cdrw/dvd combo not working

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May 13th, 2003, 01:53 PM
seanmick

cdrw/dvd combo not working

can anybody out there help
the problem is that my cdrw/dvd will not read any disks
this problem only started last week i have used it before to record cd's now every time i put in a disk a message appears saying please incert disk.
I am using windows xp home edition
samsung cdrw/dvd combo sm-332b
32x maxwrite
12x max dvd play combo drive

i called pc world about it they told me to uninstall it and reinstall it it did work for about 5 mins then back to square 1
so if any can help i would very gratefull
seanmick
May 13th, 2003, 01:56 PM
NooNoo

What do you use for burning?

Have you tried an ordinary audio cd and see if that plays?

Do you have a headphone jack on the front of the unit?
May 13th, 2003, 02:30 PM
seanmick

cdrw/dvd

not sure what u mean by burning ?
when i recorded disk's before it was threw windows media player. i have only had the pc for 8 months.i did try other cd's in it but it doesnt reconise any.
May 13th, 2003, 02:51 PM
NooNoo

burning a cd is recording a cd - the data is put there by laser, hence burning.

If it recognises no disks and its under warranty, take it back - because further diagnostic work may invalidate your warranty.
May 18th, 2003, 04:33 AM
confus-ed

Quote:

called pc world about it they told me to uninstall it and reinstall it it did work for about 5 mins then back to square 1

Well that sounds like a software issue to me, not a 'unit' error ....

Quote:

because further diagnostic work may invalidate your warranty

Methinks we could test it in dos without invalidating any warranties ......

seanmick : If you don't get any help from pc world other than 'Insert your factory restore disk' .... then post again .... there's more we can do to help ... technical support from the 'high street retailers' is hardly the best in the world !:rolleyes:

I can see you are a 'beginner' since you didn't know what 'burning' (recording) was ... so I'll go with Noo's advice , take it back to the shop first ... if they fob you off ... come back & we'll fathom what's wrong & tell you so you can tell them !:D
May 19th, 2003, 06:32 AM
seanmick

cd rw combo

hi there
i phoned pc world again and they told me to tack it back. but because i live on an island on the west coast i canny get it there for less than £100.
pc world say that they wont send out an enginere costs to much so im at a loss.
if u or anyone can help i would be very gratefull.
i was goina put the restore cd in but it wont read it :(
so im no sure what to do now
HELP
May 19th, 2003, 06:37 AM
NooNoo

Re: cd rw combo

Quote:

Originally posted by seanmick
hi there
i phoned pc world again and they told me to tack it back. but because i live on an island on the west coast i canny get it there for less than £100.
pc world say that they wont send out an enginere costs to much so im at a loss.
if u or anyone can help i would be very gratefull.
i was goina put the restore cd in but it wont read it :(
so im no sure what to do now
HELP

OK, time to phone the manager and point out how much it costs to "take it back" - see if he will do a postal swap with you for just the cdrw?

Did you get a warranty agreement? Can you force them to attend?

If it won't read the restore cd - I assume you are following the instructions in the manual on how to do a restore... then the cdrw has almost certainly died.
May 19th, 2003, 06:40 AM
confus-ed

Okay then since you are a Scotsman .... we can't have you wasting money :D .... so the cd/dvd combo won't do anything, at all, read or record ?

What did you do here then ? "called pc world about it they told me to uninstall it and reinstall it it did work for about 5 mins then back to square 1" .... exactly ?
May 19th, 2003, 06:52 AM
seanmick

cd rw/dvd

hi
no it wont read or write and yes it is still under warranty
and i also have another insurance aggrement wich i pay
£8 a month for but they say that it does not cover
the cost of getting the pc there they will however
put a new cdrw /dvd in for free.
May 19th, 2003, 06:54 AM
NooNoo

So will they post it? Extraordinary circumstances and all...?
May 19th, 2003, 06:58 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
ok pc world told me to do the following
go to controle pannel
then system properties
then hardware,device manager
click on cdrw click uninstall
then restart the pc it would the reinstall attomatic
as i said this worked for the first 5 mins
then nothing:(
May 19th, 2003, 07:01 AM
seanmick

cd rw

no they say its up to me to get it out there, they are no being to good about it to be honest.:mad:
May 19th, 2003, 07:31 AM
NooNoo

Re: cd rw

Quote:

Originally posted by seanmick
hi
ok pc world told me to do the following
go to controle pannel
then system properties
then hardware,device manager
click on cdrw click uninstall
then restart the pc it would the reinstall attomatic
as i said this worked for the first 5 mins
then nothing:(

How many times have you done this?
May 19th, 2003, 07:48 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
i have done this 4 times it worked the first time but not the other 3:confused:
May 19th, 2003, 07:59 AM
NooNoo

Well seems to me you got stuck between a rock and a hard place, or in your case Pcworld and the deepblue sea...

If you open your case, you will void the warranty - did you buy an extend warranty?

I am just thinking that it would cost less to buy a new cdrw online and fit it yourself...but that would void the warranty - so it is your call as to what is more important.
May 20th, 2003, 04:22 AM
confus-ed

Hey PC world you stink ! :rolleyes:

This is one of those times when you wish you could reach down the phone line & "touch somebody" ! :( :p

None of this is helping much though ...

I know you said your computer won't read any disk, but that's from windows ... there are other possibilities ....

First we need to find what the electronics inside are registering (this might just be a loose wire!) .... look at this ..http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm ... your machine should do similar, just after it goes beep, after you turn it on .... (it goes past real fast ! tip: press 'pause/break' to 'hold' it there) ....

What I want to know is what it finds as Primary master .. secondary slave (you might have up to four answers maybe only 1) .... it should find some that you can recognise as your hard drive & your cd.... if it only finds Hard drive ... then we have to open the box !....
May 20th, 2003, 05:18 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
primary master says, maxtor 4d060h3-(pm)
primary slave says, (none)
secondary master says,samsung cdrw/dvd sm332b
secondary slave says,(none) :confused:
May 20th, 2003, 05:55 AM
confus-ed

That's good....

You just told me that you have a hard drive "maxtor 4d060h3-(pm)" & a CD/DVD combo drive "samsung cdrw/dvd sm332b", & that they are plugged in correctly with seperate wires ...

Next I want to 'test' the drive without windows 'messing it up' :D

So for that we need some stuff ....

What operating system is this ? We want a thing called a 'boot' disk ... go get one from Bootdisk.com for windows 98 ... (these all have DOS CD support) ...

Double click on your downloaded file to copy to floppy ....

We then need to change the 'boot order' (which drive it starts from) in bios (machine settings) ... so...

Restart, after beep press 'delete' like mad ! (it might be another key - it'll tell you on the bit like above) ... you are now in bios .... everythings probably very blue ....;)

Usually the second entry down has the bit we want .... we want to find an entry which lets us change our 'boot' source ... we want a question that has answers like A:, C:, CDrom ... drive names! ... set that to "a:" first (floppy drive).... save your changes & re-start ....

Hopefully when you do it'll try to start from the floppy drive ...

You should end up at a very unhelpful "a:>" ... if so you are in dos.

We can now check the cd ... put a 'data' (not music cd) in, you should be able to type "d:" (where that's the cd drive letter) to change to that drive ... type "dir" ... if you get a big list of files, bingo ! windoze is broke, but your computer isn't !...

Try all that & let us know....:)
May 20th, 2003, 05:59 AM
NooNoo

just a small point, if you are using a win98 boot diskette, it loads the utilities to a virtual drive called d: - the cdrom is likely to be on e:
May 20th, 2003, 06:04 AM
confus-ed

;) ... oops!.... indeed 'E' .... :D
May 20th, 2003, 06:36 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
i am using windows xp home edition
does it matter if i down load it from win 98 or should i download it from xp.
this is all very confusing :confused: :confused:
May 20th, 2003, 06:45 AM
confus-ed

Re: cd rw

Quote:

Originally posted by seanmick
hi
i am using windows xp home edition
does it matter if i down load it from win 98 or should i download it from xp.
this is all very confusing :confused: :confused:

We want to use 98 (dos) instead of xp...

We are trying to use an 'older' operating system 98, here, but just the prompt based bit (DOS-Disk operating system), not all pretty pictures like xp or windows 98 ... a text based system ...

What we are doing is making a 'mini' operating system on the floppy, that is text based, no pictures ... the easiest one to use is 98, the files in the link do it all for you....

Try the instructions one at a time I think things will be clearer...
May 20th, 2003, 07:30 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
witch one do i use
win 98 ome
win 98 custom no ramdrive
win 98 se ome
win 98 se custom no ramdrive
May 20th, 2003, 07:45 AM
kato2274

any of them are fine. if you choose the ones that say "custom no ram drive" then the letter you use to test the cd/dvd combo will be the same letter it was in windows (probably d: ) if you choose the others your cd/dvd combo will be one letter furthur up the alphabet then it was in windows, (most likely e: )

all those disks are essentially the same thing. so just pick on then post which one it is.
May 20th, 2003, 07:47 AM
NooNoo

This one ok so its not the link that confus-ed got you, but it is my favourite link!

As to which of the boot disks, it doesnt really matter that much for what we are trying to do - but if you downloaded one with ramdrive - that would be a virtual d: drive and your cdrom would be on e: - if you download one without ramdrive, then the cdrom will be on d:

The only I have linked you to is with ramdrive...
May 20th, 2003, 09:49 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
ok i downloaded win 98 ome and have put it on floppy
i restarted my pc pressin delete and got in to bios but not to sure what to do now i no u said it was the second 1 down but in what category
main advanced security power boot exit
:confused:
May 20th, 2003, 09:51 AM
kato2274

no need to go into bios, (unless you aren't set to boot from floppy first - but most pcs are by default) just toss the floppy in and restart the pc
May 20th, 2003, 09:53 AM
NooNoo

Boot - you need to control which device does the booting.

For this experiment, you need it to boot from the floppy drive, known as A:

You normally set the first boot device by using the arrow keys or the page up page down keys You must then save the new configuration. Look on the screen how to save the new settings.
May 20th, 2003, 11:20 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
its me again the computer wizz kid ( not):D
ok i put the floppy in and started the pc it gives the 3 options
start with cdrom support
start with out and help
so i started with support not sure if that was write or not
then a msg came up saying
drive c does not contain a valid FAT or FAT32 partition.
drive may need to be partitiond run fdisk from the m5dos command promt, i have no idea what any of this means
surprise surprise i hear u say ;)
May 20th, 2003, 11:26 AM
kato2274

Re: cd rw

Quote:

Originally posted by seanmick
hi
its me again the computer wizz kid ( not):D
ok i put the floppy in and started the pc it gives the 3 options
start with cdrom support
start with out and help
so i started with support not sure if that was write or not
then a msg came up saying
drive c does not contain a valid FAT or FAT32 partition.
drive may need to be partitiond run fdisk from the m5dos command promt, i have no idea what any of this means
surprise surprise i hear u say ;)

yes starting with cdrom support is what you want to choose. the message about drive c is NOT concerning at all, it just means you have windows XP, windows 2000 or another OS and your hard drive is using NTFS which windows 98 boot disk can't read.

what you are looking for is for the boot disk to say whether or not a CDROM is attached to the system and assign it a drive letter.

I can't think of the exact text string or find a screen shot, but you could reboot the pc with the disk and toss a cd rom in the drive then from the a: prompt try both "dir d:" and "dir e:"
May 20th, 2003, 12:08 PM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
ok i typed in dir d and it said voluin in drive a has no label
volume serial num is 2915-7b41
directory of a:\
file not found.
so i then typed in dir e and got the same message am i doing something wrong:confused:
May 20th, 2003, 12:12 PM
NooNoo

Did you put a data cd in the drive?

If you put a data cd in and type

DIR E:

press return at the A:\>

you will get a listing of the files and folders on the cdrom.

Please do not use a music cd.
May 20th, 2003, 12:49 PM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
i tryed usin a data disk and typed in DIR E and got the same msg :confused:
May 20th, 2003, 01:14 PM
NooNoo

I think you are missing off the full colon

E:

you must type the colon as well

DIR E:

press enter
May 20th, 2003, 04:12 PM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
ok i did the same again typed in DIR E: and got a msg saying
in valid drive specification i the n tryed it with DIR D: i tryed it with and with out the clone. still got the same msg :mad:
May 20th, 2003, 05:16 PM
NooNoo

I think it's dead Jim.... :(
May 21st, 2003, 04:39 AM
confus-ed

So while I was gone, you've figured the drive is dead....

.... Looks like my 'instructions' generetaed some posts ! :rolleyes: :D .... I thought they were pretty clear too ... oops!

At least you know for sure its the cd unit.... which you can post !?!, mind you'll have to take it out & refit another .... How many pages do we need for that !?! :D ... No its 'easy' ... Honest guv'nor ! ...... But that'll invalidate the warranty !

From what I see in the thread, PC world were okay with you swapping the CD ? Or not? Or don't you want to ? I think its all PC worlds responsibility ... but they don't want to play do they ?

So what to do ... what to do ?
May 21st, 2003, 07:32 AM
seanmick

cd rw

hi
just like 2 thank you all for your help ;) but pc world phoned to day they say that they will pay £50 towards shipment and fit a new cd rw for free:D so its off to pc world we go £50 lighter in the pocket, but well it gives me £50 to spend on celebrating celtic's win tonite:D
so thanks again folks ;) ;) ;)
May 21st, 2003, 07:39 AM
NooNoo

Good stuff, not great, but better than nothing! Hope it comes back in a timely manner too!

Get tracking numbers just to be on the safe side!

Enjoy your celebration!
May 21st, 2003, 07:41 AM
confus-ed

Okay then ... but I think you are still being robbed !

Errrr ... let me get this straight ... your machine is in warranty ... you pay monthly for 'extended' warranty ... yet somehow or other you are contributing £50 ??? :confused: - towards 'transport' costs !!!

Methinks a very strongly worded letter to PC world is in order !!, or at the very least the money back for the 'extended' warranty which is no bloody good!, you've been done & left out to dry ... :sad:

Oh well you had some 'education' sorry we couldn't fix it !

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