HI Wanted to back up some DVDs and everything going OK using dvdshrink. Put in one dvd and the dvd drive in the laptop started to behave strange. It kept making a forward and backward type of noise like it was jammed or something. It did not register the DVD. I took the DVD out and it has loads of scratches on it mostly in a concentric style near the outer edge. My dvd player seems to be acting strange now. I put in a DVD I had previously backed up with no problem and it started making a similar noise. I tried backing it up again but it took forever to do it this time. I put in another dvd for watching but everytime I went to menu it just kept resetting it..going back to a message about it being a 16:9 aspect not a 4:3...(I thing this is a normal part of the DVD..the very first part saying it should not be stretched) I'm worried I've damaged my DVD drive. Is this possible? Can I test it or fix it? It's a dell inspiron 6400 with Optiarc DVD +- RW AD 5540A ATA Device Many thanks Steve
Hi Steve, I'd say your dvd player is damaged, sorry. Playing a partially damaged or scrathched dvd will make dvd player to work extra hard reading thus taking more time. Doing such several times can weaken the optical part of the player and eventually damaging it. A weak dvd player can easily be noticed -> clicking sounds after inserting a dvd; -> revving back and forth with no result, etc.
RE: Wanted to back up some DVDs and everything going OK using dvdshrink. Put in one dvd and the dvd drive in the laptop started to behave strange. It kept making a forward and backward type of noise like it was jammed or something. It did not register the DVD. I took the DVD out and it has loads of scratches on it mostly in a concentric style near the outer edge. I'm worried I've damaged my DVD drive. Is this possible? My dvd player seems to be acting strange now. I put in a DVD I had previously backed up with no problem and it started making a similar noise.... Snip: DVD's won't play. ************************ First of all, PLEASE edit your opening post /post back the ID string of the dvd drive... Post back the cause of failure in detail when you find out. Q: I would assume disc before being put in the drive was not scratched. Now is has concentric style scracthes near outer edge. Q: Is the disc that has loads of concentric style scratches towards the outer edge warped, hole not centered? If it is, it's possible the disc damaged the drive. (Your statement that damage is towards outer edge indicates either disc warped or drive damaged/ out of alignment. Got a warranty on the machine?) Q: Store dvd media away from sunlight, away from heat source? Q: Ever used mini, or irregular discs in dvd drive? Q: Are you careful about making sure the disc is in the tray correctly? Q: If unit has tray- You support the tray while inserting /removing disc? Careful while on your lap not to damage tray while extended? Q: Dell Inspiron 6400 ever dropped /shocked? Possible reason if above does not apply: Worn-out, broken parts in dvd drive. (Drive failure) I can see a case that when the drive was assembled a plastic carrier was overtightened (was cracked) and now has broken totally causing a misalignment of the head. Whatever the cause I'd be hesitant to put any critical media in the drive for fear of damaging it. I remember several years ago with the Iomega 100mb zip drives that was basically a big floppy disc the heads would NOT retract fully due to a lubricate that had hardened in the tracks- and the heads would contact the media. This disc (2) things, it damaged the disc, and it destroyed the heads. Neat thing was inserting addtional media would damage that media as well.... If you were smart you figured it out by the 1st dis- Most people went thru all the discs they had, inserting one after another... Possible cheap fix (long shot): Clean drive, it may be a case that IF the disc was warped /inserted improperly it made contact with the heads/led carrier and there is debris up in there which is causing other discs not to read properly. (I'd bet that if you run testing software on the drive, the drive will test bad... Cleaning might do it, if you're lucky...) PS: I'd head over to the Dell or Optiarc DVD +- RW AD 5540A ATA Device forums and or Google with the model ID, batch lot number off the drive to see if they are having a problem with that drive. It may be a case they had a bad batch. Screw could have been left out during assembly, something overtightened and you might be able to get it replaced even beyond the "official" warranty period. .
Hi All Thanks for your advices...more than I expected. The dvd player seems to be ok now. I inserted a disk and instead of tryinng to rip it again I thought I'd try and just play it to see if it would maybe handle a slower revving and maybe this would ''unjam'' the player..it worked..phew. Playing and ripping ok but i would in future make sure the dvds are not so damaged. I do agree with cynarch somewhat. I do think that you can damage the drive by making it work too hard or not in a fashion it was created for..nice clean discs. Hopefully it will continue to work Thanks Steve