is it possible for a cd writer drive to "die" ?

[Dropkickmurphys]

i have an old computer with a fairly old cd rw drive, after a while it jsut "died" and wouldnt read cds properly. how come?

 

[magicman]

What do you mean it just died? Do you mean it doesn't even register with the BIOS, or just that Windows can't access it? Does the tray open?

 

[jancz3rt]

Hmmm

It seems to me that you mean that it stopped reading discs. This could be due to mechanical failure or due to the lense becoming dirty. Try using one of those lens cleaners to clean it up. It could fix it.

JAN

 

[Dropkickmurphys]

yeh, sorry i didnt really explain it properly, i will try getting a cd lens cleaner and see if that helps. if it doesnt i guess its mechanical.

 

[The_Other_One]

I've seen some that would only read half the disks insertered, others that would sit there and try to load the disk, only to lock up the system(and there was no way to eject it without shutting it down or using the emergency eject ) So yeah, VERY possible for them to die. BTW, both of those were Phillips drives

 

[magicman]

If drives do fail, it is sometimes possible to repair them by flashing the Firmware.

 

[Dropkickmurphys]

thanks for the help guys, ill try some of those methods to see if i can get it to work.

 

[Praetor]

i have an old computer with a fairly old cd rw drive, after a while it jsut "died" and wouldnt read cds properly. how come?

Yes