Optical drive issue?

So, I think I have an dvd drive problem on my Vaio TT, but I am not sure. I can burn CDs fine, but its dvd that are not burning. I have tried three different disk from two different brands with different files and neither of them are working. What is odd is last week I was able to burn dvd, but today I could not. Again, I was able to burn a CD today fine. Any ideas, or ways to see if there really is an issue? Thank you.

 

It is possible to upgrade the firmware on you drive. See if you can get the model number (maybe in device manager) and google for firmware updates.

 

You could also test burning a DVD with a different OS, like running a live version off Ubuntu 9.10 off a USB Pen.

Just follow the guide here and your ready to go.

You can also try UNetbooting, download the exe, select the USB device you wish to use (Must be Fat32 formatted) and select the destro you want to use.
Then it will download and configure the rest by itself.

This way you can check out if its a software problem or hardware problem.
After this you may consider doing a flashing of the DVD burners firmware.

Hope this helps.

 

I was having driver issues with Ubuntu(latest version of mint) a while back so I'd rather not try Ubuntu again. I looked for a firmware but I don't think there is an update for it? I did do a bios update about 3 weeks ago, but again I was burning dvd up until last week. Could there be something in the registry that caused this? Anyway to do a test(other than use a another OS) to test out the drive? Thanks

 

Linux Mint is still based on Ubuntu 9.04 i think, and since Ubuntu 9.10 was released 29. October that may have changed.
But i dont own a Sony brand notebook so i cant really be sure it its actually been any improvements contra 9.04.

 

Maybe a failing drive?

My old laptop started with not burning DVDs, then not burning CDs... then not copying files corectly from CDs...

Not sure how it works - but just a suggeston.

 

Did you try a windows OS? you should have no problems with that..

 

Yeah I have Win7 on the HD, I had Mint on a flash drive. So NeroInfo tools doesn't tell me anything, nor does device manager. Any other ideas? Maybe its something in the registry? This computer is few months old, I only bought it back in June.

 

Not sure if this really means anything or not, but with when I popped in a dvd WMP plays it; however, when I try to play it with Media Player Classic, the software freezes. Could that also be due to the dvd drive or is that something with MPC?

 

In that case it could be a driver/codec issue. (for the playing)

 

You could give this a try, usually the registry entries cause your CD/DVD drive not to be recognized but stranger things have happened. I, myself, had to perform the regedit's a couple of times with XP (usually the problem began with a Roxio install/uninstall, for me).

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929461

Don't let the title put you off "The CD drive or the DVD drive does not work as expected on a computer that you upgraded to Windows Vista", you can find virtually the same instructions for deleting the upper and lower filters in several Microsoft support articles. The issue didn't have to happen because of an upgrade.

 

Try to burn the DVD at 2.5X if it's rewritable and 4X if it's write once. Set the burning speed to minimum for one session. Try to play the DVD in different drives/DVD players.

 

Yeah I already tried different speeds, no dice there. So is there like a specific driver or reg edit I should try?

 

Sadly, it could just be a bad drive. I've had several go bad over the years, including half way through installing XP! Finding current firmware can be a challenge, and on rare occasion you can use firmware from a similar unit (yes it is risky). What are the specs on the drive?

 

It's a Mata DVD-RAM UJ862AS

 

So one of the few dvds I am using to burn is a dvd-rw, and what is odd is I can format the dvd with out an issue. So, does this still mean my optical is failing or does this just mean its another issue?

 

Well formatting is writing just 0's or 1's - I think it's 0's to the drive - if that works, I someho wthink your drive may be Ok and its another issue.

 

I dunno really. But, I tried to burn another dvd with a dvd-rw, and the dvd burned. However, where it failed was at the verification process. It said too much errors. Also, the normal error message I get when it fails was unspecified recorder error. What does this mean? The drive could be going bad? Should I just go to the Sony Store and have them check it out?

 

Yes..you got no other way left..

 

It's a Mata (Panasonic) unit, and what I found was not encouraging. Generally, firmware updates aren't available for Matas, and they seem to be problematic.

Hopefully it's still under warranty.

 

I should be, I got the comp back in June.

 

So, I got off with Sony support and they said its a windows 7 error and that I need to reinstall windows 7 again. They are saying since I can burn a CD and not a DVD that th optical drive is fine. Some of this sounds a little off to me, is this right?

 

When my old drive failed (under XP) it stopped burning DVDs, then CDs then stopped copying music CDs correctly in WMP.

So it can still be a hardware issue.

 

Yeah I ask tech support if there is any software can tell me if the issue is an hardware or a drive issue they said they don't know of any. So, again how could I tell if is a hardware or driver issue? Because, I highly doubt that if I reinstall windows 7 the problem will magically get fixed.

 

I'd rather skip reinstalling Win7, but do you think a repair install may fix it and if so how can I go about doing that as I don't see that option like I use to see with XP?

 

Before doing that, try this program CDSpeed2000 [SIZE=-1]you can try out the program for 30 days, before it asks for payment. If the drive is bad, you'll have proof to give tech support, and avoid the hassle of a re-install of 7.[/SIZE]

 

Should I should use the full install, then do a disk test to see what maybe wrong?

 

I would use the full install. They have a pdf that should answer any questions you have.

 

cool, I will see what happens thanks.

 

So, what test am I suppose to be doing to see if there is a drive failure or not? I tried the extra tests and this is what came up. Not sure what this really means?

 

What about the test disc?
This seems like genral infomation to me.

 

HUH?

 

The Screenshot said absolutely nothing about drive health.
Just general information about write speed etc.

 

When I tried to create a test disk with a dvd that failed at like 7% twice.

EDIT: Just tried it with a cd, and tired the create a disk, and it worked fine, but with dvds still error.

 

Hmmm... I'm wondering.
Did you buy your laptop directly from Sony? If not have the shop you bought it from deal with Sony.

I would find it highly suspect if it were a driver issue - I mean, CD/DVD drives don't need specail drivers nowadays.

When my old laptop's drive failed I bought an external one and plugged it in - it worked.
(XP had the drivers)

Yes, you may actually be in a situation where something is messed up - but if I were to bet - I'd go for a failing drive.

 

I bought it from Amazon, but I do have a Sony Store within walking distance, so I can call them up and setup an appointment with their tech people to see what is up.

Here is the error I keep getting when testing with a blank dvd.

 

with the stnadard cryptic error code... (Googled it and can't fina anything).

Maybe try the local Sony store - bring a DVD along.

 

Yeah I googled error message also, and checked optidrive website, but like you no dice.

 

Hmm.
Maybe try the SonyStye store then - good luck!

 

That looks like the plan right now.

 

Check out this thread at Microsoft TechNet http://social.technet.microsoft.com...e/thread/bac320af-1925-4dfe-aae0-e6388c718ef2

Has a Sony lappy with your drive that stopped working after installing Nero. The solution is kinda long shot, but thought it was worth mentioning. I'm not a betting man, but my money is still on a bad drive.

 

Yeah I already did that as a registry tweak from the Sony site like disabled the optical drive back in like August.

 

So, I took my Vaio to the local Sony Store today, and told them what is up. They didn't even look at to make sure its failing. They just took my word for it. Found it a bit odd, but they said I should get it back in 8 days, which is average I guess.

 

Interesting.

I suppose they can generally don't have tech personnel on site - so I wouldn't have expected an in depth analysis - good luck!

 

So, I got my computer back today with everything working right. I used opti drive control in store to make sure it working correctly and it did its job correctly.

 

Sooo, did they just replace the drive?

 

That what the Sony Store tech said, drive was replaced with a new one from the latest Vaio TT model that came to America.

 

Nice
Good to hear Congratulations - let's hope this lasts now

 

Much too late to contribute, I'm afraid, but did you try cleaning the drive lens? If there's too much dust/dirt/grease on the lens, it can interfere with reading and writing DVDs, while still working just fine for CDs with their lower data density. It's something to remember and try if it should happen again next time.

 

I suppose you can use those cleaning DVDs/CDs - but cleaning the lense always brings the danger of damage.

A new drive is always nicer