Author Topic: need some help. (Read 366 times)

medicboy · « **on:** December 12, 2003, 12:25:17 AM »

A few days ago I tried to save some pics off my digital camera by burning them onto a cd (like I have done for several years now) the cd drive opened fine, closed fine. I tried to format the new disk and It said there was no media loaded, so I started looking and found that even under system manager there is only my dvd drive listed, the burner is just gone.... ???? SO I tried to instal it as new hardware and XP can't find it. Does anyone have any Ideas, is it dead? If so how hard is it to instal a new burner. I am fairly competent in gadgets, I know haw to instal pci cards, ram ect.

jonnyb · « **Reply #1 on:** December 15, 2003, 04:43:01 PM »

Chances are it has gone bye-bye. Open up your case and check to make sure the cables are all plugged in nice and tight. If they are, turn on your system and go into bios. If you haven't made any changes to your system since the last time it worked (ie, installed a new IDE drive) then I'd say it's toast. Get yourself another burner.

Installing a CDROM is probably one of the easiest things to do. Since you don't have to touch the motherboard, and this isn't exactly a "delicate" part, feel free to do it yourself. Basically, you'll need a phillips screwdriver.

Make sure the power is OFF before doing any work inside your box. Standard install process:
1) open case
2) unscrew the screws holding your cdrom in place (usually 4)
3) unplug all cables from old drive
4) remove drive
5) make sure jumpers are set properly on new drive (should be on "Cable Select" for most applications)
6) put new drive in
7) plug all cables in
8) turn on pc
9) go into bios and make sure the new drive is recognized
10) if drive recognized, shut down pc
11) put screws in and tighten them up
12) put case back together
13) boot pc

That should about cover it.

Tarmac · « **Reply #2 on:** December 15, 2003, 05:11:04 PM »

I had problems with a DVD-ROM drive a few months ago. This was the general procedure I used to fix it.

-Check device status in windows.
-reinstall drivers for device
-check hardware connections of device - IDE cable and power in this case. Unplug computer before doing this.
-check jumper settings on device. Drives should most likely be set to 'cable select.' You can try setting one as master and one as slave too. If you have multiple drives, try switching them so the one that was slave is now the master.
-disconnect drive (IDE and power); start computer. If everything is ok, shut down and put drive back in. See if it works.
-take drive over to friend's; have them try it. This will give you the best idea of if the device is broken or if it's a problem with your system
-Reinstall windows.
-buy new burner.

Obviously, going to the next step is contingent on the previous step not solving the problem.

medicboy · « **Reply #3 on:** December 16, 2003, 03:52:28 PM »

Thanks guys! I will try this and see. As far as checking the status with the system, I did this and it dowsn't even show up, anywhere. I will look tomarrow and check the cables (I had intended to try this, just haven't had time) If not, I will just get a new, faster one.

It was working just before I moved, I packed it up, moved, rehooked everything up and now it just doesn't exist.

Thanks again...

Roscoroo · « **Reply #4 on:** December 16, 2003, 05:06:01 PM »

check in the bios to beshure thats its reconized in there ..

secondary master cdrom ...

since this happened after a move it may be a dead battery .. or a lose cable , bumped it to hard and its afu , ect

medicboy · « **Reply #5 on:** December 21, 2003, 09:31:42 AM »

Took it apart and found a cable on the back most of the way unplugged, put it back on and bingo, all is well. Thanks guys, I guess I should have checked that first.

BOb