Now it works now it dont! CD-Rom woooss

bigj4155 · 07-07-2007, 03:13 PM

Hello everyone,

I would consider myself a very knowledgeable person when it comes to fixing computers but this one has me totally stumped. Laptop Setup :

Dell Inspiron 6000
Pentium Mobile 1.7Ghz
2GB Ram
120GB harddrive
Built in wireless A/B/G
Built in bluetooth

Now on to the problem, if you notice I didnt put a cd-rom up there :)
So my cd drive will play all normal disks that you would buy from a store "silver backed production cd's" It will boot from these cds as well. However using a burnt cd I can write to the cd but not read from it. Any burnt cd that I have no matter what machine it was written on, my laptop will just not read it. System hangs for a minute and the just shows a blank cd. Cd's that are burnt on this machine do play on other machines.

Now heres the kicker, I have already replaced the cd-rom with a new one with the same problem . This is not a windows issue because I have a few burnt cd's that should boot and I have used to boot into "Windows setup, acronis backup ect..." but now during bootup the system just hangs for a second while it attempts to use the cd-drive and then continues on to the next boot device listed. If I change the setting in BIOS to only boot from the cd-drive the it just hangs with a flashing line in the top left corner.

So to wrap it up
-CD/DVD-rom will read any production disc "pc games, dvds from the store, software from the store ect.."
-CD/DVD will not read any burnt disc CD or DVD
-CD/DVD will burn a blank disc that does contain the intended data and these cd's can be read with another computer.
-Old CD/DVD drive and new CD/DVD drive do the exact same thing

So my next thought is a possible hardware failure on the motherboard but that is some **** that I have never heard of

Thanks guys!

**TheMatt** · 07-09-2007, 07:19 PM

Hi, and welcome to TSF!

See if you can boot off a CD that you have written to check if it is a Windows or Hardware issue. Make a bootable CD such as UBCD or Memtest if you are on a slower internet connection.

Also, try multiple brands of disks and make sure that the disk you burnt has been finalized. Is this a CD burner? What burning programs have you been using?

Moving you to Removable Media.

bigj4155 · 07-12-2007, 03:10 PM

Thanks for the move Matt.

1 - I have tried probably 5 different bootable disk that I have, all of which have worked before on this laptop. However for some reason I can not find a actual bootable production "silver back" disc. So my question that remains is: Would a normal bootable disc work vs a burnt bootable disc? I should know this answer shortly however.

2 - I have pretty much always used Nero as my burning program. Ive tried 3 different brands of cds with the same result.

Also I've updated Bios firmware and the cd/dvd drive firmware. Both in response to this problem. A important side piece of information is that discovering this problem was a bi-product of needing to re-install windows after it with haywire. Wireless connection "integrated" does really odd things. For instance right now I am on the internet typing with wireless connectivity HOWEVER!!!! :) according to windows connection manager, cmd -> ipconfig show that I have no ip address, no DHCP ect...

My best guess is that it is maybe a hardware problem and in my limited knowledge of laptop hardware architecture somewhere between northbridge chip and ....... screw grounding on chassis. Needless to say, something not really fixable without sending it in to dell "not in warranty".

Well thanks for the time!

O and maybe someone randomly knows this. To my knowledge there would be no difference on the hardware level between a burnt cd and a normal cd is there?

**TheMatt** · 07-12-2007, 03:37 PM

On some older CD drives, you needed to finalize a burnt CD for it to be read or recognized, but this isn't applicable to newer drives.

If you do an ipconfig /all, does windows recognize the network settings? If not, then I think you have a "funky" windows installation. A repair install will probably do the trick. The Dell recovery CD will not let you do this, but you can use another Windows XP CD as long as you use your own product key because it is really the product key you are paying for.

07-07-2007, 03:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
bigj4155 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Now it works now it dont! CD-Rom woooss Hello everyone, I would consider myself a very knowledgeable person when it comes to fixing computers but this one has me totally stumped. Laptop Setup : Dell Inspiron 6000 Pentium Mobile 1.7Ghz 2GB Ram 120GB harddrive Built in wireless A/B/G Built in bluetooth Now on to the problem, if you notice I didnt put a cd-rom up there :) So my cd drive will play all normal disks that you would buy from a store "silver backed production cd's" It will boot from these cds as well. However using a burnt cd I can write to the cd but not read from it. Any burnt cd that I have no matter what machine it was written on, my laptop will just not read it. System hangs for a minute and the just shows a blank cd. Cd's that are burnt on this machine do play on other machines. Now heres the kicker, I have already replaced the cd-rom with a new one with the same problem . This is not a windows issue because I have a few burnt cd's that should boot and I have used to boot into "Windows setup, acronis backup ect..." but now during bootup the system just hangs for a second while it attempts to use the cd-drive and then continues on to the next boot device listed. If I change the setting in BIOS to only boot from the cd-drive the it just hangs with a flashing line in the top left corner. So to wrap it up -CD/DVD-rom will read any production disc "pc games, dvds from the store, software from the store ect.." -CD/DVD will not read any burnt disc CD or DVD -CD/DVD will burn a blank disc that does contain the intended data and these cd's can be read with another computer. -Old CD/DVD drive and new CD/DVD drive do the exact same thing So my next thought is a possible hardware failure on the motherboard but that is some **** that I have never heard of Thanks guys! Last edited by bigj4155 : 07-07-2007 at 03:15 PM.

07-09-2007, 07:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,693 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Now it works now it dont! CD-Rom woooss Hi, and welcome to TSF! See if you can boot off a CD that you have written to check if it is a Windows or Hardware issue. Make a bootable CD such as UBCD or Memtest if you are on a slower internet connection. Also, try multiple brands of disks and make sure that the disk you burnt has been finalized. Is this a CD burner? What burning programs have you been using? Moving you to Removable Media. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

07-12-2007, 03:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
bigj4155 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Re: Now it works now it dont! CD-Rom woooss Thanks for the move Matt. 1 - I have tried probably 5 different bootable disk that I have, all of which have worked before on this laptop. However for some reason I can not find a actual bootable production "silver back" disc. So my question that remains is: Would a normal bootable disc work vs a burnt bootable disc? I should know this answer shortly however. 2 - I have pretty much always used Nero as my burning program. Ive tried 3 different brands of cds with the same result. Also I've updated Bios firmware and the cd/dvd drive firmware. Both in response to this problem. A important side piece of information is that discovering this problem was a bi-product of needing to re-install windows after it with haywire. Wireless connection "integrated" does really odd things. For instance right now I am on the internet typing with wireless connectivity HOWEVER!!!! :) according to windows connection manager, cmd -> ipconfig show that I have no ip address, no DHCP ect... My best guess is that it is maybe a hardware problem and in my limited knowledge of laptop hardware architecture somewhere between northbridge chip and ....... screw grounding on chassis. Needless to say, something not really fixable without sending it in to dell "not in warranty". Well thanks for the time! O and maybe someone randomly knows this. To my knowledge there would be no difference on the hardware level between a burnt cd and a normal cd is there?

07-12-2007, 03:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
TheMatt Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,693 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Now it works now it dont! CD-Rom woooss On some older CD drives, you needed to finalize a burnt CD for it to be read or recognized, but this isn't applicable to newer drives. If you do an ipconfig /all, does windows recognize the network settings? If not, then I think you have a "funky" windows installation. A repair install will probably do the trick. The Dell recovery CD will not let you do this, but you can use another Windows XP CD as long as you use your own product key because it is really the product key you are paying for. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides