I’ve been through about 3 CD-ROM drives in the past 3 months. I’ve got a few ideas, so tell me which one sounds most plausible.
Two of the CD-ROMs won’t even power on, and the last just won’t read CDs (i.e. I place one in, and Windows doesn’t recognize it. Neither does Linux, so it’s not an OS problem)
Overuse
I have to reformat this crappy computer every few months, and I have to install a LOT of thing to get it back up to operational speed. Whenever I have to reinstall, I copy about 25 Gigs of data in one day off of CDs. It still works a few weeks after this, but soon promptly dies.
Heat
This computer is excessively hot. If my BIOS are to be trusted, the chassis runs at 120+ F Degrees. (Usually closer to 130).
Bad Motherboard
So far, these three CD-Rom drives have died, and one floppy has died. I know the ports aren’t dead, because a new Floppy/CD-ROM works if I plug one in. But maybe the motherboard is shorting out the drives? Oh, and the brand of motherboard I have is found Here .
Bad Powersupply
OK, this is a stretch. Since two drives just won’t turn on, I think this is a possible cause. I know that the power cables work, as other things (such as chassis fans) still work when using them.
My last computer got shot all to hell because of a bad power supply. When I say bad, I mean sparks flying out of it bad! So don’t discount that as a possible source.
I’m assuming you got all of these replaced for free under warranty? If so, maybe you could ask the manufacturer about what could be causing them to fail so quickly.
This is somewhat unrelated, but a good solution to this problem is to buy a copy of Norton Ghost and an external hard drive (only if you don’t have another computer with 25 gigs free space). Ghost can create an image file of your hard drive, which is basically a mirror copy of it (like an ISO image but much larger). You can then put this on your external drive, and when you need to reformat just use Ghost to restore it. I use this method, and it works great - it takes me about an hour to reformat the drive, restore the image and have everything back to normal.
Absolutely not, although dust sounds good. The computer is sitting under a wooden desk, and about every week I have to wipe shavings off the top of the computer. (very small amounts, but still enough to be noticable.
But since the CD-ROM isn’t open more than 30 seconds at a time, it doesn’t sound feasible.
I don’t keep the sides screwed in, but they form more of a “tent” against the side. While not covering the case, they provide protection from the desk.
OH, I should have mentioned. Two of these drives were actually CD/RW Drives (albeit relatively old ones).
It sounds like you’ve mostly answered your own question, except, perhaps, for #3 - I haven’t heard of a motherboard destroying peripherals. Nasty, dirty power supplies can be hard on the units they supply power to, though.
Are you, by any chance, buying the cheapest CD-ROM drives you can get? Sometimes it worth it to go for something a little more expensive and reputable.
No, as a matter of fact, I hardly ever burn CDs on that computer. I’m going to try a different approach–
I’ve still got one CD-ROM that’ll power on, but it won’t read discs. I’m assuming that’s because the lense is dirty, so is their any way to clean it without disassembling the CD-ROM? (I’ve tried disassembly…terribly complicated)
What Meatros said unless you’ve been buying crap CDRW drives or running dirty, dusty CDs through them. If your PS is dirty or way out of spec it could have damaged a lots of components. New cases and PSs are not that expensive and unless MB is latest and greatest it should be replaced also. Would suggest replacing MB and PS and case (in case grounding is at issue) .
The heat you have listed is certainly adequate to kill them. I don’t know why it is but in my exp. the components on CD drives are the most sensitive to heat of all the computer devices I’ve worked on.
I have had this problem, I don’t know if the same solution will work for you, but I switched the power cable that the CD drive was on.
I think I unhooked the one that was in the same line with the HD, and connected one that had nothing else on the line and that fixed the problem.
It sounds exactly the same. I was able to get the drive to power on, but nothing would run from it.
also, make sure your device manager only lists 1 CD drive…
I think I had a conflict a long time ago after replacing a drive and there were 3 drives listed… probably not the solution… just thought I would mention it.
My hard drive actually had a lot of problems as well, I mention this because I overburned ALOT. What can it do to the hard drive? I was unaware that it could cause a problem…
Is the case actually hot to the touch? If it is really running at 120 degrees then it’s not surprising so many components are failing. Are the vents choked with dust? Are all the fans spinning? In particular you should see whether the power supply fan is moving any air. It should be visible through the back of the case.