DVD Drive has stopped working.

Hello everyone. My DVD drive stopped working a few months ago. In that time, I didnt need it. Now the time has come for me to burn a CD and boot from it. That is why I now need my DVD drive to work.

Here are the details, that I know of.

The DVD drive once failed before, on a different version of windows I was running. Somehow I remember getting it to work long enough to reformat. When I reformatted, the Drive was working again, and now it has failed again.

Please advise. I am very thankful also, I would like to mention that.

Welcome to Windrivers ayrapetov

Can you post your operating system, service pack and the burning software (with version) you are using please?

Will the dvd drive boot from your operating system disk?

Well I'm using Windows XP, Service Pack 2.

I was trying to use Nero 7 and Windows Media player at some point. I'd just like to mention that the problem with the drive is system wide, not limited to a program or tool.

Does it show in device manager?
Does it show in the bios?

yes, it does show that the hardware is installed in device manager. i'm not exactly sure about bios, but I dont know how to check.

Did you try booting from your operating system disk with it?

You may need to set the bios to boot from cd first... if this is a branded machine (hp, compaq, etc) you will need to post your make and model for instructions in how to get in to setup (bios). If not, then usually the del key at the boot will get you into the bios menu.

Here's the thing...I have another drive, and that one boots up normally. This one doesnt. (I mean to say this drive does not boot from a disc.)

This other drive, did you replace the one that didn't work, or do you have two drives in the machine?

If you have two drives in the machine, it may be that you need to put the one that doesn't work in the place of the one that does (and make sure that the jumper is set how the one that does work is).

If you replaced the drive then it's likely that the drive that doesn't work has died.

I have two drives in my machine. I have checked the wires by switching the drives with one another. Both wires work fine.

Is it safe to say that this drive is now unusable?

Possibly, there are settings that can prevent it working - the jumpers on the back of the unit next to the wide cable for example. Swap the cables as you did before, and then make sure the jumpers on the non working unit are set the same as the working unit. Do not plug in the working unit for now (disconnect the power cable to it to be sure). Now try and boot from the cd.

Generally, the simplest answers are the most likely. If your drive doesn't work, it probably doesn't work. There is a lesson here about ignoring hardware problems until they are critical. Fortunately, this is only an optical drive, and a replacement should get you going again; Indulging in wishful thinking doesn't make your hardware run better.

I try to communicate this lesson to clients over and over. Can you say "Penny wise and pound foolish?" There are some software issues that can cause problems with your drive, but I think you need to replace it. You have what, hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of dollars of data held hostage to a $40 dollar piece of equipment?