Is there anything else you can do (other than bin it) when a DVD/CD drive refuses to read or write?
Been through the usual cleaning process but has made no difference.....

You cna take it to a shop for repairs (The answer is in your topic). TV Discount on Queens Road does VHS, DVD, camrecorder repairs but since you can get a branded, amplified DVD/DivX/mp3/JPEG players for thirty quid the bin is the cheapest option.

You cna take it to a shop for repairs (The answer is in your topic). TV Discount on Queens Road does VHS, DVD, camrecorder repairs but since you can get a branded, amplified DVD/DivX/mp3/JPEG players for thirty quid the bin is the cheapest option.

My fault - I should've made it clear - it's actually a drive in a laptop!
But yes, I think your reply of "bin it" is probably still the case!

Just make sure it IS the drive that's faulty first, may be a windows thing. Try booting from a Windows or Linux CD/DVD.

and clean the laser as they get dirty very easily on laptops

If its in a laptop just buy an external writer for it

Col ..

if it turns out you need a new one Novatech sell them for £15 on ebay :thumbsup:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Samsung-SN-S082-8x-DVD-RW-Notebook-IDE-Drive_W0QQitemZ130258614761QQihZ003QQcategoryZ3754 QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262
But they do take offers, and i'd offer them £10, and i know they would take it.

dont throw straight away as a lot of the laptop drives are the same and have just got an adapter screwed to them so dont throw it away untill you know you dont need the bits

dont throw straight away as a lot of the laptop drives are the same and have just got an adapter screwed to them so dont throw it away untill you know you dont need the bits

Know what you mean : I've just spent an hour removing the DVD drive out of my old Tosh laptop to try and fit to the newer 'top. Had to swap the cradle and a bracket between 'em, and then found that the front of the drive - "bezel"? - stopped it from closing!
I'd swap fronts over except the "open tray" button doesn't line up with the switch behind...
different makes, granted, but both described as "slimline"....
Very annoying....

My fault - I should've made it clear - it's actually a drive in a laptop!
But yes, I think your reply of "bin it" is probably still the case!Oups. I think you've received some good advice below, if you are going to replace the drive, remove the cover and adatpro screws/cradle and fit them on the new one. Look for one on eBuyer or something rather than from the manufacturer's as you'll be buying the Dell/Toshiba/Whatever premium

Know what you mean : I've just spent an hour removing the DVD drive out of my old Tosh laptop to try and fit to the newer 'top. Had to swap the cradle and a bracket between 'em, and then found that the front of the drive - "bezel"? - stopped it from closing!
I'd swap fronts over except the "open tray" button doesn't line up with the switch behind...
different makes, granted, but both described as "slimline"....
Very annoying....

yep thats the main prob ive trimmed them down but dont look as nice when you do this,the drive in this old lappy didnt have a front on it so i just made 1 to cover it and use the shortcut keys on the keyboard to open it

Contact pc-med on 07852136145 or help@pc-med.co.uk or go onto www.pc-med.co.uk,he"s a local lad who repairs anytype of computer or laptop problems i have just got my laptop back off him after repairing it for me thanks Andy

Cheers Andy, glad you're pleased with the repair :-)

As others have said, the replacement drive may be the way to go (after making sure it's not software related). Depending on the laptop the replacement part should be fairly easy to come by and is usually a fairly simple job to change.

DVD drives very frequently fail on laptops, but sometimes software stops them working. So firstly use system restore to go back in time to where it worked and see if this solves the problem. If it does not then you will need a laptop repair as the DVD drive cannot be fixed and will need replacing http://www.trilogicuk.co.uk