CD/DVD reads but won't write

notthecheatr · 11-13-2006, 06:39 PM

I have been having problems with my Gateway Laptop's CD/DVD burner: it reads
disks fine, but it doesn't write properly. I got one single disk written today (I'm doing
backups) but ended up with 5 bad disks, four written with Nero and one with the Windows
disk writer - both ended with errors, and the disks have the files but some are corrupted.

The disks are rated at 52x and I was burning at 24x, so I'll assume that's not the problem
(even though the error message said "failed to burn at 24x").

My System Specs:
Gateway MX6030 Laptop
Intel Celeron M 1.40GHz w/ PAE
504MB RAM
DVD+/-RW Multi-Format Dual-Layer, CD+/-RW

I entered a Nero diagnostics program, and it didn't report much. It did report one error but
unfortunately I forgot to record it, and I don't remember how I got it (I actually reproduced
it several times) but I do remember it mentioned a problem with the SERVO, which would
suggest it may be a hardware problem. I am planning to try writing the disks on another
computer, to make sure it isn't the disks, but until then I fear it is the drive, as I have in the
past (though it has been a couple of months) successfully written to the disks, whereas
now I get five errors in a row, with only one success.

I did a lot of searching and found something in the Event Viewer. Apparently the
drive has had trouble with bad blocks lately, though exactly how this fits in with
writing troubles I'm not sure. It is possible that some of the errors are from some
bad disks I was looking at a couple weeks ago, but the errors I received today and the
past couple days aren't, since I didn't look at any bad disks then.

There are hundreds of these in Computer Management->System Tools->
Event Viewer->System. Looking back, the problem first appeared on 11/2/06
and has continued up to now.

The device, \Device\CdRom0, has a bad block.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Data:
0000: 03 00 68 00 01 00 b8 00 ..h...¸.
0008: 00 00 00 00 07 00 04 c0 .......À
0010: 00 01 00 00 9c 00 00 c0 ....œ..À
0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0020: 00 68 01 29 00 00 00 00 .h.)....
0028: 8d 0b 03 00 00 00 00 00 .......
0030: ff ff ff ff 01 00 00 00 ÿÿÿÿ....
0038: 40 00 00 c4 02 00 00 00 @..Ä....
0040: 00 20 0a 12 48 02 00 40 . ..H..@
0048: 00 00 00 00 0a 00 00 00 ........
0050: 00 00 00 00 80 4b 27 82 ....€K'‚
0058: 00 00 00 00 50 0a 1d 82 ....P..‚
0060: 02 00 00 00 2d 20 05 00 ....- ..
0068: 28 00 00 05 20 2d 00 00 (... -..
0070: 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0078: f0 00 03 00 05 20 2d 0b ð.... -.
0080: 00 00 00 00 11 00 00 00 ........
0088: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........

All errors are the same; the data is almost always exactly the same except that
byte 0x7E (which is 0x2D, or "-" in this case) is often different - though I doubt
that will help any.

Is the drive broke, or could there be something else?

And a semi-unrelated question: if the drive is broke, is there a way to fix it, or is
it possible to replace it with another one (which I would presumably have to
order from Gateway)? I have just moved, so I can't find my Gateway warranty
(and frankly don't even remember if there is one...) Should I bother looking
for it, or try to buy a new drive- and is it even possible to buy a new drive for
a laptop, or is it likely to be a proprietary specially-made drive, which only Gateway
can replace?

**Done_Fishin** · 11-14-2006, 03:51 AM

I am unable to help you with your problem really except that it might be worth mentioning that if you do a serach on google for the CD/DVD drive of your laptop, you will probably find thousands of links to sites that are offering REFURBISHED drives for sale.
I found this out when a family friend was having problem with his laptop drive and after figuring out that it was most likeley the drive I searched for a replacement drive as I explained to you earlier.
The results spoke for themselves. Laptop CD/DVD drives are Unreliable.
My opinion. Don't bother getting it fixed, try a USB drive instead.
I have purchased an adapter USB to IDE (with extermal power supply) that allows me to connect an old good Drive to a USB port. I haven't tried writing with it yet, to be honest, but it's a work around that could work out a lot cheaper than getting the old drive fixed or replaced.

**Cellus** · 11-17-2006, 04:48 PM

What happens when you burn DVDs, or a different batch/company of CDs? Does this only happen while copying CDs? How about regular data burns (ie: standard files, etc)?

11-13-2006, 06:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
notthecheatr Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1 OS: Windows XP SP2	CD/DVD reads but won't write I have been having problems with my Gateway Laptop's CD/DVD burner: it reads disks fine, but it doesn't write properly. I got one single disk written today (I'm doing backups) but ended up with 5 bad disks, four written with Nero and one with the Windows disk writer - both ended with errors, and the disks have the files but some are corrupted. The disks are rated at 52x and I was burning at 24x, so I'll assume that's not the problem (even though the error message said "failed to burn at 24x"). My System Specs: Gateway MX6030 Laptop Intel Celeron M 1.40GHz w/ PAE 504MB RAM DVD+/-RW Multi-Format Dual-Layer, CD+/-RW I entered a Nero diagnostics program, and it didn't report much. It did report one error but unfortunately I forgot to record it, and I don't remember how I got it (I actually reproduced it several times) but I do remember it mentioned a problem with the SERVO, which would suggest it may be a hardware problem. I am planning to try writing the disks on another computer, to make sure it isn't the disks, but until then I fear it is the drive, as I have in the past (though it has been a couple of months) successfully written to the disks, whereas now I get five errors in a row, with only one success. I did a lot of searching and found something in the Event Viewer. Apparently the drive has had trouble with bad blocks lately, though exactly how this fits in with writing troubles I'm not sure. It is possible that some of the errors are from some bad disks I was looking at a couple weeks ago, but the errors I received today and the past couple days aren't, since I didn't look at any bad disks then. There are hundreds of these in Computer Management->System Tools-> Event Viewer->System. Looking back, the problem first appeared on 11/2/06 and has continued up to now. The device, \Device\CdRom0, has a bad block. For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp. Data: 0000: 03 00 68 00 01 00 b8 00 ..h...¸. 0008: 00 00 00 00 07 00 04 c0 .......À 0010: 00 01 00 00 9c 00 00 c0 ....œ..À 0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........ 0020: 00 68 01 29 00 00 00 00 .h.).... 0028: 8d 0b 03 00 00 00 00 00 ....... 0030: ff ff ff ff 01 00 00 00 ÿÿÿÿ.... 0038: 40 00 00 c4 02 00 00 00 @..Ä.... 0040: 00 20 0a 12 48 02 00 40 . ..H..@ 0048: 00 00 00 00 0a 00 00 00 ........ 0050: 00 00 00 00 80 4b 27 82 ....€K'‚ 0058: 00 00 00 00 50 0a 1d 82 ....P..‚ 0060: 02 00 00 00 2d 20 05 00 ....- .. 0068: 28 00 00 05 20 2d 00 00 (... -.. 0070: 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........ 0078: f0 00 03 00 05 20 2d 0b ð.... -. 0080: 00 00 00 00 11 00 00 00 ........ 0088: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........ All errors are the same; the data is almost always exactly the same except that byte 0x7E (which is 0x2D, or "-" in this case) is often different - though I doubt that will help any. Is the drive broke, or could there be something else? And a semi-unrelated question: if the drive is broke, is there a way to fix it, or is it possible to replace it with another one (which I would presumably have to order from Gateway)? I have just moved, so I can't find my Gateway warranty (and frankly don't even remember if there is one...) Should I bother looking for it, or try to buy a new drive- and is it even possible to buy a new drive for a laptop, or is it likely to be a proprietary specially-made drive, which only Gateway can replace?

11-14-2006, 03:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
Done_Fishin Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Brit living in Greece Posts: 7,477 OS: WinME, WinXP Pro SP3, Win7 Beta, Ubuntu 9.04 & Netbook Remix & CD2USB, Mepis 6.5, Fedora 10 My System	I am unable to help you with your problem really except that it might be worth mentioning that if you do a serach on google for the CD/DVD drive of your laptop, you will probably find thousands of links to sites that are offering REFURBISHED drives for sale. I found this out when a family friend was having problem with his laptop drive and after figuring out that it was most likeley the drive I searched for a replacement drive as I explained to you earlier. The results spoke for themselves. Laptop CD/DVD drives are Unreliable. My opinion. Don't bother getting it fixed, try a USB drive instead. I have purchased an adapter USB to IDE (with extermal power supply) that allows me to connect an old good Drive to a USB port. I haven't tried writing with it yet, to be honest, but it's a work around that could work out a lot cheaper than getting the old drive fixed or replaced. __________________ . . I'm not old!! I'm age impaired .. D_F I DON'T PLAY GAMES How to mark your thread as solved HDD DIAG UTILS TSF's Photographer's Corner

11-17-2006, 04:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
Cellus Moderator Networking Team Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,664 OS: Windows Vista Business SP1, Windows XP Professional SP3 My System	What happens when you burn DVDs, or a different batch/company of CDs? Does this only happen while copying CDs? How about regular data burns (ie: standard files, etc)? __________________ TSF Networking Team Virus/Trojan/Spyware Removal Help Donate!