CD/DVD burn drive sticks on

I was reading the thread where the guy's CD burned tried to ace out and its similiar but not the same. Mine is frequently making the spin out of control noises but it also sticks on when I boot up. Then I get a black screen message that says secondary drive has failed. It will only burn a partial blank. I have a 2 drive set up, one is the player and one is the burner. I tried burning but it freaks half way thru. Days the player won't play anything but prerecorded. Does that mean that both are bad or the burner is creating problems for the player? It is a Dell 8200 Pent IV 240GZ, 512 RAM. I want to buy a new puter way after Vista has been out. For now I would replace both if thats what I need to do but I dont want to because I want the $$$ for a new one. Also does it have to be exactly what I already have or can I go faster? Do you thinks its the CD/DVD or software? Help! Missy

 

If it's making mechanical noises, it sounds like it's probably worn out inside. I was lucky with mine that it only ruined a disc that was replaceable. Replacements can be quite cheap if you look around. Ebay is good for bargains but the weight of a CD / DVD unit can mean the postage pushes the postage costs up. Are you near anywhere that sells computer hardware and accessories ?

 

I can get a new burner Pioneer at Best Buy for under $50. I did a trouble shooter thru windows on both drives and it says they are working properly. Which they are not. When I booted up this a.m. the light was on, and I had the message on the blank screen about the drive failing. So I started looking online for another one, then I rebooted and its ok again. I hate to buy if its something else.. what do you think?

MIssy

 

oh, I forgot, when this happens I am also getting a memory error? It just doesnt getbetter.

Missy

 

I suppose one way to elminate the drive as the cause of the problem would be to disconnect it and then see if the symptoms are still there.

 

Yep I talked to a friend who is like a minor geek. He says there is a utility that I can download to check the hardware. Is there something like that on here? He agreed with you he says, its probably fried. He said event log tells all and gives a # or something. I looked and its all red with the CD rom. It offers a failure. But no mention of the memory error. Is there a place I can check that too?

Missy