Why do my CD burners keep failing on me?!?

Keith_R · 05-16-2006, 11:53 AM

Hey all, I appear to have run into an interesting problem concerning my computer and CD/DVD burners.

I have a Dell Dimension PC that I bought about 3 years ago. This past September the OEM burner in my PC broke and wouldn't eject the tray, I figured that this was just old age since the computer is getting close to being 3 years old. The computer was out of warranty so I went and bought a new Sony CD/DVD burner that I was able to install with the help of a friend who works with computers. The Sony burner worked for several months and than quit working around December or January. Naturally I was surprised by such a short life span and contacted the store who told me that there was nothing that they could do. I decided that I would go out and get another burner from a different brand so I went out and bought a new (slightly more expensive) HP CD/DVD burner and installed it myself, once again that one works like a charm for several months and is a really good burner.....until yesterday when I went to eject the tray and stick a new disc in and the damn thing will not open!!!!

At this point the burner has probably been in the computer for about 4 or 5 months, it shouldn't have stopped working like this, so soon. I popped open my PC to make sure nothing is disconnected under there and everything is in good working order under there.

Two CD burners in a row that have failed on me within 3 to 4 months! this can't be possible, any ideas on what could possibly be going on with my computer and CD burners?

Thanks!

Kimmo Jaskari · 05-16-2006, 01:12 PM

Well, it might be possible, but unlikely. How's the climate inside the box? Is it properly ventilated or are the drives basking in warmth of plastic-melting proportions?

Possibly your powersupply is out of spec and is feeding them the wrong amounts of power... longshot but not impossible, I guess. But that should affect the whole machine.

Ken Chui · 05-16-2006, 02:07 PM

Keith:

How often do you use your CD/DVD burners? If you do heavy burning (e.g. hours at a time), do you take intermediate breaks? Some brands and/or models are more resilient than others.

If it's just an occasional disc, though rare, you may have been simply unlucky with your purchases. It's possible that the models in question may not have the best track record where reliability is concerned. I have no hands-on experience with hp burners, and Sony's record with burners is hit-or-miss (I use a DRU-810A at home: 6+ months, no issues ).

You can test the power lines of your PSU with a PSU tester (e.g. Ultra Premium Plus Power Supply Tester) to see if all of your connectors are up-to-spec. Replacement PSUs are inexpensive (400W+ units can be had for under $20 online), if you wish to take that route.

Keith_R · 05-16-2006, 03:23 PM

The PC has plenty of ventilation and the inside doesn't seem like it is to warm or to dusty.

I guess that it could be the power supply but I'm really not sure. The probability of having two bad burners in a row from two different companies does seem like it should be pretty low though, hence why I suspect something in the computer itself.

I do not use my burner a whole lot, the last time I used this one was about 2 months ago but it is definently nice to have when I need one.

Thanks for the help! Any other ideas?

Kimmo Jaskari · 05-16-2006, 06:45 PM

Just to emphasize that my power supply thought up there is definitely wild guesswork, nothing more...

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CRyan · 05-16-2006, 06:55 PM

Could be a bad IDE cable. I have had sporadic problems only to find a bad cable is the culprit.

Before tossing this one, I would certainly try a new IDE channel and cable.

Patrick Sun · 05-16-2006, 09:34 PM

Buy a NEC drive for the next one.

ChristopherDAC · 05-16-2006, 09:46 PM

Friend of mine had a warped case, which put just enough pressure on his motherboard that it would last about 2 months and then die. He had several MB replacements under warranty before they fixed it. You might have a similar problem.

Christ Reynolds · 05-16-2006, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

Buy a NEC drive for the next one.

seconded.

CJ

Al.Anderson · 05-17-2006, 10:19 AM

I had a very similar problem recently. I was using three drives and one started failing; first by the drive not opening (I did it manually for awhile) and then it wouldn't write. I disconnected it and used the other two for about 3 months when they started going - couldn't even read from the drives.

It wound up being a software issue - driver's or or more likely malware. In my case (since it had been awhile) I just reinstalled XP and all was fine.

BrianB · 05-17-2006, 01:05 PM

Have you installed any games with StarForce copy protection? They're known to "fiddle" with burners.