CD Drive Won't Read

[Chief]

It won't read certain types of disk. Example: I put in the recovery disk and it won't read it. I really want to install Vista again as My computer could handle that better.

I have checked all the wires and they're right. I don't think it's drivers cause I've looked and can't find any. What can I do?

[Annuit Coeptis]

What type of disc are you trying to read? Your optical drive may only be good for cds. Are you sure it can read DVDs? Is this a brand new problem or has this happened before? Are you trying to boot from the disc that you are using? Can you view what is on the disc if you load it after windows had loaded? If you are trying to boot from the cd and it isn't working then it may be the disc itself.

Lemme know, and good luck!

[Carbon Host]

i have this same problem

[Chief]

I think the disk is DVD disk.

[Annuit Coeptis]

I think the disk is DVD disk.

So yeah, that could be it. You could be trying to read a dvd with a device that was only designed to read cds.

[Deceive]

Try re-installing your drivers, if that don't work call up for support.
Recently my wireless adapter wasn't working so I called up and had it fixed quite fast actually

[fretin]

I think the disk is DVD disk.

The most likely cause is that the disc is too advanced for the current device settings, although I had something similar a while back, when I updated my audio outputs. First confirm you are using the correct media for the player and it is a DVD drive.

If it is correct open your Device Manager (Start > Control Panel > System > Hardware tab) and see if the device is visible. If not, it needs to be reinstalled. If so double click the device to bring up the properties (if you have made any chnages to your mutlimedia setup, you may receive a microsoft error 38, 39 or 41 and will need a registry update from micrsoft).

From the device properties you will be able to confirm if the device is working/installed properly, the drivers are up to date and perform other trouble shooting.

Best case scenario, you are behind one or two updates. So-so situation you may need a registry update. Worst case you will need to reintasll the device.

[Chief]

Also it's a like 07 PC. Could that be it?
It's visible cause It reads disks just not current ones.

[icecubemachines]

It's hard to know where the problem lies, with so much unknown factors and all, and me not knowing what you know about computers etc.

@fretin
Drivers *should* be good. CD/DVD/whatever devices are usually *all or nothing* when it comes to working. Either they read everything or nothing at all.

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here, but is this a disk that actually says "recovery disk"? As in: it possibly came with your PC (or another one) and is supposed to fix Vista in case of problems? If it is, than you should think about the difference between "recovering" and "installing". Generally, the recovery one only works when you have it inserted while your computers is starting up. It might be impossible to install Vista with it, though. Recovery disks aren't guaranteed to install anything, but you could always try.

Another wild guess (hey, who knows, I might be right):
What is your definition of "doesn't read"? Might it be that you inserted the disk and nothing happened and you assumed it didn't work?

You should generally check the "Computer" folder and double click on the CD/DVD drive icon or try *right-click* --> open in new window. If it gives an error message, stating that "something is corrupt" or "can't read this" or something similar, than it would appear that your disk is broken, rather than your drive.

If your disk works on a different computer AND it offers to install Vista, rather than recover a broken version AND it doesn't work while being in the drive during start up, then you can be certain of a hardware problem. If it doesn't offer a way to install Vista, well.. then you're out of luck and can't install Vista with it. Yes, it's a complete rip-off, but in the Vista era, Microsoft assumed no-one would ever want to re-install Vista, so most PC's shipped without the install disks. (if you're wondering why they decided upon this madness: profit)

For hardware problems, the recipe to success is always the same:
- go the website of the vendor for your computer (DELL, HP, whatever)
- try to ID the type of computer you have, and search for it's "support" page (the "type" is usually printed on your computer somewhere in plain sight, or on some obscure sticker on the back with a version number)
- find a link to download the updated drivers for your current OS (I'm assuming this is Windows 7)

[EnergySource]

I had a problem like this two times. I have tried a lot of things, but I couldn't fix it. However, since the BD-readers I never had a problem anymore.