DirtyLarry Veteran Posted October 22, 2014 Veteran Share Posted October 22, 2014 So I am experiencing an odd issue. My DVD-RW will not stay open. It just open and closes real quick all in one motion. I actually forced it to stay open, put a blank DVD disk in real quick, and when it closed, the OS did not recognize the disk at all. I think I might have broken it for good when I did that, but I was frustrated. I did some research, and did not find a whole lot. What I did find said check it while in the BIOS, and even when I am in the BIOS, it does not stay open (which hopefully eliminates it was something at the OS level causing it to close right away). So has anyone else experienced this? Truth is I already picked up a new one for $20 from Amazon and I should have it when I get home today, so I am hoping it is just a matter of swapping in the new one and I am done with it, but it is bothering me. I can say it is over 6 years old and especially at one point in time I burned disks a whole lot. If I had to guess on how many disks I have burned in its Lifetime, it is probably around 500, possibly more. However I would like to think these things should last longer than that. So really I should swap it out later tonight and be done with it all, but this was more out of curiosity than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Probably just the drive went bad. It happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian M. Veteran Posted October 22, 2014 Veteran Share Posted October 22, 2014 I can't see it being anything other than the drive tbh - probably a busted mechanism. If you want to check it's the drive and not something else interfering, just unplug the data cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyLarry Veteran Posted October 22, 2014 Author Veteran Share Posted October 22, 2014 Probably just the drive went bad. It happens. I get that. I was curious if someone ever saw something on the OS level cause this. It could be mere coincidence, but I did burn a disk about two weeks ago and it was fine, and it seemed to stop working after the latest round of Windows Updates. Should have probably put that in the OP. I can't see it being anything other than the drive tbh - probably a busted mechanism. If you want to check it's the drive and not something else interfering, just unplug the data cable. Thanks for the reminder, I am going to do that tonight when I take it apart to put the new one in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidosho Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 It's likely the tray position sensor, it's a switch located near the tray rails. When the tray opens fully, the switch closes, telling the controller it's open. When the tray is closed, the switch opens, and stays open until the tray extends again. The switch has likely slipped out, or its prongs broken, there are different types of switches in drives, some of them even have one or more which open and close in a certain sequence, like in Sony Blu-Ray slot load drives. Check that the tray is actually extending fully, they tend to gum up, or the drive belt wears out so there isn't enough traction. goretsky 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techbeck Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I get that. I was curious if someone ever saw something on the OS level cause this. It could be mere coincidence, but I did burn a disk about two weeks ago and it was fine, and it seemed to stop working after the latest round of Windows Updates. Should have probably put that in the OP. These are normally mechanical issues. Never seen software cause an issue like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted October 22, 2014 Veteran Share Posted October 22, 2014 Probably something is jamming internally. Sometimes it is a component in the drive itself, other times someone has sabotaged it. Replace the drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyLarry Veteran Posted October 23, 2014 Author Veteran Share Posted October 23, 2014 It's likely the tray position sensor, it's a switch located near the tray rails. When the tray opens fully, the switch closes, telling the controller it's open. When the tray is closed, the switch opens, and stays open until the tray extends again. The switch has likely slipped out, or its prongs broken, there are different types of switches in drives, some of them even have one or more which open and close in a certain sequence, like in Sony Blu-Ray slot load drives. Check that the tray is actually extending fully, they tend to gum up, or the drive belt wears out so there isn't enough traction. This was absolutely it. Once I opened the case and took the drive out, underneath the drive on top of my one HDD, was a small plastic piece that looked like it belonged to the DVD-RW itself. Installed the new drive I got an it worked right away. Was a mechanical issue all along. goretsky 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidosho Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 This was absolutely it. Once I opened the case and took the drive out, underneath the drive on top of my one HDD, was a small plastic piece that looked like it belonged to the DVD-RW itself. Installed the new drive I got an it worked right away. Was a mechanical issue all along. Glad to help! Thanks for voting my answer the solution! I'm an expert with the mechanics of optical drives, I still repair them and do optical alignment on all types of drive, from CD-ROM to Blu-Ray burners. They're not always cheaper to replace, in a lot of cases in my work I can fix drives cheaper than the cost of replacement, so keep me in mind :). Brandon H 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Overlord Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Glad to help! Thanks for voting my answer the solution! I'm an expert with the mechanics of optical drives, I still repair them and do optical alignment on all types of drive, from CD-ROM to Blu-Ray burners. They're not always cheaper to replace, in a lot of cases in my work I can fix drives cheaper than the cost of replacement, so keep me in mind :). OMG ADVERTISEMENT Reported :p (not really) Tidosho 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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