My computer’s CD drive is playing up a little. Brand new, clean CD’s are sometimes misread or not detected at all - I am told that the drive is idle even though a CD is sitting in it.
Are there any quick diagnostics I can run (OS: Windows 98) to see if this is a driver software problem, or is there any way I can safely clean the optical elements in case this is the problem?
canned air is your friend…
Open the case and check the ribbon cable to the CD. Make sure it’s connected securely on both ends.
Yeah, checked the cables, and the IDE status seems to check out.
The puzzling thing is that the problem emerges gradually during a session. When I switch on the computer after it’s been off all day, it will usually read any CD fine. However, change the CD (or even simply open and close the CD tray) and it will make stuttering noise, as though it starts to spin and then inexplicably stops as it gets up near full speed. Eventually it does not even spin, but tells me that the drive is idle and no CD is detected. Restarting, or even turning the computer off for some minutes, doesn’t help.
However, leaving it off for a few hours definitely does help! This is why I suspect that it the problem is physical in nature, but any hints on checking the BIOS or software would be greatly appreciated.