Looking for ideas on why the DVD drive only plays certain DVD's

[Frash]

I have a TOSHIBA 16X Black DVD±RW Internal Drive , Model SD-R5372 http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=27-130-037&DEPA=1

I was recently given several DVD's from work to edit. When I first got them, I put them in the DVD tray and browsed around them a little, just getting an idea of what was on there. I did this several times.

Now, when I load the disc's in the drive, I get nothing. The light on the drive flashes for about 20 seconds, then stays on. I've put in a DVD+RW and it works fine. I've also written DVD's since this problem started. CD's work just fine also.

I use Zonealarm AV and firewall along with spybot, spysweeper 3.5. I have checked for spyware and also tried getting the discs to play w/ all of these turned off.

The DVD also works in my standalone DVD player for my TV.

Any help is appreciated.

[ukulele]

Is Incd loaded and running? You need to load it at startup.

[Frash]

I looked that up (never heard of it), but I don't use any nero products and I didn't see anything similar in my startup.

I was reading about autoplay and holding down the shift key as I insert the DVD, so I gave that a try. I put in one of the DVD's and it actually worked. I thought I was good to go, but even now as I hold the shift key, it's not working again.

When I put in the disc and go to my computer to click on the DVD drive, It pretty much locks my computer up and freezes. I'll try to right click the DVD drive and I usually then have to close the "my computer" window out through task manager.

The DVD drive in question is about 2 months old.

[ukulele]

Incd is not a Nero product. It is a bundled software that comes with different software packages. Look through the software that came with your drive and make sure that all the software included is loaded. I normally don't disable hardware related software in the startup folder in MS config either. Especially optical drive applications. Drives that have problems reading discs that can be read by other drives with no problem could indicate mechanical problems or dirty heads. Also, I have noticed that dvd drives are more picky about minute scratches then cd drives, so take a close look at your disks. It they are scratched up, that could be the problem.

[Frash]

Oh, ok. Thanks for the correction. I bought the drive without any bundled software. I looked for a firmware upgrade and found one that increases the speed, but the link was either old or down.

Thanks for the help!

[ukulele]

Originally posted by Frash
Oh, ok. Thanks for the correction. I bought the drive without any bundled software. I looked for a firmware upgrade and found one that increases the speed, but the link was either old or down.

Thanks for the help!

Most drive manufactures have software available for free that will allow it to read all the different protocals and standards. Also, be careful with firmware updates not approved by the manufacturer. You could just as easily end up with a dead drive.