CD Problem

Hi there,

Computer specs:
Acer
Aspire X3812
Windows 7 Home Premium
Intel Core2 Duo CPU [email protected]
2.00GB Ram

Basically, I have installed various games on this desktop computer since i bought it and added various music CDs. However, some games will not show up when the disk is put in the computer. When i first got the desktop i installed a couple of games which worked well for a time but one day i put the disk in and it doesnt show up in My Computer.

When i put the disk into the drive and open up My Computer, it shows that there isnt a disk in the drive and if i click on the icon it says "Please insert a disk into Drive E:". Today, i tried to install GTA IV but it just didnt show up and the setup box did not pop up.

I can however, run some older games which do not have a problem when the disk is put in and are recognised straight away. Anyone know what might be happening? Is it a software problem or is it the computer itself?

Would really be appreciated if i could get an answer.

Regards,


Jim

Were those older games run by CD? If so, your drive may not be able to read DVD's.

GTA IV runs by DVD.

i doubt that it is a software problem, but the best way to find out is to connect another optical drive and see if it works with all types of media. If you open your case and unplug and then re-insert the cables going to the current optical drive it might fix it too (not likely but worth a try).

make sure the disc's u are tryign to use are clean, check for possible driver updates from acer and make sure ur drive is a dvd drive and if that dosnt work unplug and re plug in the cd/dvd drive into another cable

@Braxton619 - At the moment, the only games which work are CD games. However, i did manage to install Fifa 10 and Tom Clancy Vegas 2 which are both DVD-roms but now they have stopped working. GW nightfall and Eye of the North both will not install and both of them are DVD-roms. DVD-roms did work at the start but now dont.

@Elder III - I will try that as soon as i can get my hands on a spare optical drive

@Devastating Flames - The disks are all clean as they are all new games which have yet to be used. The drive says in My Computer that it is "DVD RW Drive (E: )"

I've had this problem before. It was a long time ago though (~5 years?).

After many frustrating hours of testing and what not (testing other DVD-ROM games, ect) I finally came across the issue. The problem was the game I wanted to play was a DVD-ROM based game and my PC did not have an actual DVD player in it, it was just a very low-end out-of-out CD player (if that makes sense) so I ended up having to return it and get my money back.

I would most definately make sure your CD drive supports DVD-ROM based games before purchasing anymore of them. You can tell if they are DVD-ROM because it will say it on the top half of the case. xD


But... In the end... It would be a good idea to upgrade your drive since nearly all games these days are DVD-based.


Just my $.02 on the matter from my own personal experience with this.



edit: Ah. Yea.... Now that you mention and after I've thought about it that was also part of my conclusion. Let me clarify as well that when I originally got the computer I was able run/play DVDs just fine but after time and old age it started becoming very faulty (hence me testing the crap out of the drive). So, I still stand by my conclusion that you should buy another drive. That will most definately fix your problem (I would recommend "updating" your drivers but that did absolutely nothing for me back then and probably won't for you either. But we'll see...).

@JonnieBoi05 - Hmm the only thing is that iv had this desktop for less than 3 months so i wouldnt have thought old age would affect it. Just tried with a normal DVD and that didnt show up so yea it might just be a CD player. The odd thing is that in My Computer it does say it is a DVD RW Drive

The specs for that computer say it's a DVD RW drive. (Google ftw!)

There's a slim possibility that the drive/lens is dirty, but not likely. You can also do what Elder said and check the connections.

But, there's always the possibility that the drive is just plain bad. If it's still under warranty, try to get it replaced. If it's out of warranty, or getting it fixed is a lot of hassle, a replacement drive is fairly cheap and may be easy to install. That unit has a SFF (small form factor) case though, so you may have some difficulties.

P.s - if you don't care about burning DVDs, you could save a few bucks by just getting a DVD ROM drive instead of RW.

sounds like the laser is having a problem. which means replace the drive.