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Solve : cd/dvd roms don't read blank cd's?

Answer» RUNNING xp pro SP3, Sony DVD-ROM SD-616Q, Samsung DVD RW  DRU-820A.
History:
Up graded to new box, fitted with new Sony 616Q and re-used the Samsung 820A.
MSI  K9AGM2 mother board
Model 75 STEPPING  2AMD   1995 Mz
Realtec HD audio
NVIDIA Geforce 7300 SE/ 7200 GE
320 Gig HD ( make unknown )
System more than a year old now.
On delivery all was working fine, switched off and when started up again the fun began.
All drives were there in MY COMPUTER, but only the dvd drives would not a show a cd was in the drives, auto play did not work, but clicking on the drive icon would get it working. Writing  all formats seemed OK, returned to builder many times but came back the same. What I did notice that if you right clicked a file, went to SEND TO the cd drives were not in the drop down list.  As long as I could do my work I lived with this, being a novice, I spent a lot of time on the web to try and solve this, firmware, driver up dates, removed the programs, reinstalled them to find them working till the next restart. Got hold of the SP3 up grade and then the cd name would show under the icon and all seemed to be fine. As I don't do cd's that often I can't say when things have changed, but the cd roms won't read a blank dvd discs, but a cd discs and the SEND TO drop down still does not show the cd drives. In the last few months it won't read my video camera dvd's, but will read any thing else including dvd movies It's got to a point where I want turf this set up,
but not keen on Vista.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
One of these may help:
1. Uninstall the drive through Device Manager.
Restart computer. The drive will be automatically reinstalled.
or...
2. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060
Restart computer.
or...
3. Download, and run Restore Missing CD Drive patch
Double CLICK on cdgone.zip to unzip it.
Right click on cdgone.reg, click Merge.
Accept registry merge.
Restart computer.
or...
4. Go to Device Manager, click a "+" sign next to IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
You'll see two items:
- ATA Channel0 (or Primary Channel)
- ATA Channel1 (or Secondary Channel)
Right click on each of them, and click Uninstall. Confirm.
Restart Windows. They'll be automatically reinstalled.Broni thanks for the prompt REPLY, I'll give it a try when I get home.

As a mater of interest , in SYSTEM INFORMATION when you click on cd roms
the page is blank search for new drivers or drivers updates it may seem like a silly question but you did make sure you bought the right format cd/dvd's?

sorry buddy failed to read key bit of post

Optical drives don't need any extra drivers.Did step 1,
The Sony is now shown as DVD-RAM DRIVE ( D:) but when you insert a blank DVD/CD disc it changes to CD DRIVE ( D:) and stays like that until you restart. In
MY DOCUMENTS right click any file, click send to, click D drive and the following error comes up;
"Windows encountered a problem when trying to copy this file. What do you Windows to do?    Retry      Cancel
So clicking on retry the error window just comes back.
 The Samsung is  DVD DRIVE ( E:) and shows no response to either blank disc's. In MY COMPUTER right click on any file, click send to, and the drop down shows only the D drive. But in SYSTEM INFORMATION the dvd drives are now
shown.
Step 2. Done, but no change.
Step 3. Done, but no change.
Step 4. I do not have the two ATA channels, did nothing here.
Have 1x ATI   IDE Controler.
         2x Primary IDE Channels.
         2x Secondary IDE Channels.
         1x Standard duel channel PCI  IDE Controler.

darkmajicks
The silly question may not so silly, I have a mixed bag of CD/DVD-R disc's laying on the table, from HP, Verbatim, Memorex etc. A while back I was trying to copy a video
CD from one drive to the other, after about 8 DVD-R's later that it would not  read   found a lone DVD-r in a paper sleeve, popped it in and it worked
It never struck me, at the time, to check what the make was, or format 


i heard that dvd and cd have a seperate lazer it possibly may be burnt out. im only guessing this as a possible solution not an educated guess at all. Quote
2x Primary IDE Channels.
2x Secondary IDE Channels
Uninstall all 4. Restart computer.Broni,  will do.Step 4 done, with still the same result as step 1 in earlier post. Except that my D
drive will now only write on CD-R blanks, which is more than I had before.
Any idea why the drive description would change when a blank CD is put into the rom ?
You guys have been a great help so far, any other idea's. How many IDE Channels do you have listed now, after restart?Broni still have the same 4.

Laska No, darkest Africa I'm out of ideas here, short of both drives being bad.Broni many thanks again for your help and the input from others.
Plan B, I think I will buy a cheep DVD writer and install it and see what happens.
I will let you know how it goes.


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