Sony Cd/DVD

System:
Win PC clone
OP Win XP Pro/ Svc Pack 3
Processor: 2.00 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache
Not hyper-threaded
DVDisc SONY DVD RW DRU-810A [CD-ROM drive]




I have a Sony Cd/DVD r/rw that is dead in the water, or computer if you will.
I did a check with XP, and it reads all working properly.
The drive does nothing, just sits there like the proverbial bum on the log. It will occasionally open when cued, but usually requires a paper clip. Once in a while the in use or idiot light will blink rapidly, but again no response from the drive.
I chased down the driver from Sony, but that did nothing either.
Before I give it last rights, I wanted to see if any ideas might be floating around about a cure.
Thanks,
'Skysarge

 

Say 3 Hail Mary's, do 1 Novena, prepare a small box for internment in the land fill. Or, swing a dead chicken over the drive 3 times, call in a voodoo priest to scare all the bad mojo out of the drive.

But I think you should just replace it.:-D:-D

 

Greetings, Skysarge.

Make sure you physically check the drive connections - too many times I've chased the wrong path because of a loose or bad cable.

One sure-fire way of determining an optical's effectiveness is to boot to it. Change your BIOS boot order to CD first (assuming that the drive is recognized in BIOS), insert a bootable disk (Windows, Linux, UBCD, etc.) and fire it up.

If it cranks, then something else is causing the issues. If not, then you can pretty much bet the farm that the drive's bad.