Common DVD Drive Problems

A huge percentage of computers have optical drives, aside from those that are usually used in offices that delimits the use of DVDs and CDs to its employees, and home computers usually have DVD drives in them. However, at some point, these DVD drives may fail and begin to show signs that it's time for a replacement. Here are some of the common DVD problems that I have experienced. I already lost count how many times I changed DVD drives due to these problems and I hope this could help you figure out what is wrong with yours if it seems to show signs of wear and tear.

Sometimes, internal problems can occur within the drive itself that it's already unfixable and a replacement should be considered. This is usually the result of wear and tear and the most common symptom would be the inability of your computer to detect the presence of your DVD drive. Right at the start up or POST (Power on self test), your DVD drive should be detected by your BIOS and should show up in the list of primary/secondary devices. If it does now show up there and you are sure that the power cable (Molex/white power connector or SATA/black power connector) and IDE/SATA data cable are all connected properly, it's usually time to bring it to the shop or replace it.

I don't recommend opening up your DVD drive unless you really know the intricacies of its components or basically know what you're doing. I tried it before and I just kept on yanking parts and somehow it got fixed but I had to replace the drive eventually. Now, I only open it if there's something wrong with the mechanical parts such as the switch, the rubber (one that allows the tray to open), the lights and loose power/data sockets.

Another common problem is when your DVD drive makes unusual clicking or clanking sounds. One cause of this would be foreign objects that seemed to have been stuck inside and the noise is usually generated when the disc is being played or spun. Sometimes, you may just have placed 2 or more discs at the same time. It can damage the rotor and the lens and will most certainly scratch your discs.

Probably the most noticeable problem that can occur with a DVD drive is when your discs become unreadable. As you use the drive, there's a tendency that due to wear and tear, or dust, the lens won't be able to recognize and/or read the disc. This is most evident when the discs that you previously were using aren't readable anymore. Do the tried and tested method of troubleshooting by testing the disc on another drive. If it works there, your DVD drive may be failing. This symptom is similar when you're watching a DVD movie and the scenes keep on freezing or skipping.

Another thing that a lot of people may have noticed is when the disc burning process takes longer than usual. On one of my older drives, as soon as I bought it, the writing time for 4.7GB DVDs at 16X was around 5-7 minutes per disc. After about 4-5 months, it went drastically up to 20-30 minutes per disc. I tried the same brand, type, capacity and speed and it was hopeless. I can't wait for that long to write a backup so I had it replaced.

And of course, mechanical problems may occur with the tray and the buttons. It doesn't open at times, the tray won't close properly, your disc spins erratically, the open button doesn't work and some other similar symptoms.

You don't have to worry much though as computer DVD drives are quite cheap and a lot of them go around $20 or so. You may want to consider the brand but most of them perform the same way. So if you see signs that your DVD drive may be failing, it may really well be. One thing that you want to avoid is to have your favorite DVD movie stuck inside a defective DVD drive.