XP Explorer and Media Play Will Not Read DVD

  • Thread starter Thread starter cliftonpark
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cliftonpark

My computer will not read a DVD disk. In both Explorer and Media
Player when I load a DVD into the D drive it simply says "please insert
a disk into Drive D" Things I have done:


1. Went to weveral restore points when I know it worked previously
2. Started in Safe mode
3. Restored original Bios configuration
4. The device manager shows the drive is installed and says it is
functioning properly. I should note that it is a combined DVD/CD ROM
drive and the CD portion
works fine but I am told that the drive has two seperate lasers.
5. I checked drivers and looked for evidence of updates - all say
there are no conflicts or problems
6. I am told Explorer does not need CODEC files to read a DVD but the
drive will not read them.

My Questions
1. Is there any way to check to see if the laser is in fact working?
Any way to easily check the hardware?

2. Do you think a corrupted registry could cause this problem?
Wouldn't it be corrected if I used a previous restore point?

3. Do you think this is a hardware problem?


Thanks
Karen
 
cliftonpark said:
My computer will not read a DVD disk. In both Explorer and Media
Player when I load a DVD into the D drive it simply says "please insert
a disk into Drive D" Things I have done:


1. Went to weveral restore points when I know it worked previously
2. Started in Safe mode
3. Restored original Bios configuration
4. The device manager shows the drive is installed and says it is
functioning properly. I should note that it is a combined DVD/CD ROM
drive and the CD portion
works fine but I am told that the drive has two seperate lasers.
5. I checked drivers and looked for evidence of updates - all say
there are no conflicts or problems
6. I am told Explorer does not need CODEC files to read a DVD but the
drive will not read them.

My Questions
1. Is there any way to check to see if the laser is in fact working?
Any way to easily check the hardware?

2. Do you think a corrupted registry could cause this problem?
Wouldn't it be corrected if I used a previous restore point?

3. Do you think this is a hardware problem?


Thanks
Karen
Click to expand...
Hi
It is doubtful to be the laser mechanism, this just
focuses to the varying pit depths for specific types of
disk.
What type of disks is it failing to read?
Specifically are these home burned DVD's
or commercial releases?
Are these disks that previously played on that specific drive?
Or disks that you know play on other PC's/Laptops but have
never been recognised on that drive?

I would opt for a firmware upgrade.
All hardware manufacturers provide these types of upgrade
primarilly to keep astride the never ending tide of diff blank
media etc. Firmware upgrades can also play a role in
compatibilty issues with other hardware that has been
upgraded.
Identify the *exact" make and model of the drive.
Visit the manufacturers site.
They ALL have a support and download link.
Rummage for that specific drive, and the "upgrade" link.
Installing a firmware upgrade involves downloading the
actual firmware and a tool to perform the install/upgrade.

You must only download/install the upgrade for that specific
model. Example: You may find there are several models
all have the model number in sequence: Bod01/Bod02/Bod03 etc
If yours is Bod04 and no upgrade available, do Not try any
other models firmware upgrade.
There will be instructions to identify the firmware version
installed on your drive, if for example it is "version_004"
and the download site has the latest version as 009,
You only install the most uptodate version, not the intermediate
versions.
If you get stuck, post the *exact* details of the drive and I'll
find it's firmware upgrade for you.
Good luck
 
I really appreciate your help here. What happened is it worked fine
with pre-recorded movies until I tried to copy a DVD +R file onto my
harddrive [it was a TV show I wanted to save]. Since then my computer
will not read ANY pre-recorded DVD's in the drive. I managed to screw
it up somehow. The CD reader in the same drive works fine. The drive
I have is a Lite-On JLMS XJ-HD166S drive. Do I use the file on the web
site below to upgrade my firmware?

http://codeguys.rpc1.org/firmwares.html

What do I do just download and then click on it? Again thanks very
much for your help.
 
cliftonpark said:
I really appreciate your help here. What happened is it worked fine
with pre-recorded movies until I tried to copy a DVD +R file onto my
harddrive [it was a TV show I wanted to save]. Since then my computer
will not read ANY pre-recorded DVD's in the drive. I managed to screw
it up somehow. The CD reader in the same drive works fine. The drive
I have is a Lite-On JLMS XJ-HD166S drive. Do I use the file on the web
site below to upgrade my firmware?

http://codeguys.rpc1.org/firmwares.html

What do I do just download and then click on it? Again thanks very
much for your help.
Click to expand...

Hi,
Firstly, Importantly create a restore point.
The firmware from the site you found is in the compressed
rar format, you *may* require a tool to "unpack" it:
http://www.7-zip.org/
The page has a guide and two download options, select your
Windows download.
Once you have downloaded and installed 7-zip software.
then Download the firmware upgrade and save to a folder.
Locate the folder, and double-click the file, If your PC already
has software to unzip, then it will unpack, if not then it should
produce a dialog asking you what software you want to use to
open , browse and select 7-zip to open it.
It will unpack the contects to a folder, locate the text instructions
and follow. In the unpacked folder will also be an execution file
to flash your drive with the updated firmware.
http://www.liteonit.com/ODD/English/e_downloads/how to flash.asp

Intriquingly, I could find no reference to your specific
drive on any official Lite-on site?
http://www.liteon.com/prod/getDriver.do?xml_id=4_4

http://www.liteonit.com/ODD/English/e_downloads/e_firmware_dvd rw.asp

But it seems it is an "ancient" device! And the last "Official" firmware
upgrade is dated May 2004? (Third from bottom of page 5)
http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/FIRMWARE/Lite-On/index5.shtml
It may no longer be officially supported by Lite-on?

This is just a mention of a subject causing growing concern,
but You specify it is *only* pre-recorded DVD's" that are not read?
This link details a growing issue of "rootkits" that software
producers are sneakily "rooting" onto our hard drives.
http://www.dvd-recordable.org/Article2454.phtml
It was primarily a concern with CD's which have now been
withdrawn - due to the problems they caused, but is now
creeping over to DVD's, it is an "anti-piracy" measure.
 
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