I have a 3yr old HP dvd635 (DVD RW) drive. Can you please have a read through the following symptoms of my drive, make some comment on what might be happening to it and hopefully make some suggestions as to how to fix it? Thanks heaps.
Until two weeks ago I could created DVD images and burn DVD-video from those images, create CD data discs, audio CDs from image files, etc.
However, a week ago the drive failed twice when burning an audio CD (once using Nero express v6 and then 10mins later using Windows media player 10). on the third attempt it began burning CDs and I managed to successfully burn two CDs.
3 weeks ago I burned four DVDs from images (iamges created using that drive) without any problem and have viewed those DVDs several times using this drive. However, tonight it couldn’t read two of those DVDs (Note that I’d played the DVDs in a DVD appliance 15mins earlier without any problem so the DVDs are healthy). The DVD drive couldn’t access them and eventually returned the error “A disk with an unsupported format in drive F:”
I did test the drive using a commercial DVD movie tonight and it played it without any problem.
The other night I also tried to burn some files to a DVD-R. Nero Express got through the intialization stage of burning the DVD then failed (i.e. got 5% through and then froze with the DVD drive just sitting and clicking periodically). It failed twice, destroying two archive quality DVDs.
it could be the drive has died, however, i’d like to prove it by test writing a CD and a DVD with the drive in another system, or it maybe just need cleaning
first try cleaning the media & see if it will write also try turning down the write speed to prevent buffer underrun, also try burning on high quality media, personally only use TDK RW media
Yep I think the drive is dead. I can’t even clean the drive.
I just managed to get to a store to buy a CD/DVD drive cleaning CD. The drive won’t even recognise the fact that I’ve placed the CD in the drive - it starts trying to read it and then gives up. I also tried an music CD that I know works … same outcome … the drive can’t find it.
Well, that was disappointing. I purchased an HP drive because I thought that a drive manufactured by a well known company would last longer than opposed to an unknown or generic DVD drive. Mate, I was wrong. It’s only lasted 3 years. I’ve had 3 other computers whose no-name brand CD ROM drives are still going strong after 10 years!
it often works out that way, personally i only buy “name brand” media (CD / DVD-RW) as they can be tested by the manufacturer as to their quality and the better discs are sold and bought by the big names like TDK (i’ll only buy TDK media) and the crappier media is bought by “no name” companies & obviously bought & sold cheaper, personally i have an Asus DVD RW but only because it was cheap. media, CPU coolers and PSU’s are about the only things where quality matters (name brand)