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CDROM : Windows doesn't always read CD

am running Windows XP on a P4 1.70Ghz, 128MB RAM system which suddenly stopped detecting my CDROM.
Since i wanted a DVD/CD-RW, i bought a Combo Drive.
Windows now detected this drive and i tried the first CD at hand.. which was read just fine.
The second disk i tried wasn't read at all. I tried restarting, changing the IDE cables, Uninstalling/Installing the secondary IDE (on which the CDROM is) but nothing worked.

Generally, (about half the times i tried), when i rebooted, the CD was detected, if i open and close the drive, then its not read anymore!

Does anyone have any ideas pls?

Thanks alot!

Mc

gusdarino

I have seen this under two situations:

1. CD is dirty. Odly enough, it may read some times but not others.
2. Power supply or power supply cable are bad or going bad. The only way to test this is with a diagnostic card that can display power sags, surges, etc.

If the problem happens with a particular CD then it may be dirty or scratched.
If the problem happens with any CD then I would check the power supply and cables.

If you have another system you can swap the CDROM's to see if a known good CDROM works well in the system. Likewise, swapping the CDROM can tell you if the CDROM in question works well in a system with a known good Power supply.

Hard drives and other devices are more tolerant to slight power fluctuations than CD-ROMs. The CD-ROM uses a laser to read and is suseptible to power fluctuations, vibrations, etc.

Hope this helps.

Gus

nobus

I also saw that you run XP with 128 MB Ram; you should upgrade this to 256 Mb or better even 512 MB. It could be caused by a ram shortage also. If you want more Ram, check to see what model / type you buy at crucial or kingston site, they have a program on site listing the ones for your system. You will need more RAM if you are going to write CD's
It also can be the cd-drive in the end (unlikely, but possible) check if it is listed in the device manager and BIOS in the correct way

WEINBERGER

Does Bios pick the CD Rom up i.e. when booting up does the CD rom show when checking available IDE drives (usually shows just after the memory check).
If a Windows CD is placed in the drive at boot up can you boot using the CD ?

icedrop-dcse

i know this might be a bit overkill but try clearing your cmos and reinstalling your OS. it might help.

the explanation in this is that we could have xp recognize your cdrw/dvd from the start.

nobus

But unless we get an answer, every guess is the good one...

mcfonk

ASKER

thanks alot for your help guys. but in the end, i went out and bought a new one.. i had tried EVERYTHING! hehe
the new one worked just fine..
strange but true. sorry for abandoning the question hehe

mcfonk

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