5 replies to this topic

[xNo1]

Ever heard a chainsaw start? Well thats the exact same sound my cd drive makes everytime I start up my computer. The problem seemed to have happened when I put in wal-mart photo cd. My cd drive couldn't read it and then it just went ballistic...
It's come to the point where starting my computer seems to scare the next door neighbours cat... It is oddly loud for a cd drive.

Someone had suggested that I had set the speed too fast so it makes that sound, but they never elaborated further...
One more thing, it occasionally is able to read and play cds for a brief period of time (about a day) then stops and refuses to do anything but make chain saw noises for the rest of the week.
Any help for such a odd situation is greatly appreciated.

[rridgely]

I was waiting to see if anyone was going to reply to this. The bad news it that theirs not really that much you can do when a cd drive starts to die. You can try cleaning it with a laser lens cleaning disc and a can of compressed air. If your pc is still under waranty you should get them to replace it. If not then buy a new one and install it yourself or if your not comfortable taking your pc apart than take it to a repair shop. (Its not hard to do though.)

[xNo1]

*sigh*... Well I guess it is time to get a new one then... anyone have any suggestions as to which one I should get? I know it's mainly decided on personal preference but if anyone thinks they know a good one for a fair price please tell!

Thanks for the advice rridgely! Btw anyway to stop the noise? I almost feel like I shouldn't turn off my pc since the noise is getting unbearable. Would disconnecting it be the best solution?

[rridgely]

Does it make the noise even while open? If not than you could just leave it open, or just go ahead and disconnect it. As for a new drive, it depends on what you want it to do. Do you want a cd or dvd burner?

[Andavari]

Since it periodically won't read discs that basically means it's dying or dead, I wouldn't trust any drive that does this since copying data from it can very easily get corrupted during the copying phase without any chance of you knowing it's corrupted until you try to access those files.

I would personally go with a dual format DVD burner that can write DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW since the prices are lower now, plus you'll have the added advantage of being able to backup huge amounts of data, and being able to play and write DVD movies on your PC.

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A bit off topic:
If you absolutely must use it in the time being, and have to copy files from it use a command prompt to copy files using either:

COPY /V or XCOPY /V

Note: /V verifies copied files to make sure they are copied properly.

[Sniper]

This site has just about anything you can ask for in disk drives. They are fast and reliable. Good prices as well. I bought a Asus DVD-Rom OEM drive from them a couple of months ago and paid $30.22 US, that included shipping and tax.

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCateg...p?SubCategory=5