Help
Heilsa! I am working on a Dell inspiron 1000 Laptop that I just activated the new install of windows XP on and installed the device drivers for the audio, the video and modem that I got from Dell. The CD-ROM in question reads some installation CD's but not copied data CD's, actually it read one copied CD one time. It won't read any DVD's. It will read a copyrighted music CD and will play it on Windows Media player and will read a copied music CD but windows media player won't play it. I have installed windows media player 11, the latest directx and the windows media player codecs for 9 or later as I thought it might have to do with the media player but the CD-ROM reading CDs off and on makes me think it is either the device drivers of which device manager says everything is OK with it and them or the CD-ROM hardware itself. Need help in this area! If anyone could and would I would be very grateful!:D
Ves Heill!
Have a QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242C CD-ROM on a DELL INSPIRON 1000 Laptop that is reading CD's sporadically and no DVD'S?
#2
smax013 
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Posted 29 May 2008 - 09:48 PM
Jammer09 said:
Heilsa! I am working on a Dell inspiron 1000 Laptop that I just activated the new install of windows XP on and installed the device drivers for the audio, the video and modem that I got from Dell. The CD-ROM in question reads some installation CD's but not copied data CD's, actually it read one copied CD one time. It won't read any DVD's. It will read a copyrighted music CD and will play it on Windows Media player and will read a copied music CD but windows media player won't play it. I have installed windows media player 11, the latest directx and the windows media player codecs for 9 or later as I thought it might have to do with the media player but the CD-ROM reading CDs off and on makes me think it is either the device drivers of which device manager says everything is OK with it and them or the CD-ROM hardware itself. Need help in this area! If anyone could and would I would be very grateful!:D
Ves Heill!
Ves Heill!
Have you tried cleaning the drive with a "cleaner" disk? I have had similar problems once and it turned out that the optical lense was dirty, which meant some disks had trouble.
#3
Jammer09
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Posted 31 May 2008 - 07:14 AM
Heilsa!
I cleaned it 2 or 3 times to no avail. I flashed it with the firmware here: http://support.dell....82&fileid=90658
It still will only read all installation cd's, all copyrighted music cd's, and burned cd-r muic cd's, music on cd-rw's are choppy at best, it reads data on cd-r's every now and then (actually only twice out of the 50 or so times tried on both cd-r's and cd-rw's), it reads movies on dvd-r's, it won't read copyrighted DVD's. I don't know if it will burn data cd's and read the ones it burns yet, I will check that out and post the results. Can anyone tell me the actual scoop on this gizmo as I have been reading conflicting information on it. Some say it isn't compatible to read DVD and I read somewhere something about cd-rw on this thing and then sony had a firmware fix for this thing that said it enabled it to read DVD etc,... but it was only for Sony laptops etc... Other say it will etc... What will and won't this thing actually do? With or without any of the firmware updates?
I cleaned it 2 or 3 times to no avail. I flashed it with the firmware here: http://support.dell....82&fileid=90658
It still will only read all installation cd's, all copyrighted music cd's, and burned cd-r muic cd's, music on cd-rw's are choppy at best, it reads data on cd-r's every now and then (actually only twice out of the 50 or so times tried on both cd-r's and cd-rw's), it reads movies on dvd-r's, it won't read copyrighted DVD's. I don't know if it will burn data cd's and read the ones it burns yet, I will check that out and post the results. Can anyone tell me the actual scoop on this gizmo as I have been reading conflicting information on it. Some say it isn't compatible to read DVD and I read somewhere something about cd-rw on this thing and then sony had a firmware fix for this thing that said it enabled it to read DVD etc,... but it was only for Sony laptops etc... Other say it will etc... What will and won't this thing actually do? With or without any of the firmware updates?
#4
Jammer09
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Posted 31 May 2008 - 06:32 PM
Heilsa!
Can anyone tell me if you need to reninstall any drivers for this thing if you flash it with firmware or is that doing it? Also, do you think that windows would either reinstall the drivers for this device if I uninstall them by getting them online from microsoft or some third party. And then if that didn't do it flash it again after that. I need to get this thing fixed as replacements are 50.00s and up. That goes the same for an external one too.
Ves Heill!
Can anyone tell me if you need to reninstall any drivers for this thing if you flash it with firmware or is that doing it? Also, do you think that windows would either reinstall the drivers for this device if I uninstall them by getting them online from microsoft or some third party. And then if that didn't do it flash it again after that. I need to get this thing fixed as replacements are 50.00s and up. That goes the same for an external one too.
Ves Heill!
#5
Jammer09
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Posted 31 May 2008 - 07:25 PM
Heilsa!
What I am really asking is can I uninstall this CD/DVDROM then reboot and have Windows pick it up as new hardware and then let windows install drivers for it. Or flash it again does that install the drivers etc....? Or do I need to have some drivers on hand before I do something like that? I am going to try and find some somewhere!
Ves Heill!
What I am really asking is can I uninstall this CD/DVDROM then reboot and have Windows pick it up as new hardware and then let windows install drivers for it. Or flash it again does that install the drivers etc....? Or do I need to have some drivers on hand before I do something like that? I am going to try and find some somewhere!
Ves Heill!
#6
mcbarker
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Posted 31 May 2008 - 08:05 PM
Since it's a laptop, you're better using the drivers and firmware from the Dell support site (rather than from the hardware component manufacturer's site). Enter your Service Tag number rather than the model, and download and install the latest drivers and firmware for your laptop model and OS. If you've previously installed drivers from Sony's website, download Dell's Sony drivers for your specific drive, uninstall Sony's drivers, and then install the Dell ones.
#7
Jammer09
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Posted 31 May 2008 - 08:17 PM
Heilsa!
Nice triskel emblem you got there mcbarker! Yeah, I already did that at Dell and the firmware that they are providing for this laptop, and I put in the service tag, is from Sony and it isn't even for this Cd/DVDrom this is what it says its for: DW-D56A Slim 8x DVD+/-RW . They say it is from Sony |Sony - Firmware|
Ves Heill!
Nice triskel emblem you got there mcbarker! Yeah, I already did that at Dell and the firmware that they are providing for this laptop, and I put in the service tag, is from Sony and it isn't even for this Cd/DVDrom this is what it says its for: DW-D56A Slim 8x DVD+/-RW . They say it is from Sony |Sony - Firmware|
Ves Heill!
#8
Jammer09
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Posted 31 May 2008 - 08:46 PM
Heilsa!
Some individual on driverguide.com forum is saying this about it when asked for drivers for it: "Optical drives never require a driver when used in any Windows os from Win95 up. Windows XP provides native support that allows this drive to read a data or music disk and to burn a cd-r disk. No support for playing dvd disks or for burning dvd or cd-rw disks. For those tasks, compatible 3rd. party recording & dvd decoding software is required." But the one in question does read dvd's. It doesn't recognize copyrighted dvd's though. I also put Media Player Classic on this machine so as to have some dvd playing software as Windows Media Player does not have a decoder and there was no other dvd player on it. I can watch dvd that I have on dvd-r's etc... I don't know what to think about this gizmo!
Ves Heill!
Some individual on driverguide.com forum is saying this about it when asked for drivers for it: "Optical drives never require a driver when used in any Windows os from Win95 up. Windows XP provides native support that allows this drive to read a data or music disk and to burn a cd-r disk. No support for playing dvd disks or for burning dvd or cd-rw disks. For those tasks, compatible 3rd. party recording & dvd decoding software is required." But the one in question does read dvd's. It doesn't recognize copyrighted dvd's though. I also put Media Player Classic on this machine so as to have some dvd playing software as Windows Media Player does not have a decoder and there was no other dvd player on it. I can watch dvd that I have on dvd-r's etc... I don't know what to think about this gizmo!
Ves Heill!
#9
mcbarker
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Posted 31 May 2008 - 08:53 PM
One thing I noticed is that the firmware update was not for your specific drive, which may be a problem. Have you tried calling Dell tech support (I know... it's a last resort)? If they can't help, try calling or emailing Sony tech support, and see if they possibly might have the correct firmware flash file for your drive. Also, try using the original drivers that came with the laptop's drivers CD.
#10
Jammer09
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Posted 01 June 2008 - 06:22 AM
Heilsa!
Mcbarker, I didn't use the firmware that Dell provided from Sony they had another firware download for a QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242 not QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242C but QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242, located here: support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&releaseid=r69582&fileid=90658 . After this it started playing burned DVD-r and +r's with movies and music vids on them. But I don't know if it did that before this because I forgot to try the dvds. I only tried the dvd copyrighted movies and they do not work. And the cds don't work only music. Can I uninstall this device and have window reinstall it? Can I just use the firmware provided in this post after I uninstall it? Does the firmware provide the drivers too? Or is there someway that I can copy the drivers from the laptop to my USB thumbstick, as the cdrom won't write to cd I already tried it goes through the motions but when it goes to actually write to the Cd it doesn't finish, and then reinstall them from the USB thumbstick. Just in case Windows can't reisntall the drivers itself or find them from a third party. As far as the Dell installation cd goes it is trash! The one Dell sent back with the laptop when my friend sent it in to get fixed didn't even have the right audio, video or modem drivers for it and wouldn't even install them it didn't even have the correct inspiron model listed. I had to get everything directly off of the Dell sight. Atleast they had that stuff correct. Anyway, there are no CD/DVDROM drivers provided on the driver Cd provided by Dell.
Ves Heill!
Mcbarker, I didn't use the firmware that Dell provided from Sony they had another firware download for a QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242 not QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242C but QSI CDRW/DVD SBW242, located here: support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&releaseid=r69582&fileid=90658 . After this it started playing burned DVD-r and +r's with movies and music vids on them. But I don't know if it did that before this because I forgot to try the dvds. I only tried the dvd copyrighted movies and they do not work. And the cds don't work only music. Can I uninstall this device and have window reinstall it? Can I just use the firmware provided in this post after I uninstall it? Does the firmware provide the drivers too? Or is there someway that I can copy the drivers from the laptop to my USB thumbstick, as the cdrom won't write to cd I already tried it goes through the motions but when it goes to actually write to the Cd it doesn't finish, and then reinstall them from the USB thumbstick. Just in case Windows can't reisntall the drivers itself or find them from a third party. As far as the Dell installation cd goes it is trash! The one Dell sent back with the laptop when my friend sent it in to get fixed didn't even have the right audio, video or modem drivers for it and wouldn't even install them it didn't even have the correct inspiron model listed. I had to get everything directly off of the Dell sight. Atleast they had that stuff correct. Anyway, there are no CD/DVDROM drivers provided on the driver Cd provided by Dell.
Ves Heill!
#11
mcbarker
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Posted 01 June 2008 - 07:39 AM
Firmware and drivers are two different things. Firmware is a component hardfware update (like updating the MB BIOS). You can't uninstall firmware. Once you flash your drive, the firmware update is there to stay, unless you flash it again with another update. Drivers CAN be uninstalled. Generally, no specific drivers are required for a CD/DVD drive (as you mentioned earlier, Windows has built in support for these drives), but if they are provided, it's always best to install them. Yes, you can uninstall your current CD/DVD ROM drivers, and let Windows search for new ones.
Honestly, it sounds as though you may have a bad drive. If the laptop is still under warranty, I'd contact dell, and have them replace the drive.
Honestly, it sounds as though you may have a bad drive. If the laptop is still under warranty, I'd contact dell, and have them replace the drive.
#12
Jammer09
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Posted 01 June 2008 - 08:55 AM
Heilsa!
Yes, that is what I am thinking to! Bad CDRW/DVDROM! But I have to try everything as it is not under warranty anymore and before resorting to replacing the thing or buying an external one for 60 or more dollars. I have one question before I uninstall these drivers. Is there a way copy them to my USB thumbstick storage device so I can use them again if it doesn't work? Do you know/ Thank you for clearing up the difference between firmware and drivers!
Ves Heill!
Yes, that is what I am thinking to! Bad CDRW/DVDROM! But I have to try everything as it is not under warranty anymore and before resorting to replacing the thing or buying an external one for 60 or more dollars. I have one question before I uninstall these drivers. Is there a way copy them to my USB thumbstick storage device so I can use them again if it doesn't work? Do you know/ Thank you for clearing up the difference between firmware and drivers!
Ves Heill!
#13
mcbarker
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Posted 01 June 2008 - 12:25 PM
When you uninstall new drivers for your CD/DVD drive, the old ones are not deleted. It it would make you feel safer though, you can find the driver files that your CD drive is using through the Device Manager Driver tab, under Driver Details. If you want to backup the various driver files, you will need to locate the various driver files (usually in the WindowsSystem32Drivers directory), and copy them to a thumbdrive, but it really isn't necessary. If you decide to update the drivers with new ones, and they don't work out for you, you can always reinstall the old ones by going to the Device Manager Driver tab, and click on the Roll Back Driver button. Alternately, you could set a system restore point before changing the drivers.
A long shot at finding the problem would be using the Troubleshoot button under Task Manager's General tab. I've never tried it myself, but who knows... it might work for you.
A long shot at finding the problem would be using the Troubleshoot button under Task Manager's General tab. I've never tried it myself, but who knows... it might work for you.
#14
Jammer09
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Posted 01 June 2008 - 07:26 PM
Heilsa!
I have acheived some headway here. I uninstalled the device and then added new hardware and it searched for the device, as windows did not pick it up automatically, anyway it reinstalled the drivers and now it reads all cd's and dvd's. It even plays DVD movies, all accept one that is. There is one thing it won't burn cds. No matterr what I try, just sending it to the drive, using the roxio software (of which has some runtime and other error after closing it, but seems to go through the motions completely saying project done) maybe the roxio software has the writing ability messed up? And using the sonic DLA said it worked but didn't. So the only thing I am lacking on a totaly cool little laptop is the writing or burning to CD. It makes me think that the writing software is messed up somewhere as it reads everything now. Any suggestions! Really if all else fails he'll just have to buy a new CD/DVDROM for it. Or buy an external one. And he needs to get a USB thumbstick to transfer files and stuff from his laptop. He can transfer stuff to his now via CD/DVDROM but he will have to use some other means to transfer to another machine if I can't fix this last problem.
Ves Heill!
I have acheived some headway here. I uninstalled the device and then added new hardware and it searched for the device, as windows did not pick it up automatically, anyway it reinstalled the drivers and now it reads all cd's and dvd's. It even plays DVD movies, all accept one that is. There is one thing it won't burn cds. No matterr what I try, just sending it to the drive, using the roxio software (of which has some runtime and other error after closing it, but seems to go through the motions completely saying project done) maybe the roxio software has the writing ability messed up? And using the sonic DLA said it worked but didn't. So the only thing I am lacking on a totaly cool little laptop is the writing or burning to CD. It makes me think that the writing software is messed up somewhere as it reads everything now. Any suggestions! Really if all else fails he'll just have to buy a new CD/DVDROM for it. Or buy an external one. And he needs to get a USB thumbstick to transfer files and stuff from his laptop. He can transfer stuff to his now via CD/DVDROM but he will have to use some other means to transfer to another machine if I can't fix this last problem.
Ves Heill!
#15
Jammer09
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Posted 02 June 2008 - 06:42 PM
Heilsa!
I am going to leave this question unanswered and pass out the helpful answers. The owner of this the laptop with the device in question said it doesn't matter that it doesn't write to disc and I got it to read data, music and play DVD's so he will use his USB thumbsticks to transfer files from it if need be. But I would still like to here of some suggestions to get it working if anyone has them. I got the little laptop smoken all accept that writing aspect.
Ves Heill!
I am going to leave this question unanswered and pass out the helpful answers. The owner of this the laptop with the device in question said it doesn't matter that it doesn't write to disc and I got it to read data, music and play DVD's so he will use his USB thumbsticks to transfer files from it if need be. But I would still like to here of some suggestions to get it working if anyone has them. I got the little laptop smoken all accept that writing aspect.
Ves Heill!
#17
mcbarker
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Posted 03 June 2008 - 02:41 AM
Sorry I couldn't be more help. I was hoping that someone else who may have experienced similar problems would chip in, but it seems not. The writing problem appears to be with the Roxio software (as you hinted at). My only suggestion would be, first create a system restore point, then uninstall Roxio, then reinstall, and see if that helps. Good luck.
#18
Jammer09
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Posted 19 September 2008 - 12:12 PM
Heilsa!
Well I think that I have found the solution to the problem concerning this device. I am currently working on it again and I went to start the DVD application that it has on it and it said that the DMA wasn't activated. The Direct memory access controller, so I pulled its properties up in Device manager and there are no drivers installed for the DMA on this laptop. Now how do I find out what drivers I need for it? I think not having the drivers for and the DMA activated is keeping it from writing to cds. Can anyone help me get drivers installed for and the DMA activated? I appreciate it very much!
Ves Heill! Farr Heill!
Well I think that I have found the solution to the problem concerning this device. I am currently working on it again and I went to start the DVD application that it has on it and it said that the DMA wasn't activated. The Direct memory access controller, so I pulled its properties up in Device manager and there are no drivers installed for the DMA on this laptop. Now how do I find out what drivers I need for it? I think not having the drivers for and the DMA activated is keeping it from writing to cds. Can anyone help me get drivers installed for and the DMA activated? I appreciate it very much!
Ves Heill! Farr Heill!
#19
Jammer09
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Posted 19 September 2008 - 12:33 PM
Heilsa!
I see in the DMA properties that it says that the driver version is supposed to 5.1.2600.2180 date 7/1/2001 by microsoft, I guess. But it says there is no driver installed for the device. Does anyone know where to get this driver and or maybe a more recent one or updated version?
Ves Heill! Farr Heill!
I see in the DMA properties that it says that the driver version is supposed to 5.1.2600.2180 date 7/1/2001 by microsoft, I guess. But it says there is no driver installed for the device. Does anyone know where to get this driver and or maybe a more recent one or updated version?
Ves Heill! Farr Heill!
#20
mcbarker
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Posted 19 September 2008 - 01:16 PM
Hi Jammer
Optical drives (CD or DVD) generally don't require special drivers to be installed. Windows has built in drivers for them. If there is no option to enable DMA, it means that the hardware doesn't support that feature. I don't think I've ever seen that option for an optical drive. It's usually only available for hard drives I believe, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. In any case, that wouldn't stop the drive from playing CDs, DVDs, or any other media which is supposed to work in the drive. If the drive is showing up in your system's Hardware Device Manager, then the drivers are installed. If there is a yellow exclamation mark beside the listing, then something is wrong with either the drive, the hardware installation, or the drivers (which Windows should auto detect). You could try going into Device Manager, right-clicking on the drive, and uninstalling it. Do a reboot, and your system should automatically detect the drive ("New hardware found" message should appear), and reinstall the drivers for it. See if that makes any difference.
Optical drives (CD or DVD) generally don't require special drivers to be installed. Windows has built in drivers for them. If there is no option to enable DMA, it means that the hardware doesn't support that feature. I don't think I've ever seen that option for an optical drive. It's usually only available for hard drives I believe, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. In any case, that wouldn't stop the drive from playing CDs, DVDs, or any other media which is supposed to work in the drive. If the drive is showing up in your system's Hardware Device Manager, then the drivers are installed. If there is a yellow exclamation mark beside the listing, then something is wrong with either the drive, the hardware installation, or the drivers (which Windows should auto detect). You could try going into Device Manager, right-clicking on the drive, and uninstalling it. Do a reboot, and your system should automatically detect the drive ("New hardware found" message should appear), and reinstall the drivers for it. See if that makes any difference.
