Griff Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Sorry if this is off topic, but I can't find much of anything on this issue. As of about a few weeks ago my DVD player has been burning DVDs that will not playback on any device (DVD player or computer drive) and it won't recognize any DVDs that I've burnt and used in the past. When I insert a DVD it either locks up or will just show that there is a blank CD in the drive... I've uninstalled and downloaded the newest firmware, ran diagnostics, removed and reinserted, and cleaned the lense, but nothing has worked yet and I can't seem to find much of anything on the internet. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 (edited) Sounds like you need a new optical drive, go get yourself a nice new laptop slim burner, even newegg sells them. Any of these should work, I am looking at maybe getting the Pioneer slot loading one, if I get a new drive soon. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....Submit=Property It should be as simple probably as removing a single screw and the drive sliding right out. (to replace) Dell has manuals for your laptop too. http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/index.php?showtopic=8283 Edited December 19, 2005 by Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted December 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 (edited) I think it may be the drive also. I was chatting online with two seperate Dell reps and all they couldn't tell me were things I've already tried. Thanks for the advice, I really like the slot loading one... I'm so sick of dealing with the stupid drawer all the time. Edited December 20, 2005 by Griff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted December 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Hey Bill. I grabbed that drive, loved the idea of the slot load. I took the old drive out of it's little plstic casing and threw in the pioneer. It works and all but the only problem is the little push-button used to slide the drive out doesn't fit at all and the drive doesn't really fit with the shape of the laptop well. Sucks, I wouldn't suppose you know of any other good slot loaded drives that would fit well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 That is the only laptop slot load I know of, newegg carries some other drives you can try, this works fine for me, I'm about to test some DVD ripping and burning, maybe I'll finaly have a working DVD burner, this is my forth one. I'll tell you guys how this thing goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobilenvidia Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Hey Bill. I grabbed that drive, loved the idea of the slot load. I took the old drive out of it's little plstic casing and threw in the pioneer. It works and all but the only problem is the little push-button used to slide the drive out doesn't fit at all and the drive doesn't really fit with the shape of the laptop well. Sucks, I wouldn't suppose you know of any other good slot loaded drives that would fit well? It will probably never fit right as it's a different kind of drive with no closing door. There might be an OEM Dell drive later that matches the case better. How ugly is it? can you live with it ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 It looks kinda odd in mine, but this optical drive works right and burns everything currently available but DVD-RAM. :) It is in a little too far, but then better to be plugged in far enough, than not plugged in all the way. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 (edited) What did you do about that slide/button piece? I think one of the tabs on the face of my Pioneer is broken because the face doesn't stay on tight. And how are you removing it? I was just prying it out with a screwdriver... Kind of ghetto in my opinion. I found a few drives that had that little notch in the face. The IBM ThinkPad Multi-burner had it, but I can't find the 8x burner cheaper than $200. I can't find another one like mine for less than around $200 either... I read on some forum that some guy baught the ND-6550 or whatever and just cut the notch out of the face, but that's to me seems a little too risky and ghetto. It sure would save me some money, but still if I mess that us I'd be stuck with an ugly drive. Why does this drive in the Dell had to have this ###### slide piece, ha. BTW, thanks for helping me out Bill, I know this topic is a little off subject, but I've been going back and forth with Dell, and I've posted on their forum as well, this was like a last resort. Edited January 1, 2006 by Griff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 (edited) Go look here: http://billfleming.dyndns.org/burner_pics/ These are pics from my burner install, straight from my camcorder. (I did edit the 2 linked below though) http://billfleming.dyndns.org/burner_pics/DSC00903.JPG That shows the thing dell had on my old drive, you take these super small screws (2) off of the old drive to remove the thing. http://billfleming.dyndns.org/burner_pics/DSC00918.JPG (that is next to a firewire and USB cable, see how small it is) You then put it on the new drive and put the screws back in, you can then sell or burn the old drive, depending on wheather or not its broken. I had no problems replacing mine. All I had to do to get the old drive out in the first place was turn the laptop upside down and take 1 screw out, then pull the pull tab lol. Really engenious really, as I can imagine how hard it would be without it... You really should have checked some replacement guides before you started prying stuff out with a screwdriver, mine is in nice and secure and isn't going to come out by itself, nor does the cover look likes its going to come off, although it did kind of come off on one side while putting it in. (I just pushed it back in) About this "notch," I have no clue what you are talking about. Here is my drive after the finished install. http://billfleming.dyndns.org/burner_pics/DSC00921.JPG Edited January 1, 2006 by Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 Your's is way different. On mine, that part you push and then pull is on the side of the burner where the face is. It's in that skinnier part on the side of the burner. Since it sticks out of where the face is, there's a notch in the face of the burner for that slide thing. Here's an example picture. It's of an Inspiron 9100, but the drive is the same.. Sample Pic of NEC-5100A See how it has that button/slide thing on the face of it instead of the bottom. I just can't find very many drives that have that notch.. The ones that do are around $200 or more. I don't get why Dell had to use them, ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted January 2, 2006 Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 If you measure it out and saw SLOWLY and then file it, it should be ok.... Plastic is a tuff beast, shouldn't be hard to saw slowly. With a standard drive I am sure you can take the cover off of the old and put on the new one. (slot loader is diff, especially with the button on the other side) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted January 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2006 I was searching on ebay and found a guy that had a lot of burners. It ran me a total of $130. Hopefully it'll work alright. If not, looks like I'll be rigging something up later down the road.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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