DVD drive problems (It ate my CD!)

Hey, on this computer I have 2 dvd drives - 1 is a burner/reader and one is just a reader.

Anyways, the computer is a gateway pc. And a few months ago I've noticed the drives were harder to open, sometimes they wouldn't open on the first try.

Well, I haven't used them for a long time, and I was just about to reinstall a program. You guessed it, neither of them open.

I first thought it was a power supply problem, so I tried a different dvd drive, and it works fine. I'd be happy right now if I could figure out why the OS won't read from the replacement dvd drives(I didn't think these require drivers).

So just to nail the coffin on the power supply I plugged one of the defective dvd burners into a junker pc with a 400w power supply and nothing but the motherboard and the dvd drive to power. And it still won't open.

Additional info:

The driver trys to open, and it makes a little clunk sound. Then it stays in the open position for about 10-15 seconds then makes another clunk sound and begins to read the cd that is stuck in there. It sounds like its jammed.
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So, what do you think is the problem? Is it fixable?

I don't want to destroy the dvd driver to get my CD back if I don't have to. I mean besides the fact they match the computer case, their worth saving just as a double layer dvd burner.

Also, can anyone help with the problem of the replacement? For example, if I put in the oblivion cd it gets to the install screen and then says: "Operating system failed to read the device", Do I need a driver?

The replacement dvd-rom drive is a AFREEY DD-3206E
The defective dvd-rom drive is an ON-LITE IT SOHD-16P9S
I'm not sure what the dvd burner is, but it looks exactly like the defective dvd-rom drive.

Could be lots of things. Most drives will have a manual eject pin located somewhere on the front. Just stick a long thin bit of metal in there and the drive will open (make sure it isn't plugged in). Then throw the drive in the trash.

Probably. But it would be cheaper to just buy a new drive.

Could be that the gears that make the tray eject are out of alignment -- they're all plastic these days, and it doesn't take much to have the gear teeth skip a notch, and after that things can go squirrely.

(Which is why it's a bad idea to close your drive by pushing the tray itself -- using the button is les slikely to break it)

Look for a tiny round hole on the front of the drive. Get a paperclip, straighten it out and push it down the hole. Doing so will trigger a manual eject, where the front tray will open far enough to be able to pull it out by hand the rest of the way. sometimes that's all it needs to come back to life...

If it's still busted: you can get a brand new 20x speed DVD burner for around $25 or so. In all likelyhood it's not worth fixing your existing one.

hmm, so these don't need drivers?

And if so then the replacement has a defect also I suppose.

I found the pin, now I need to find something long a sharp.. staples won't do it

That or the IDE cable is knackered. I'd change that first, cos they're cheaper.

But as others have said, they're practically giving CD/DVD writers away these days.

woah, I pop the inject pin in and it makes a whispy sound like a motor. But nothing happened but a constant noise until I pressed the close button


gfk, I've already tried 4 ide cables

The tray is driven by a thin rubber drive-belt. Probly snapped by the sound of it.

well, then I guess its toast..

Now to find a way to get my CD back without destroying the CD.

Any suggestions?

Also the replacement drive was set to master while in slave position, major "duh" moment I suppose. It works great now.

Also how much does a double layer dvd/cd burner/reader cost?

Not sure what you're doing, but the manual eject doesn't require power. When you press it, the front should pop open by a few millimetres so you can then pull the tray all the way out.

If that doesn't work, undo the screws on the casing of the drive (which will invalidate any warranty), and dismantle it to recover the CD. Its very easy to do.

I'm in the UK and can get one for £15.

its not under warrenty..


And i'm putting a paper clip into a little hole in the front, I put a little presure and feel a little button give way. Then the thing starts making a wierd noise.

Unplug your PC, remove the DVD drive, hold it up so that the front of the drive is pointing downwards, then press the manual eject. Gravity should make it open.

and if the drive is totally dead once you got the disc out atleast youve got a nice snazzy looking cup holder to put in your tower case mod ;)

pc DVD writers (and set top DVD players) are ridiculously low (thank F) and on a similar note some printers are cheaper to buy a new one than replace the colour ink cartridge especially as they come with a colour one in the box, makes me wonder why they dont just make em out of disposable/degradable material

Ok, GFK's trick worked, I got my CD back. I also saw that the belt inside both are still ok, not snapped.


And I've opened up the drive and watched it when it trys to open. A bottom part moves down and allows the drive to open, when I press open the bottom plate looking thing only moves down a little bit, not letting the tray extend, I can allow it to open by forcing this plate downward.

Is there anything I can do? Heck it'll save me a trip to the computer store & 30 bucks if I can fix it, plus I like messing with these parts.

Ahha... I saved my double layer dvd burner by cleaning the dust out of it with some canned air.. Works fine now!

Unfortunatly, my dvd drive responded poorly to the same treatment(it still won't open by itself!)

suggestions? I'm happy I saved the most expensive part of the deal.

buy a new one, tbh when they start to go like this unless you want to keep trying to get your cd's out its not worth the hassle.