external dvd burner not working

miss40i · Apr 22, 2012

I have a i/o magic idvd8pb2 external dvd burner. It just suddenly stopped working properly. I have a stack of brand new Memorex blank dvds but the when I put a blank dvd in, the light keeps blinking, makes some noises and then finally stops. When I look in My Computer, it is not showing as a blank dvd. I have tried about 20 within the stack with the same results. If I put in a blank cd, then it shows up as being empty.

plodr · Apr 22, 2012

You need to try the external burner on another computer. If it does the same thing, the DVD laser died but the CD laser is still okay.

miss40i · Apr 22, 2012

Would this still be the case even if I can play a dvd on my external dvd burner?

plodr · Apr 22, 2012

Yes. The same laser is used to read and write but

While the reading laser is usually not stronger than 5 mW, the writing laser is considerably more powerful. The higher writing speed, the less time a laser has to heat a point on the media, thus its power has to increase proportionally. DVD burners' lasers often peak at about 200 mW, either in continuous wave and pulses, although some have been driven up to 400 mW before the diode fails.
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external dvd burner not working

miss40i Private E-2

plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

miss40i Private E-2

plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member