DVD-RW drive opens and closes on its own
By sup3rdud3
@sup3rdud3 (231)
Indonesia
September 16, 2010 11:37am CST
The DVD-RW drive on my PC opens and closes on its own. I originally thought it was a virus problem so I scanned my PC using an antivirus but nothing was detected.
Then I suspected that the DVD Drive itself was faulty. So I shut down my PC, opened the tower and disconnected the data/interface cable from the drive (the power cable is left connected).
When I turned on the PC again the drive still opened and closed by itself which confirmed my suspicion that the drive itself was faulty. This problem is really annoying, so I disconnected the power cable from the drive. Problem solved for a while.
But then a couple of weeks later I needed to use my drive to install some programs on my PC. I had to dig up my old CD-ROM drive from my box of unused items and install it again on my PC. Thank God I didn't trade in my old CD-ROM drive when I decided to upgrade it to a DVD-RW drive.
This CD-ROM drive is more than 6 years old but still reliable and looks more sturdy than my two-year old DVD-RW drive.
I think that PC/electronic components are becoming flimsier and flimsier. They become less and less durable as the manufacturer tries to cut costs and save money. The miniature size of components make them unrepairable so when they break down you have no choice but to throw them away and buy a new one.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@milous (39)
• Slovak Republic
16 Sep 10
You are not right about the newer technologies being less durable than the "good old" ones. It's not fair of you to judge because of one faulty DVD-RW drive, is it? I mean, you've had it for 2 years, have you ever taken any care of it, like using a cleaner disk (a special disk to clean drives), or disassembled it and cleaned it from the dust? It gets dusty as well.
There probably isn't a way for you to fix it, if you're not a hardware expert (it could, and probably is, just a bad contact, but you need some skill to tell which one is it and what exactly is wrong with it). But, as you mentioned, they are really cheap to replace, especially the read-only types.
1 person likes this
@hanuma34 (819)
• India
16 Sep 10
It appears your DVD-RW drive developed fault. Have you tried to open the DVD drive by open command from 'my computer'-DVD drive? If the command remained in circuit memory of DVD drive it needs to be erased, I guess. I also agree with your contention that these days spares are not as durable as they used to be. But people do not mind as the costs have come down drastically.
1 person likes this
@sup3rdud3 (231)
• Indonesia
17 Sep 10
I think what you meant was the EJECT command on the my computer context menu. I haven't thought about that. But I guess if you turn off your PC, all the commands in the memory of the Drive would be erased or reset, wouldn't it?
Yes, I believe that electronic/PC components are becoming flimsier these days because for one thing I notice that they are becoming lighter and smaller. They use more and more plastics as their mechanical parts as opposed to metals.
For example, I still have an old Japanese made boombox that was made in the late 70s/early 80s that is still in good condition. The mechanical parts were all made of metal and they use discrete components like large transistors/capacitors/resistors as opposed to the small surface mounted components of today's electronic components which makes it imposssible for me to repair it myself when it breaks down.
@anurag3786 (6267)
• India
16 Sep 10
I think it is not a virus problem.. the problem with your DVD writer.. yes i think it's belt have some problems.. so you may checked it to hardware engineer or it's service center.. sometimes this problem happen very early.. so now you may contact to it's service center..
@hanuma34 (819)
• India
17 Sep 10
Yes sup3r-, the cost of repairing the DVD drive will not be worth to go ahead. You may get a new one with slight extra payment. Many service people recommend this. Attempting to work on this yourself may not also be advisable, since reassembly with close tolerances will be difficult and some other problems may crop up.I am not sure how good you are in electronics,to attempt. Try your luck!
@sup3rdud3 (231)
• Indonesia
17 Sep 10
I would love to have this DVD drive repaired because the fault is probably just a small one like a bad contact or some minor components that are faulty. Unfortunately it has passed its warranty period of one year.
If I insist on repairing it, the cost of repair is probably more expensive than buying a new drive. The manufacturer/service center probably does this so that we have to keep on buying their new stuff.
@webb_jiang (158)
• China
17 Sep 10
Maybe your DVD drive has some problem,you are right,pc just become less and less durable,tell you a secret,when China wants to buy something,that thing will be more expensive,when China wants to sell something,that thing will be more cheaper and the quality will degrade.When China handle the tecnology of something,that thing will be crap.Because China is producing lots of PCs,the PC just become more and more cheaper but the quality is very low now.
@sup3rdud3 (231)
• Indonesia
18 Sep 10
It is interesting to read such a critical opinion about chinese products from a Chinese member of mylot like you. When I was posting this thread I was actually thinking of criticizing the Chinese made products myself but I was afraid of offending the Chinese members of mylot so I did not do it.
But I guess with electronic/pc products we can't get away from Chinese products since probably 90% of them are now made in China. Besides, not all Chinese products are crap. Some of them especially cell phones are quite reliable in my opinion. As a consumer we just need to be wiser in choosing the good quality products and not allured by the cheap price.
@stefanisaiah (167)
• Philippines
17 Sep 10
I noticed all DVDRW now are so sensitive, it malfunction so quick. I bought twice dvdrw to replace my old CD rom. All my dvdrw is no longer function. This annoys me so much. Now I am thinking if I should buy a expensive external dvdrw instead of the cheap tradition dvdrw.
@fry_guy (110)
• India
18 Sep 10
it over for your dvd drive you have to now adjust with it. it may have happend because of most usually improper use, may be the disket was not properly placed and the player base was pulled with hand or insted of using the buton the try may have been push so many times
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
16 Sep 10
You are the victim of the golden rule of manufacturing these days...make it as cheap as you can (you certainly do not want to build something that will last more than a couple of years), then sell it for three of four times what it costs to produce, and probably ten times what it is actually worth...all the while paying the people who build the stuff for you just as little as you can get by with paying them...
