# NEW PC's DVD/CD ROM not reading CD-R Audio



## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

I hate to sound like a broken record of all these other people who are having problems with disc drives, but I think my issue is different...and I'm about to throw my PC out the window, so...

I have a 2 month old Dell Dimension 9100. It has an HL-DT-ST DVD/CD ROM GDR8163B in Drive D and a Philips DVD+/- RW DVD 8631 in Drive E.

My problem at this point is NOT with the Philips Burner, it's with the ROM Drive. The ROM Drive will recognize and play almost everything without a problem: Purchased DVDs, Purchased Audio CDs, and Purchased CD ROM Video games, but for some reason it will not recognize/play any burned audio CD-R's. Not only will it not play them, it won't even recognize that it has a disc inserted in it. Something's really goofy here because these discs run fine on my other Dell, an older, Dimension 8200, with a LITE-ON LTD 163 DVD/CD ROM. AND all of the CD-R's I am trying to play on the new PC's ROM have been burned in different places on different PC's, not just with my new Philips Burner.

Oh, and these CD-R's WILL play in the new PC's DVD+/- RW Drive with no problem. Isn't that a little weird, or is it just me? And the other thing that i find strange is that I swear I was able to play CD-R's in the ROM drive with no problem a few weeks ago. Maybe I'm nutz.

I am running Windows XP Home Edition, 2002, SP2.
IntelR PentiumR 4.0 CPU 3.0 Ghz 512 MB RAM

And the drivers are current for the ROM Drive too, by the way. 

I hope i didn't leave anything out. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks as always!


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## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

Upon further review, the ROM Drive will also read Data CR-RW discs with no problem as well. However, any burned CD-R disc with either audio OR data will not be recognized, read, or played.

Maybe this is normal for new PC's and I'm just confused because my other Dell reads this stuff just fine in EITHER drive?

PS - I have seen this link in other threads and unfortunately, it did not help me at all. 

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q218617/


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## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

Upon further review it seems this might not be so unusual of a situation. I found this info online at this link http://www.cdrfaq.org/ :

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"The only discs that a DVD player is guaranteed to read are DVD discs. Support for CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW may be included, but is by no means guaranteed. 

CD-R was designed to be read by an infrared 780nm laser. DVD uses a visible red 635nm or 650nm laser, which aren't reflected sufficiently by the organic dye polymers used in CD-R media. As a result, many DVD players can't read CD-R media. Some DVD players come with two lasers so that they can read CD-R. 

CD-RW discs have a different formulation, and may work even on players that can't handle CD-R media. If CD-R media doesn't work, try copying the disc to CD-RW instead (assuming your recorder supports CD-RW). 

Some DVD-ROM drives may be unable to read multisession discs. In general, though, DVD-ROM drives (as opposed to DVD players) are able to read CD-R media. 

If the box doesn't say that something is supported, assume that the feature isn't. *Look for the MultiRead or MultiPlay logos, which indicate that the DVD player or DVD-ROM drive can read CD-R and CD-RW.*"

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My older Dell's DVD ROM has the special "compact disc" logo but, strangely enough, my new one does not. Hmmm...does this sound like a logical enough answer to you experts out there? The reason I'm still not 100% sure is becuz the above states, "DVD-ROM drives (as opposed to DVD players) are able to read CD-R media." But mine doesn't? Strange. 

That link goes on to say:

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"The problem is that most CD-Rs (Orange Book Part II) are "invisible" to DVD laser wavelength because the dye used to make the CD-R doesn't reflect the beam. *Some first-generation DVD-ROM drives and many DVD players can't read CD-Rs.* The formulation of dye used by different CD-R manufacturers also affects readability. That is, some brands of CD-R discs have better reflectivity at DVD laser wavelength, but even these don't reliably work in all players.

The common solution is for the DVD player or drive to use two lasers at different wavelengths: one for reading DVDs and the other for reading CDs and CD-Rs. Variations on the theme include Sony's "dual discrete optical pickup" with switchable pickup assemblies with separate optics, dual-wavelength lasers (initially deployed on Sony's Playstation 2), Samsung's "annular masked objective lens" with a shared optical path, Toshiba's similar shared optical path using an objective lens masked with a coating that's transparent only to 650-nm light, Hitachi's switchable objective lens assembly, and Matsushita's holographic dual-focus lens. The MultiRead logo guarantees compatibility with CD-R and CD-RW media, but unfortunately, few manufacturers are using it.

Bottom line: If you want a DVD player that can read CD-R discs, look for a "dual laser," "twin laser," or "dual optics" feature."

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First generation? Surely this new PC doesn't have a "first generation" DVD ROM. I thought I had my answer, but now I'm even more confused than I was before. Sorry to sit here and try to answer my own question in my own thread, I'm just frustrated as heck. :4-dontkno


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## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

*bump*

Anyone have any thoughts...or is this just the stupidest question in the world? :sad: 

I have a hard time believing that this is a compatibility issue with the brand of CD-R's. The various ones that refuse to be read/played are different brands burned on different PCs with different software. There's a huge variety, and most all of them do not play with the exception of a few, who WILL, although not everytime.

And even thought the "compact disc" logo is not on the outside, I did some research and this brand IS supposed to be reading/playing CD-R's.

*Hitachi LG Data Storage DVD ROM GDR 8163B*

Is the laser bad already? Granted, it reads everything else just fine, although it did have a few hiccups the other night when I put a Dual Disc (DVD on one side, Audio CD on the other side) in it. Soon after that is when I realized this issue. DMA is enabled.....


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## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

Okie dokie artichokie.

I probably shouldn't be in here answering my own posts, eh? My bad. :redface:


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## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

Do you think it could be that the ASPI is screwed up?


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## MRH23 (Oct 13, 2005)

*You're not crazy. I have the same problem.*

I have the exact same problem with a different DVD/R/RW drive. I have a TS-H552B from Samsung. I actually was able to burn two audio CDs, but now the drive can't read the those CD-Rs or any other CD-R audio / data disks I try. It reads factory software CDs and original audio CDs fine. My drive won't even read a CR-RW with backup data files from my old computer. Please post a solution if you come up with one.


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## please (Mar 2, 2005)

@ Westmar
sorry your posts have gone unanswered...it is not because no-one saw them, but more likely because no-one has a solution for you. Thanks for keeping us updated on your search for answers. You found some good information there :sayyes: . You now know that the world of writeable/rewriteable media is full of strange conflicts being solved twenty different ways by 20 different companies all thinking their way is the best and unwilling to compromise or standardize. No-one is at fault, it is just the business of tech growth, and hopefully, the best solution will win out...certainly not an exacting science. It could be a million different things wrong, from a bad laser to bad discs to ??? This is what it is like to be on the 'cutting edge' in a new technology. We are the test cases. 

OK, I am thru ranting. I have no solid solution for you, but I would just try to reseat all cables, maybe swap them around a bit, move them from master to slave or slave to master. Try deleting the IDE channel that the drive resides on, and reboot. Windows will redetect the drive and reinstall it. Sometimes that will set things right. Try running a lens cleaner. Also, you can try flashing the firmware to the latest versions. If all fails and you need that specific ability from your drive, try a new drive. They are fairly inexpensive these days and they get better every day.

@ MHR23
pretty much the same advice for a solution :4-dontkno


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## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

Thanks for the thoughts and advice, PLEASE. 

FYI, I am still working on resolving this issue. I will definitely post when and if I find a solution.

Hrrrmph! Brand new PC and THIS is happening. There IS no justice... :sayno:


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## Westmar (Oct 17, 2004)

Not much of an update - but I am going to be getting a hold of Dell and raising holy hell. There's no way this is "normal", and I can't find a solution.


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## lyricwave (May 19, 2008)

im having the same problem now!! did you ever find a solution to this?


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## 2oldforthis (Jan 25, 2009)

Hi , like westmar , I have a similar problem. I changed pc's from one that ran with ME about 2 years ago to one with xp.
Recently I tried to run some burnt cd-r's with holiday jpegs and avi's that were burnt on the old pc . I think they were burnt with Roxio software ,and shock horror , the burner drives (I have 2 -sony and phillips on this pc) said no disk or unrecognised format. I currently run with Nero 9 burning software . I purchased cdroller and got back one cd , but I still have 4 cd-r's that cannot be recovered by this software.Ive read some answers here and followed some without luck.
So again like Westmar , I am waiting to find a guru who can find the magic key to unlock these cd's.


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