CD ROM acting up!

[Roadtoad]

I just fixed a couple of CDs which were pretty badly scratched. Things were going along well, until I fixed one of some downloaded music. Suddenly, the CD RW has decided to take a dump. I'm running a scan now. Can someone help?

[Kilgore Trout]

Can you describe the dump? Does it not recognize any CDs now? Does Windows (assuming Windows) still see the drive at all?

To pull a while guess out of thin air, I'd say there's a mechanical problem with the drive. Perhaps the formerly scratched discs caused a problem with the way the drive seeks. (My thinking is perhaps the drive was doing fine reading good discs that had few errors, but hitting one that caused it to reread the same area of the disc that was scratched caused a particular mechanical part to fail). Is the CD RW very old?

[Roadtoad]

What I'm getting is a "zipzipzip" sound from the drive, then a series of clicks. After that, it does nothing.

I just cleaned and repaired several discs which were skipping in my CD player in the Pete, and after I played them on the computer, it quit working. I don't know if I've gotten it dirty, or if bouncing it around in the sleeper of a big rig has damaged the drive.

[Soapy Sam]

I wouldn't think the vibration in your cab would damage a CD drive.
When you "cleaned" those discs, is it possible you left any fluids , or cleaning material adhering?

[Roadtoad]

Possible. I did dry them, per manufacturer's instructions, but there's no guarantee that it got it all. I hesitate to start doing anything more than what I've done, which is to run the internal diagnostics, and to blow onto the drive with compressed air, (and that from a distance and very, very lightly.) I don't want to start poking around on it and do any more damage.

[Roadtoad]

Okay, now things are getting strange. I tried playing Gordon Lightfoot earlier today, but it wouldn't work. Just put this damned CD into the player, and now, it's ready to rock. This thing just sort of comes and goes. Is it software, is it hardware? I ran a virus scan, and that came up negative.

[Roadtoad]

All right, Billy Joel played okay, but that was before Gordon Lightfoot, and there was nothing wrong. Now, GL won't play, and for that matter, it's not even loading.

[Roadtoad]

Another point. When I did the compressed air, it worked for a time, then quit. I'm hesitant to do this repeatedly, as it tells me there's something more going on. Could it be a cord or cable?

[Kilgore Trout]

I would seriously doubt a software problem. CD RWs aren't that complicated these days, in the sense of configuration or a conflict or something of that nature. Software also wouldn't cause it to make a physical noise of the zipzipping. There hasn't been any major work on the OS since it was working fine has there? Like say a restore, upgrade from 98 or XP, or something like that? No new major hardware?

(Of course, I'm not there and all, so all this is guess-work...) I'd tend to rule out software. A loose cable also wouldn't (tend to, perhaps) cause it to make some kind of physical noise. A loose power cable would just cause it to go off and on a lot (which would possibly cause a lot of bigger red flags, like Windows spontaneously discovering a new device). A loose IDE (assuming IDE) cable might cause some weirdness, but probably more like Windows not even seeing it at all. I wouldn't think one would wriggle loose, even in a cab, too (really probably anywhere, unless it was a defective cable or improperly installed).

A bad cable would probably display different symptoms, like copying a 300 meg file, and getting gibberish here and there, or ending up only getting 250 megs of it.. Just playing audio discs though? I've no idea because the audio would go through to the sound card.

Regardless, I think the telling thing is that it's making noise. The compressed air may have pushed a gear temporarily back into place, something like that.

My suggestion.. Open up the case and have a look. Make sure everything associated with the CD RW is plugged in snuggly. (If nothing else, might provide a good opportunity to just blow out dust in the case, stuff like that.) Also try a data CD and see what that does for copying files, etc. Try skipping back and forth between tracks with an audio CD and see if the drive makes unusual clicking noises, etc like maybe it's having trouble going from track to track.

(Quick edit just to add that any definitive statements I make are qualified with "typically" or something similar... I'd really rather not walk down the path of someone replying with "This one time my CD RW exploded when I changed the drive letter..." I'm just trying to provide what I think the problem probably is, though I think the best reasonable solution is to get it evaluated by someone in person to get it repaired/replaced.)

Another edit, having made a probably goofy assumption, what with being in a cab and all.. I have the sinking feeling we're talking about a laptop? So the opening and all that is probably not a good idea, and also puts doubt into it being installed properly. Also I'd think it would handle being in a cab a lot better than a desktop. But I'm still sticking with the repaired/replaced notion.

[Roadtoad]

Depressing thought, that. Money's already tight, and I now have to spend more to get this damned thing fixed.

Thankfully, my son, Jon, has a gig working for Fry's Electronics...

[Dan O.]

From what you describe, it sounds like the disk is slipping on the hub. This can be caused by any number of contaminants getting on the friction pad of the CD drive hub. Dry powders can act as little ball bearings, oil or water can act as a lubricant, alcohol can dry rubber and make it hard. What you need to do is clean the friction surface. But I don't know what material the hub is made of so I don't know what would be safe as a cleaning solution. You could just try blowing it off with a can of dry air. But be careful. The lens is a very delicate electromechanical device that can be destroyed by a blast of air.

ETA: If you accidentally blow dust into the lens mechanism you'll probably get a lot skips if it still works at all. Also, your regular auto air compressor is going to have water and oil in the line which could make things worse. I pick up the cans of "dust-off" or equivalent whenever they have a full rebate.

[Roadtoad]

I finally got a hold of Toshiba, and their authorized service rep. They're in Antioch, and it's going to run $150-200 (which I don't have) to replace the CD-RW drive, IF they have it in stock.

Crap.

I could sure use some advice.

[a_unique_person]

If this is for a standard PC, don't get it from Toshiba, just get one from Frys, at, (I'm guessing your prices), about $20-$30. If you have a Toshiba, I'm guessing it could be a laptop. If so, a USB DVD/CD reader writer from Fry's is still going to be cheaper than buying a new one.

It's possible you have dust on the lens, which can also screw things up.

[Ducky]

If the CDROM plays Billy Joel, but refuses to play Gordon Lightfoot then perhaps it just has discerning musical taste?

Try a Journey CD. If it plays that, then we know it isn't refusing to play things out of discerning musical tastes - it has to be just malfunctioning.

[Dan O.]

You should be able to find a deal on a replacement CD-RW drive for about $30 (maybe even less with a rebate). You probably don't need the exact same make and model but there could be some compatibility issues. Do you know what model the current drive is? You may also be able to find someone near by with a drive left over after upgrading to a DVD burner.

Compatibility is usually dictated by the software you use to burn disks (and possibly the OS version). If you can list the burning software (and version) you use, someone else may be able to list the other drives that will work. It's probably listed on the software makers web site.

Your other option is to attempt to repair the drive. CD drives are a bitch to open without destroying them unless you have one to practice on first. If it's possible to see the hub that grabs the disk through the tray opening, you might be able to clean it off with a long Q-tip or similar implement.

Another possibility is to make a disk with a cleaning pad around the hub (like a large stick on label) trimmed down to make a circle about 1/4 to 3/8" wide. (Hey, another use for those AOL disks you always thru away). The idea is that whatever is on the hub in the drive that prevents it from griping the disks will rub off on the pad.

[Roadtoad]

What I have is a Matshita CD-RW. I can get an exact model number if I can get a couple of minutes. As to it's current behavior, it's now acting normally. Go fig. My son, Chris, thinks there might have been a virus which is causing this weirdness. Running another scan tomorrow morning, once the software updates.

[Soapy Sam]

Is the lens clean?

And hey-I like Gordon Lightfoot too!