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Resolved Question

Why can't I read CDs or burn new CDs?

Jul 31, 2011 9:47PM PDT

I have unsuccessfully tried to retrieve files that I had previously burnt onto CD using the same PC. Similarly, I am having trouble trying to burn files onto a new CD. This has never happend to me before and am baffled as to why this is happening now. I don't use the CD-drive very often except to burn digital pictures a couple of times a year.

The message I get trying to access files on CD is as follows:
"Windows cannot access this disc. The disc might be corrupt. Make sure that the disc uses a format that Windows recognizes. If the disc is unformatted, you need to format it before using it."

Similarly, the message I get when I insert a new CD to burn is:
"Windows cannot read the disc in drive E:\ Make sure that the disc uses a format that Windows recognizes. If the disc is unformatted, you need to format it before using it."

I've never had to format or reformat before. Why now? I don't want to lose files by reformatting.

I would appreciate if someone could shed some light to this problem please....and most importantly, find an actual solution.

Thanking in advance.

Discussion is locked

helpsos has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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From the sound of it
Jul 31, 2011 10:31PM PDT

From the sound of it, your optical drive crapped out. They do that... A lot. Good news is it's pretty cheap and easy to replace. Still, it couldn't hurt to take it somewhere to get a second opinion. Without actually having access to the computer, it's hard to rule out a few other possibilities.

If you have a music CD around... A commercially pressed music CD that you bought from a store. Put that in the drive and see if it can read that. If not, then it's almost certainly your drive that's bad, but if it can, then it might just be you bought some really poor quality blank CDs or didn't store them properly, and now they've degraded beyond usefulness.

And just for future reference, burned CDs and DVDs will not last forever. Maybe 10 years if you buy high quality discs and store it in pretty ideal conditions, but they shouldn't be considered a permanent storage mechanism. So if you're storing important photos on CD, thinking that they will last more or less indefinitely, now would be the time to start looking for something else. And truth be told, there really aren't that many options for long term storage of digital media. Everything is subject to the laws of entropy in the universe. However, commercially pressed discs will last significantly longer than burned, so if these are important photos, you may want to look into places that will take your burned CDs and DVDs and make pressed versions.

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Thank you
Aug 1, 2011 4:03PM PDT

Thank you for your reply, Jimmy. Looks like I'll have to develop my favourite pics.

Also, I have tried inserting a commercial music CD and it looks like it is reading the tracks, but the sound quality is very bad - I can't make anything out of what is playing. It actually displays a red cross next to the track in the windows media player then moves on to the next track and the same happens.

I'm just suprised that my CD drive has gone cactus without having used it much!

Cheers.

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Well
Aug 1, 2011 10:50PM PDT

Well, any time you have something with moving parts, it's kind of a d@mned if you do d@mned if you don't kind of scenario. There's a lubricant used on those moving parts so that you don't have metal on metal grinding action, which would be bad, and sometimes if you don't use that lubricant for a long period of time it starts to congeal. You need to use the drive every now and then to kind of mix that stuff all up, keep it fresh. Sort of like how the engine oil in your car will eventually go bad, even if you never drive your car.

It's kind of a catch-22... Using something with moving parts means that you're gradually wearing it out and bringing it closer to failure. Don't use it, and you can be killing it even faster.

But if a commercially pressed CD doesn't seem to work properly, then you definitely seem to have a bad drive. If you take it to some electronics store like Best Buy or Fry's, and you buy a new optical drive there, you might be able to talk them into installing it for you free. In a down economy like this, you have a bit more leverage than you normally would. It's at least worth a shot, they may still say no, but they may also say yes.

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Thanks
Aug 3, 2011 3:24PM PDT

Thanks Jimmy. I'm actually located in Australia, so we don't have Best Buy or Fry's here (as far as I'm aware of anyway!). I'll see if any of our local electronic stores can help.
Thanks again for your assistance.
Cheers.