CD and DVD Drives

The CD or DVD drive cannot read a disc, or it takes too long to start.

1. Ensure the disc in inserted with the label facing up and centered in the tray.
2. Wait at least 30 seconds for the drive to determine the type of media.
3. Clean the disc with a disc cleaning kit, available from most computer stores.
4. The driver may be corrupted or outdated. Drivers needs to be reinstalled.

I cannot remove a CD or DVD.

Turn on your computer, press the Eject button nearest the drive to open the tray. If you suspect a problem with the Eject button itself.

1. Click the Windows Start Button, and then Computer.
2. Right click the CD or DVD drive you want to open.
3. Select Eject from the menu.

My mini-CD disc is falling down inside the computer.

On all slimline computers, the CD/DVD drive is installed in a vertical position. Standard-sized CDs and DVDs can fit into the drive vertically; however if you are using a mini-disc, you must first place the computer on its side before you insert the mini-disc.

1. Face the front of the computer and lay the computer down on it right side.
2. Press the Eject button to open the CD/DVD tray.
3. Place the mini-disc into the recess inside the tray, and press the Eject button again to close it.

I cannot create (record) a disc.

1. Ensure the disc is inserted with the label facing up and centered in the tray.
2. Verify that you are using the correct disc type (media) for the drive. Try a different brand of disc.
3. Ensure the disc is clean and undamaged. If recording stopped during a recording session , the disc may be damaged; use a different disc.
4. Use the correct type of disc for the type of files you are recording.
5. When using a CD-R disc, ensure it is blank if recording music, and that it is blank and append-able (with space to add more data files) if recording data.
6. Verify that you are using the correct disc type when you make a copy of a disc. Some recording programs can record only to the same disc type as the source. For example, you can record a DVD only to  DVD+R/-R or a DVD+RW/-RW disc, and you can record a CD only to a CD-R or a CD-RW disc.
7. Ensure that the disc is in the correct drive, and that you specify the same drive in the CD or DVD recording software.
8. Select a slower write speed for the recording drive, if a slower speed is available.
9. The recording software may not let you add a track if it exceeds the available space on your disc. You can make space available by removing one or more tracks from the list before recording the files to the disc.
10. Close all software programs and windows before recording.
11. Ensure you have enough available space on your hard disk to store a temporary copy of the content. Click the Windows Start Button, then Computer. Right click the hard disk drive and click properties to view the available space.
12. If you are on a network, copy the files from a network drive to your hard disk drive first, and then record them to the disc.
13. Close all programs and windows, and then restart your computer.

I cannot add data to a DVD.

Ensure you set the correct recording option (append or add data files) in your DVD recording software.

Titles of music tracks are not displayed for the CD.

For the artist, title, and track information to appear when you play music CDs, the computer must be connected to the internet. This information is not recorded on the disc.  (Track information may not be available for every CD)

An error message appears when i capture video.

You may need to select the capture device if your computer has both an analog and a digital video capture device. To find out how to change the video device selection, refer to the Help menu in the video capture program.

I cannot play a DVD movie on a DVD player.

Your DVD player cannot play video files that were recorded onto the DVD as data files. To play a movie properly, use a video recording program. Some video files may be viewed on a computer, but not on a home DVD video player.