CD-ROM failure?

Video, SCSI, modem, CDROM/CDR/CDRW, etc.
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KachiWachi
The New Guy
Posts: 1451
Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2002 10:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Has anyone ever run into this?

I have an ACER (BenQ) 40X CD-ROM ( http://www.benq.us/serviceandsupport/Dr ... roduct=146 ) with the latest firmware installed (Version: N0GP 11-21-2000).

Everything worked fine up until recently. Now the device seems not to want to read a data CD, but will play a "production" music CD just fine. Note that most of my data CD's are "home burned"...I don't have many "production" data CD's to try in it (and no "home burnt" music ones) to see if that has any influence or not. The type of media does not seem to matter, and the same discs read just fine in other units I have here.

Installing the device in another PC shows the same issue, so the PC itself is not the problem.

Could this be firmware related in some way? Might a "reflash" fix this problem? Or is it something hardware related?

Thanks for your input.
Denniss
BIOS Guru
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Location: Near Hannover (CEBIT) Germany
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Looks like laser lost power or focus, production CD run fine but burned ones not is somewhat typical for this.
KachiWachi
The New Guy
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Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2002 10:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Thanks Denniss. 8)

I think I read this somewhere as well, but I'll play a bit more and report back if I learn anything else.
Rainbow
The UniFlasher
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Clean the lens.
Patched and tested BIOSes are at http://wims.rainbow-software.org
UniFlash - Flash anything anywhere
KachiWachi
The New Guy
Posts: 1451
Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2002 10:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Yeah Rainbow...I should probably do that too... :oops:

Instead, I just replaced it with a 56X Artec unit from the stack...easier, and I get a performance upgrade in the process. :wink:

But if I decide to use it again, I'll try to remember to check the lens. :roll:
Yaye
BIOS Rookie
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Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2006 3:12 am
Location: Near Milan, Italy

Generally cd-readers hasn't a life very long (I think it's a specific business policy of the industries).

The problem is in the bobine that permits to "jump" to the lens and read the home made cds: it hasn't got the needed power to "jump" years after years.

You can only read the production cd because the track left on the cd from industrial cd-writers was written with an high power of the laser (when you buy a cd, you will be able to read it on every cd-reader, also the oldest ones with a low read laser power).

I think you should buy or use a new cd-reader!
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