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CD drive issue

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CD drive issue 24/07/2010 at 17:28 #1499
peterb
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452 posts
I don't usually go for CD-based audio - but for the first time in a while I have done. Unfortunately though, the quality of the audio (either when played directly from the CD on my laptop or ripped to HDD first) is very poor, with a lot of noise/interference. I don't have the same problem when this CD is played in a DVD player so I can only assume that either the drive isn't clean or there is something else going wrong.

Any ideas?

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CD drive issue 24/07/2010 at 17:28 #10190
peterb
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452 posts
I don't usually go for CD-based audio - but for the first time in a while I have done. Unfortunately though, the quality of the audio (either when played directly from the CD on my laptop or ripped to HDD first) is very poor, with a lot of noise/interference. I don't have the same problem when this CD is played in a DVD player so I can only assume that either the drive isn't clean or there is something else going wrong.

Any ideas?

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CD drive issue 25/07/2010 at 15:26 #10213
TRC666
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135 posts
Could be the CD drive or the CD itself, have you thought of ripping said CD from a DVD drive?
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CD drive issue 26/07/2010 at 14:05 #10227
peterb
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452 posts
CD is fine on another computer. Is there anything else that's likely to cause the interferance other than a dirty drive?
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CD drive issue 26/07/2010 at 14:27 #10228
UKTrainMan
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1803 posts
The CD working fine on another computer surely means the problem is with the CD Drive itself on the computer where the CD doesn't work so well. It could be something as simple as a dust/dirt inside the drive or even on the laser or it could be something more serious. As a starting point, i'd go out to somewhere like WH Smiths or perhaps Rymans or look online (Misco, eBuyer or eBay are good places to start) to obtain a lens cleaning disc. These discs tend to have one or two sets of small bristles underneath them and once in the CD Drive they can run over the laser itself to clean it. Some discs I've seen, have used or have seen being used even have some kind of music on them which plays whilst the disc is spinning in the drive and cleaning the lens. Not sure of the price of one of these discs but I can imagine it shouldn't cost any more than perhaps £4.99.

If that doesn't work then the next step may be to use a torch and perhaps a mirror to look inside the CD Drive to see if anything blatantly obvious looks amiss. If it doesn't then perhaps finding a computer expert or even company to take a look at the CD Drive for you may be the next step. You may be lucky in finding one who'll take a look at it for you for free and tell you if there is a problem and then offer a quote to fix it for you. I know that the company who recently repaired my laptop for the DC power socket problem do say on their website that they may be willing to offer some quick advice for free over the phone so if you'd like their phone number then PM me and I'll reply with it.

Hope This Helps.

Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for.
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CD drive issue 26/07/2010 at 15:03 #10229
MarkC
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1105 posts
I have been considering your problem and was just wondering if you had any problems with other cd based media (cd-roms), and if any other audio has trouble playing.
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CD drive issue 26/07/2010 at 23:22 #10242
Sacro
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1171 posts
I doubt that it's worth it to clean/get the drive checked out given that you can get a new DVD/RW drive for under £15 now.
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CD drive issue 27/07/2010 at 00:29 #10245
UKTrainMan
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Sacro said:
I doubt that it's worth it to clean/get the drive checked out given that you can get a new DVD/RW drive for under £15 now.
....but unless peterb is technically minded enough to swap the drives over himself, he'd still need to find someone who can do it and that may still incur a cost unless a friend or family member was able to do it for free or something. As I said in my previous post, a [decent]/[reputable] engineer or repair company should be willing to carry out a free assessment of your CD drive and offer a quote for the repair - especially as they may be keen for business. Then again it may be possible to find a decent enough guide online for how to do it but there is a chance that it would be a generic guide for a laptop and not something specific to his make/model.

Any views and / or opinions expressed by myself are from me personally and do not represent those of any company I either work for or am a consultant for.
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CD drive issue 27/07/2010 at 00:38 #10246
MarkC
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1105 posts
But then again it may not be the drive itself, there is a possibility that it is a currupt "*.sys" file, if that is the case replacing the drive will not solve the issue, if peterb gets in touch, i may beable to help determin if that is the case
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