CD-RW Drive Problem

LadyGoddessLadyGoddess
edited March 2004 in Hardware
The problem with my Creative 12-10-32X burner started out small. First it took 45 minutes to make a cd which usually takes 6 minutes. Then it progressed to attempting to burn a cd but half-way through announces "Hardware Error!" and spits out the cd. Now when I insert a cd, the drive won't even begin to spin or recognize a cd has been placed in it. Before these problems showed up, it was not spinning fast enough to watch stuff though I've begun to suspect that was due to my processor.

The original plain cd-r drive hasn't been recognize cd-rws for a long time. I don't know if its a progressing problem that has settled into both of my drives or what.

Any help? I would appreciate advice.

Comments

  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited March 2004
    Sounds like it just needs to be replaced. Optical drives need to be replaced after a while. Luckily, a new one will be pretty inexpensive.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited March 2004
    As far as CD-RWs not being recognized, there are two ways to burn CD-RWs.

    One way is to drag and drop stuff onto them, sometimes CD-Rs can only recoignize a few sessions of that and then they stop recognizing them.

    I make CD-RWs as data disks, burn them once and re-erase to reuse when data is no longer needed, and do not make multiple session CDs on CD-RWs. The older CD-R does still recognize those, only the burners recognize the one with more than two sessions.

    As for the CD-RW drive, Prime is right, it needs to be replaced. Liteons are not bad, and are inexpensive. Plextors are expensive but can be used through more than one computer, they last longer and come with longer warranties. TDKs are decent, and MSI Dragonwriters work well normally. I would avoid Pacific Digitals mostly because they tend not to have as long a lifespan as some others and the software is not, at least for me, as easy to use. Liteons and TDKs are probably the most likely to work on an older box, or Plextors. Noite when I say older box, I am meaning 5 years or more old.

    I actually have a client who insisted he had to have a CD-RW in a Pentium 233 box, and he got a TDK and it burns at 8X just fine. Same model burns at 48X in my Barton computer, not same drive, he bought his own because of rebates. We have both had TDKs for 2 years, they last reasonably well.

    So depends on how old the machine is, as far as which is best for you, but the brands I have named should work on any box newer than 5 years old.

    Good luck, thanks for asking here.

    John D.
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