PC questions - DPChallenge Forums

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS

03/16/2011 04:01:17 PM · #1

Will DVD r/w from a Compac work in a Dell?
For some reason I have lost the ability to use the readers and the read/writers in three Dell pc's. I am able to do the ctrl--f11 to get a fresh windowsXP but the drives still don't work. The micro sticks ports will work and the machine says the drives are working but when I try to use the dvd's that came with the machines I can't even read what is on them.( I thought the systems on the HD might be corrupted)

Any ideas?

kirbic

Canon EOS R5

03/16/2011 04:08:04 PM · #2

It's almost certain that the drive can be "transplanted." Mechanically, you'd need to swap any mounting rails, if present. When you have the drive out, note the model number, go on line and download the appropriate drivers for it. Once it's mounted and hooked up, you'll need to load the drivers.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

03/16/2011 04:25:17 PM · #3

They are fairly standardized devices these days. The only issue you may have is the interface. Older ones use an IDE interface for the optical and hard disks while newer units will connect with SATA. Here's a page that shows the difference between the cables.

My experience has been that if the system recognizes the optical drive, but it cannot read the disks, it is usually a failed drive. Cheap enough to replace. If you happen to be over on my side of town, I have 2 used CD-RW drives and one DVD-ROM with IDE interfaces sitting here doing nothing. You are welcome to them.

Message edited by author 2011-03-16 16:30:27.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

03/16/2011 04:39:25 PM · #4

Thanks.. Sense the machines say the drives are ok and are set to useable does that indicate the stuff on the boards and software is OK but the drives themselves are bad?
I guess it isn't uncommon fo them to fail. I thought maybe a virus had killed them.

Thanks Spiff...I may stop by.
Is there a dif in a DVD r/w? One of them is one of those.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

03/16/2011 04:41:44 PM · #5

DVD-RW is a rewritable drive. The one I have on hand is a read only drive.

spiritualspatula

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/16/2011 09:11:52 PM · #6

I just went through a bunch of crap fixing my coworkers Gateway that spontaneously said the drive had failed. The tech support at Office Depot instructed her it was a failed drive as well. I took their word on things without looking into it and installed a new one for my coworker, only to find that it was supposedly non-functional as well.
Ultimately, there was a screw up in the registry that I had to delete. Once I figured out the problem it wasn't too bad but it was a frustrating bit before that. The drives were recognized by the system and had power, were able to open etc but could not read anything. On her machine it made it appear like the drivers were either faulty or the drive was non-functional. I knew it wasn't the drivers since I had manually removed and reinstalled.
I would recommend testing the drives in another system... that's what I did.
ETA: her system was Vista.

Message edited by author 2011-03-16 21:12:08.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX100

03/16/2011 09:37:22 PM · #7

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

Ultimately, there was a screw up in the registry that I had to delete.

Would a dummy like me be able to follow instructions and check this out? I'd like to try if you would instruct me.

Never mind.

Message edited by author 2011-03-16 21:50:08.

spiritualspatula

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/16/2011 09:52:23 PM · #8

Originally posted by David Ey:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:
Ultimately, there was a screw up in the registry that I had to delete.

Would a dummy like me be able to follow instructions and check this out? I'd like to try if you would instruct me.

Never mind.

I wouldn't recommend messing with the registry unless you're really certain of what you're doing, as you can cause some serious issues. It's for this reason that I made sure to consult with my nerdier friend before I did anything myself.
But I would definitely say it's worth popping the drive into another machine if possible. No sense in buying another drive if there's no need.

Message edited by author 2011-03-16 21:53:01.