CD/DVD Drive Issues

Hello everyone.

I just joined your forum to seek support for my ACER Aspire 9503EWSMi laptop/notebook.

It is holding up pretty darned well, I bought it in 2005.  The original HDD failed early in its life, but was covered by warranty.  

I have since trained myself to keep and maintain spare backup HDD's and backup my info often.  No problem there.

My recent problem is with the CD/DVD drive.  It is an IDE slot loading Matshita UJ-845D and the driver version is 5.1.2535.0 dated from 2001.

I have tried uninstalling the driver and reinstalling it.  I have also sought for a more up to date driver, but the system informs me that the installed driver is the most recent.  

The problem that I am experiencing is that it doesn't read many DVD discs that are known good, although it does read some.  It also will not write to ANY disc at all, regardless of the type or brand.  I believe that I may be fighting two issues, one with the media (DVD discs) and one with either the Matshita CD/DVD drive itself or its driver.

I contacted ACER Support, but they wouldn't provide any assistance or advice of any kind and flatly refused to answer any questions because my unit is out of warranty.  All they could tell me is to take it to a service technician.  

Well, I guess that I am the technician and I would just like some advice and information.  

What I would like to know is what replacement CD/DVD drives are available for this ACER Aspire 9503EWSMi notebook and where to purchase them.  I cannot seem to locate a replacement that I can be certain of.  Certain of it's physical dimension compatibility, electrical compatibility and software/firmware/driver compatibility.

I wouldn't mind ordering directly through ACER, but they won't discuss the issue because of the warranty expiration, so that closed that door for me.  How do I go about determining where to order replacement parts?

To clarify, I do NOT know if there is anything wrong with the CD/DVD drive at all.  It may be just fine, but I would like to know where I can obtain a replacement or an upgrade that will fit.  I would like to be able to replace the drive and confirm that it is fine instead of spending many more hours troubleshooting the drivers and software and media.  I have alreadybeen trying that for several months.  I must get at least one thing confirmed before I proceed further.  I have already attempted the driver options and testing different media.  Unless I have simply been that unlucky with that part of the troubleshooting process, the only thing that remains is to rule out the physical CD/DVD drive itself.

I certainly appreciate anyone's cooperation and advice and I thank you all very kindly for reading my post.

Sincerely,

AcWxRADAR

Quote:

Originally Posted by saugen48 

I think I read in the past the most DVDs these days are read at a min of 16x and the Matshita UJ-845D can only read up to 8X so the 16s dont work.. Also in my search and I would imagine thru yours, there just doesnt seem to be a replacement for that drive..I looked on ebay and none of those animals

Saugen48,

Hey, I had really never thought of that.  That could be a possible reason why it will read some pre-recorded discs but cannot id any new blank DVD disc?  Uhm, maybe?  Sounds odd, but I cannot understand why it tells me that a brand new DVD blank disc is faulty, not present, unreadable, etc.  I have bought so many different types and brands and that doesn't seem to help.  

I know that the drive is only supporting of one type of DVD (+ or -), and I adhered to that rule, but it didn't help in my case here.  It ignores all of them.  

RADAR

Quote:

Originally Posted by saugen48 

Thats the whole problem, the OP is looking for a replacement that will definately fit...looked on EBay and such and couldnt find any...that model is a problem type and another brand (more recent) would problably be desired

Yes, I wish I could at least find some compatibility information so that I could at least find something to purchase that would be better than the original.  As it is now, I can't even find the original for sale.  Maybe I am using the wrong channel with ACER.  Maybe instead of going through their SUPPORT door, I should go directly to sales?  

RADAR

Quote:

Originally Posted by saugen48 

This may be helpful..as mentioned you might even want to consider a USB powered external DVD/RW drive
((http://www.pc-tips-and-tricks.com/laptop-optical-drive.html))

Saugen48,

Thanks for that link.  I started perusing it and it seemed right up my alley.  When I have more time, I will read it more thoroughly.  But, right off it seems to be going in my direction and the idea of an external USB drive has crossed my mind.  However, I like the idea of it being contained within the ACER notebook itself and not extra "carry-on" luggage if you understand me there.

Thanks very much

RADAR

Before I set out shopping for a replacement DVD drive I am going to try a trick I just read.

Take a lint-free lens cleaning cloth (i.e. for eyeglasses) and fold it over a credit card.  Use it dry or dampen with high purity alcohol or benzene or other solvent that dries without leaving a film.  

Slide the card into the slot while holding the cloth taut around the card and swipe around inside the DVD drive.  According to the tip, concentrate on the left side of the drive, towards the front of the slot entry to locate the lens.  

I am going to try this tip out when I get home from work tonight.  If my lens is simply just dirty, it will sure beat having to replace the DVD drive.  Reportedly takes all of 10-20 seconds to accomplish the task.  Since I am a bachelor and smoke cigars in the house, this is a definite possibility.  Want to take a guess where I smoke my cigars in the house?  That's right, in front of the computer.  The poster of this tip described the symptoms of their DVD drive when it required cleaning and the symptoms reflect my problems precisely.

Now, if the slide rails for the lens head assembly are dirty/sticky, I guess I would have to remove the DVD drive and disassemble it to clean them, but that is still better than replacing the drive.

Either way, I won't be out anything if it works and then I can repeat the same procedure next time it needs cleaning.  Wish me luck that this is all that is the matter with my drive.  

RADAR

Optical drive lens cleaning project worked fine!

Sorry no pictures, but it is easy to imagine.

I used a lint-free cleaning cloth for eye-glasses.  Folded it over a credit card, held it taught with my thumb and forefinger and spritzed the cloth with 99% isopropyl alcohol and simply inserted the card through the DVD/CD loading slot and worked it around a bit.  It wasn't extremely filthy when I removed the card and cloth, but it made a huge difference in reading discs.

RADAR