CD drive doesn't recognize CD's

[hansteis]

I am using Windows XP on a four year old Toshiba Satellite. The CDRW drive reports that the blank CDR's and CDRW's I insert are full or that there is no CD in the drive, but "properties" tells me that the drive is working correctly. The same CD's work fine in a different Toshiba laptop. I can't back up now. Can anyone suggest what to do? Thanks!

 

[cwwozniak]

It is possible that the drive is having electrical or mechanical problems that prevent it from working correctly. The computer may still be able to communicate with it and not report any problems. It may be time for a new CD drive.

 

[hansteis]

I didn't realize the drive could be bad and still show "working properly." If there is no software solution, I'll check online for a replacement and hope it does the trick.

 

[cwwozniak]

The electronics in the drive can not usually detect a failing laser diode or if something gets knocked out of alignment.

Does it have problems reading reading previously burned discs or commercially pressed discs?

 

[hansteis]

No trouble reading commercial discs, but it couldn't read one CDRW I had recorded just a half hour before. That one was read OK, erased, and successfully recorded to by my other laptop. Of course, the troubleshooting utility only asks about reading problems, not writing ones.

I have discovered that with some (not all) CDRW discs, rebooting with the disc in the drive renders it temporarily capable of being written to.

Thanks for your continuing help.