Q: My girlfriend DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive is acting weird. It plays CDs fine, plays a number of film DVDs ok, but locks on others, and will not read a data DVD-ROM at all (especially the Sims 2 DVD Edition). Autorun
Any attempt of a data DVD (and some movies) makes the DVD drive just blinks, the HD comes on when the system tries to read, but nothing you happens.
If Explorer / My Computer, open the DVD is properly identified (or with a generic CD icon), but if you try to open them to look at the content, the toolbar blocks (although it can be restored by doing an End Task on Explorer / My computer using the Task Manager) If 0.
press Shift while loading the disc (to stop Autorun), the correct icon in Explorer / My Computer, but the system still hangs on it if you try to get into the same disk contents.
The ran perfectly my main system, and Im going to try on my secondary system as well. All three systems have different DVD combo drives.
Any ideas why my girlfriend does not like some PCs DVD combo drive? Is this a bad drive, or a WinXP problem?
Re:Here's an update: The drive reads the Bonus DVD for Sims 2 without any problems. We can explore the files, and it even runs movies in Windows Media Player automatically. It's just the main Game Disc that the drive chokes on. Again, the game installed without problems on TWO other PCs with OLDER DVD combo drives than the one we are having problems with.
Why would the same drive run one DVD-ROM without problems, but choke on another by the same publisher, and from the same box??
It runs CDs and CDROMs just fine.
It runs some DVD movies fine, but chokes on others.
It runs some DVD-ROMs fine, but chokes on others.
What is it about this DVD/CDRW combo drive that makes it act so schizophrenic?
Re:Flashing the firmware didn't work. In fact, I think it may have had the latest version in it already (101).
I'll have to research that fix from Microsoft I came across (assuming I can find it again).
If that doesn't work, we'll just have to hit the store to get a new drive that works! No more AOpen for me, if that's the case.
Re:This web site should have everything you need for flashing.
RPC1 (http://www.rpc1.org)
Re:I considered it being a firmware issue, as well, except my other two computers have older DVD-ROM combo drives in them, and they had no problem running the disk.
Still, I'll see if AOpen has a firmware update for her. I did find something in their support forums that sends people to Microsoft, however, so I'll check that out, too. Easier to download a patch from Microsoft than to flash the firmware in the device, I'd think.
Re:Smells like old firmware to me. Look to see if your manufacturer has an upgrade.
- M4H
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