CDRW not reading anything.

[andy37142]

Hello
I have had a Samsung CDRW SW-408 for a number of years using Adaptec easy CD Creator software. It has worked perfectly until this morning. When I insert any disc into the CDRW the green light on the CDRW flashes for about 30 seconds then stops. When I click 'My Computer' and double click the device I get 'D is not accessible, The device is not ready'. In other words it is not reading any disks (I have tried about 5 different disks). Win98SE is still recognizing the CDRW in system properties and I can't clean it because it won't read the CD cleaner disc.Anyone help please.
Andy (UK) :( :( :(

[Budfred]

You might want to try the cleaner disk anyway, I think it spins up and tries to read when it is looking to see if it is available. It is probably worthwhile to check cable connections in the box too, they may have come loose over time. You can try booting into Safe Mode and removing all drivers for the drive, letting Windoze reinstall on reboot. You can also blow it out really well with a can of air and see if that helps. If none of this works, it may be time to go shopping for a new CDRW, they are available for really cheap these days...

[andy37142]

Sorry, forgot to say that when I put a disk in the CDRW it doesn't actually turn, it just sits there until the green light goes out and I eject it. Does this help with diagnosis? I will now check the wires and blow it out.
Thanks
Andy

[Sylvander]

Make sure that:
1. The Secondary IDE Controller is enabled in the BIOS Setup.
[Is the CD-RW (the only drive) connected to the Secondary IDE Controller and jumpered correctly?]
Also check in device manager that the Secondary IDE Controller is enabled and working.
It would be wise to check that all the drives are set to "Auto" [in "BIOS Setup>Standard CMOS Setup"], so all will be properly detected and configured [by the BIOS] at every startup.

2. See if you can access the drive using a Windows 98 Startup disk "With CD-ROM Support".
Make sure the DOS command specifies the correct letter allocated to the CD-RW.
If that works, there's nothing wrong with the hardware, it's probably a driver problem.

[andy37142]

Sylvander and others
I have checked all of your No 1. and everything was OK. I then tried No 2. and the system has removed the SAMSUNG CD-ROM SW-408 from the device manager CDROM listings and replaced it with just CD ROM drive. My other CD ROM drive is still listed corrctly however. Help!! How do I get the system to recognise the SW-408 CDRW again?
Andy
:( :(

[Budfred]

If you have already checked connections to make sure they are tight, try booting in Safe Mode, go to Device Manager, Remove the CD listings (all of them) and then reboot, allowing Windoze to detect and reinstall them. If it doesn't work after that, it is likely to be a dead drive.