If the drive does not read discs

Some novice users find it difficult to believe that in a device as perfect as a laptop or a computer, as in everything else, there are sometimes malfunctions. Sometimes you can eliminate them yourself at home, although in some cases you have to spend money on purchasing new parts or visiting a service center. One of these problems is that the disk drive does not read.

Now in the field of information carriers there is a clear tendency of gradual abandonment of compact discs in favor of flash drives. The constant availability of fast Internet has allowed many to forget about disks - in their computers simply there is no device for reading / writing. Alas, even the standard BluRay, which was once pinned high hopes, appeared too late to compete with alternative solutions. Unsurprisingly, some computer owners do not know what to do if the drive does not read discs.

But CDs, in comparison with the same flash drives, have one undeniable advantage - the cost. Hardly anyone can find a USB flash drive for 50 cents (that's what a good DVD-ROM costs). And since they are not yet completely out of use, many people are faced with the fact that the drive does not read discs.

Before considering ways to solve this problem, let's recall the theory. At the heart of the CD is a metal surface with a high reflectivity. The electronic circuit of the drive generates a laser beam, which in a certain order makes depressions in this surface (process Records). While reading the recorded data, the circuit captures the reflected beam and converts the order of the depressions into a digital data stream. For example, a full beam return (smooth surface) means a logical unit, and its absence (indentation) is zero. Usually the problem "the drive does not read discs" occurs at this stage. Of course, if it is a hardware failure. Have you ever wondered why the message "the drive does not read the disks" almost never happened before?

The fact is that between the source of coherent light and the disk there is a focusing lens. In the early models of drives it was glass, and in modern - plastic. As you know, transparent plastic itself is subject to turbidity, but here again, the beam through it is constantly passing. The effect is predictable - beam focusing is deteriorating, read failures begin, the recording quality drops.

What can be done? Alas, a little. Problems with the lens - this is the trouble of all modern drives that have been in operation for more than two years (although there are exceptions).

It is necessary to increase the intensity of the beam by tweaking the trimmer resistors on the control board. For this it is recommended to contact the SO.

Another common problem is that the drive does not read some discs. In this case, not everything is so unambiguous. The ROM device contains information about the most popular types of disks (at the time the drive is on sale). According to these data, the device corrects the beam strength and spindle rotation speed. But since there are more and more new manufacturers on the market, sooner or later the situation arises that there is no data on the inserted media in the device's database. Hence the possible problems. The solution is simple - you need to visit the site of the developer of the drive, download the firmware update for your model and reflash it.