowerBook G3 has a dodgy spindle motor, which means it only starts up from certain positions (or if I spin the disc manually while inserting it). A couple of my desktop-sized drives have seized or semi-seized tray mechanisms. My TiBook's drive is, er, squashed, but that's not normal wear-and-tear.

              Big clues can be had from the little light on the front. If that doesn't light up at all during a cold-boot sequence (starting from mains power off), then either the drive isn't getting power or it's royally fscked in the electronics department. I keep some spare power supplies as known-goods for eliminating the power-supply cause.

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              • #8
                I'm sorry for the delay in replying, but most of the advice offered, while appreciated, was to techincal for me, so I took it to the shop to get it fixed. Apparently, the CD drive is fine, but the hard drive was bad, so they had to replace it. Which took two weeks. I just got it back yesterday and now I have to reload all my games.

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