HELP!! DVD Burner Issues

[Ladie_Jas]

I have a near new LG GSA-4120B DVD-RW. Suddnely it wont work.. well let me clarify..
it will not play movie DVD's. The cursor flashws from arrow to small cd symbol but nothing happens and then my computer stops responding at all.
The drive will play data and audio cd's and dvd's but then renames itself to a CDRom Drive in my computer
The drive is recognised in system devices as a DVD-ROM drive and there are no problems showing.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled the device several times with no change to the existing problem.
I have done a full format on my system and the problem has remained unchanged.
I am running AMD 3200, IG DDR Ram, Asus A7N8X-E M/B with XP Pro SP2 with all updates.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Jas

[Richard1]

Sounds frustrating! Well I would first make sure I have the most up to date driver. Then I would check the jumpers on the DVD burner and set them according to where it is located on the IDE(i.e. master/slave). I might also try a new IDE cable altogether. Those seem like the simplest things and I like to check the simple things first.

[Ladie_Jas]

Thanks Richard,

but I have checked those things...
there is a firmware flash available that I have yet to apply.. but before I did, I was curious to see if any one had experienced a similar problem

Jas

[Toppro]

Are you able to put any DVD data disc in? If it is just movies that don't play, it probably is the lack of a dvd decoder installed in the system. Did your DVD-RW come with an app like WinDVD?

I had a similar experience with a set top DVD player, don't know how different it was. It would play any VCD,audio cd's, mp3 cd's, but no matter what, the DVD would not work. I took it to the service shop and they said the laser the dvd was using wasn't working. Now I don't know the tech details if they are different from set top boxes, but just an idea for you.

[Ladie_Jas]

Are you able to put any DVD data disc in? If it is just movies that don't play, it probably is the lack of a dvd decoder installed in the system. Did your DVD-RW come with an app like WinDVD?

I had a similar experience with a set top DVD player, don't know how different it was. It would play any VCD,audio cd's, mp3 cd's, but no matter what, the DVD would not work. I took it to the service shop and they said the laser the dvd was using wasn't working. Now I don't know the tech details if they are different from set top boxes, but just an idea for you.

I have powerdvd installed and codecs for Windows Media Player. PowerDVD advises me that the disc is an unspecified format (this is any original or burnt movie disc)
Windows Media player keeps advising me that the drive is busy..
Testing with Nero advised that there is no disc in the Drive.
I have tried testing wqith at least half a dozen different discs that all worked 3 days ago.

Jas

[Richard1]

I agree with Toppro. Try installing the WinDVD and see if this persists.You might also check the "Device Manager" and make sure it's showing up as a Dvd player. At that point you should know whether it's hardware related or software related.

[CeeBee]

When the computer starts to boot, prevent if from starting windows (either hit F8 or enter the BIOS). Then insert a DVD. If you don't hear it picking speed and holding it for few seconds it's not reading the disc. Try cleaning the lenses - use a cleaning CD. If it doesn't fix it, it's time for a newer and better one

[Ladie_Jas]

When the computer starts to boot, prevent if from starting windows (either hit F8 or enter the BIOS). Then insert a DVD. If you don't hear it picking speed and holding it for few seconds it's not reading the disc. Try cleaning the lenses - use a cleaning CD. If it doesn't fix it, it's time for a newer and better one

I think you hit the nail sqarely on the head Ceebee...
I have reached the conclsion that it is solely a hard ware problem...
with grateful apprecation to the solutions offered in this thread, noithng nade any difference...

Pulled the drive in frustration and returned to the pop for replacement...
hope this will remedy.. otherwise I am completely clueless..

Thanks everyone for your responses

Jas