Playing cd's on my computer

[tomden101]

My PC won't allow my cd's to play on it. Everytime I put a cd in, it just sits there. Won't play at all.

[lorraine]

Hi,

It's a bit late as I'm writing this so I'm going to start by giving you links to optical drive discussions posted elsewhere on this board. Please read through them because they may have some information that might help you to do troubleshooting (such as checking for a dirty drive or checking connectivity). Once you've read through them can you please post back with any more information about what worked or didn't work? Also, when did your drive last work?
Even though these are on the Vista forum they should apply to XP:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=69

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=321

[tomden101]

It worked probably about 2-3 weeks ago. I don't know it stopped but I need to get it fixed because I just got a new printer and I need it so I can get my printer to correctly.

[lorraine]

Thanks for the information. I can better help you, however, if you would tell me what you have tried so far from the links that I sent to you in my last reply. Did you try cleaning the drive with a commercial lens cleaner? Did you check the cables inside for connectivity? There are other steps to try but I need to know what you've tried to date after reading the instructions in the links that i gave you.

What make/model computer is it? How old is the computer? Is this the original drive that came with it or one that you have installed since purchasing the computer? Answering the questions above and providing as many details as you can will help either Gary or I to help you.

As for installing your printer, whenever I install printers for staff at work I just go online to the printer manufacturer's site, download the latest drivers and install them from the downloaded file.

[lorraine]

i have more questions that I should have asked first:
1. When you put a CD in does the drive's light come on at all?
2. If you go into My Computer does the drive appear with a letter (often designated D:)?
3. If the light comes on and the drive letter is present, what happens when you double-click on the drive? Do you get an error message? If so, please write it down and post it in a reply.
4. Have you tried other discs in the drive?
5. Is this a CD ROM drive or a DVD drive? If it's a CD ROM drive and if the disc provided by the printer manufacturer is a DVD, the drive will not recognize it.

Again, the more information that you can give us the better we will be able to troubleshoot it.

[lorraine]

Still more questions (sorry for piecemeal replies--busy time of year).

1. Does the drive show up in the Device Manager? If so, is there a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in it showing an error?
2. I looked at one of your other posts and saw that you had a Dell computer. Have you tried' Dell's support site? It is quite extensive and I see that optical drive problems are discussed there.