08-05-2011, 05:50 AM
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)
@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)