# CD/DVD Drive not working



## majong12345 (Sep 6, 2013)

My laptop (Dell XPS L502X) won't play DVD's burned to a blank disc or factory pressed silver CD's, and yet it will play normal dvd's. Basically it plays thing's at random. It makes a sort of clicking sound then stops loading it. It does this maybe three times then it stops and doesn't try to load it again. It's a TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-L633J. Now, Iv'e tried Microsoft's fix it solution, didnt work. Iv'e also deleted the upper and lower filters. Again, didn't work. It was working fine and playing every thing i put in it, until a few days ago when i tried to play an old copied DVD which was in quite bad condition, but i wouldn't say unplayable. It seem's to play any real DVD i put in. Oh, and the drive dosen't show up on the computer menu.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks


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## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

If the drive is faulty there's nothing you can do to fix it, just replace it.


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

This MS article may restore your CD/DVD player to your computer menu My Drive does not appear in Windows Explorer view but if it's temperamental then it's probably on the way out.


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## MPR (Aug 28, 2010)

Different media reflects the laser back with different intensity so it's possible that a dirty drive could read one media type and not another. Try a good dusting with a can of "air."

Have you run the Dell diagnostics and tried updating the driver?

Drivers & Downloads | Dell US

Also, you might unplug the DVD drive, give the connectors a spurt of air to clear any dust and then re-plug it. This tends to clean off any minor oxidation that gatherers, especially if the laptop ahs been used in a humid climate or has been taken from a warm place to a cold place frequently.

If your drive is making noises that it didn't previously, however, then the problem is likely mechanical. Unless you have an identical drive to scavenge parts from and the time to mess around with the drive a mechanical repair is not worth the time and effort. I repaired a few laptop drives in electronics school for staff, faculty and students at the college but it was just for fun. In the outside world the standard service charge alone would usually cost more than a new drive.

How to replace the DVD-R drive in the Dell XPS L502X Laptop - YouTube

Just an example showing the cost of a potential replacement, not a recommendation per se (this is a Blu-Ray drive).

Dell XPS 15 (L502x) Blu-ray BD-ROM Combo Drive Player - SATA


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Try Tomken15's link. If that doesn't work the drive is most likely faulty and needs to be replaced.


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## majong12345 (Sep 6, 2013)

So i know how to change the drive, but is there anything i have to do software wise, or does the software for a new drive change itself?


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## spunk.funk (May 13, 2010)

Once you replace a CD/DVD drive boot into *Setup* (Bios) and make sure the computer recognizes it. If so, boot normally. 
There is no software required to install a new CD/DVD drive. You will need burner software to Burn CD's and DVD's and DVD player software to play DVD movies. If you had that previously with your old drive, that should still work.


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