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How can I diagnose if a DVD drive is defective?

How can I diagnose if a DVD drive is defective?

I am asking because I know Dell is going to give me a problem.

Asked by: Guest | Views: 306
Total answers/comments: 1
Guest [Entry]

"Ok try these steps:

Download CD Burner XP
Burn standard data CD and verify the burn continue to next step if ok
Burn standard data DVD and verify the burn, continue to next step if ok
Burn Dual Layer data DVD and verify the burn, continue to the next step if ok
Create ISO image of the CD and DVD using the Copy Disk function and to disk in dialog box

If these steps all work, then Hardware and OS seem fine. If any of them fail then you will need to use a friend to burn you a good Linux Live CD as per MicTech suggestion. This will then ensure that the OS is not the problem and concentrate on the actual hardware.

You may also want to burn at the lowest speed possible to ensure you can burn successfully. Your media maybe labeled 16x but that does not mean it can burn accuratly at 16x. I guess this is the price for mass produced cheap media! YMMV tho :)

If you can burn the standard (ie single layer) cd and DVD then it is just a bad batch of DL DVD Media.

Hope this helps!

Note: For Step 4 I would suggest going out and buying a brand new single Dual Layer DVD for this test to rule out your already non-working media.

Update: Just so you know, I stay away from DL media as I have always had problems when moving to that 2nd layer. I will just go BRay when I need high density disks!"