Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
776 Chapter <strong>13</strong> Optical Storage<br />
Troubleshooting Optical Drives<br />
Failure Reading a CD<br />
If your CD fails to read a CD, try the following solutions:<br />
■ Check for scratches on the CD data surface.<br />
■ Check the drive for dust and dirt; use a cleaning CD.<br />
■ Make sure the drive shows up as a working device in System Properties.<br />
■ Try a CD that you know to work.<br />
■ Restart the computer (the magic cure-all).<br />
■ Remove the drive from Device Manager in Windows 9x, allow the system to redetect the drive,<br />
and then reinstall the drivers (if PnP-based system).<br />
Failure to Read CD-R, CD-RW Discs in CD-ROM or DVD Drive<br />
If your CD-ROM or DVD drive fails to read CD-R and CD-RW discs, try the following solutions:<br />
■ Check compatibility; some very old 1x CD-ROM drives can’t read CD-R media. Replace the<br />
drive with a newer, faster, cheaper model.<br />
■ Many early-model DVD drives can’t read CD-R, CD-RW media; check compatibility.<br />
■ The CD-ROM drive must be MultiRead compatible to read CD-RW because of the lower reflectivity<br />
of the media; replace the drive.<br />
■ If some CD-Rs but not others can be read, check the media color combination to see whether<br />
some color combinations work better than others; change the brand of media.<br />
■ Packet-written CD-Rs (from Adaptec DirectCD and backup programs) can’t be read on MS-<br />
DOS/Windows 3.1 CD-ROM drives because of the limitations of the operating system.<br />
ATAPI CD-ROM Drive Runs Slowly<br />
If your IDE/ATAPI CD-If your ATAPI CD-ROM drive performs poorly, check the following items:<br />
■ Check the cache size in the Performance tab of the System Properties control panel. Select the<br />
quad-speed setting (largest cache size).<br />
■ Check to see whether the CD-ROM drive is set as the slave to your hard disk; move the CD-<br />
ROM to the secondary controller if possible.<br />
■ Your PIO (Programmed I/O) or UDMA mode might not be set correctly for your drive in the<br />
BIOS; check the drive specs and use autodetect in BIOS for the best results (see Chapter 5,<br />
“BIOS”).<br />
■ Check that you are using busmastering drivers on compatible systems; install the appropriate<br />
drivers for the motherboard’s chipset and the operating system in use. See the section “DMA<br />
(Direct Memory Access),” earlier in this chapter.
Change language