> Date:    Sat, 14 Feb 2004 23:27:14 -0500
> From:    Phil and Nat Gagne <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: CD Rom not reading CDs.
>
> Ok, first time poster to this list......
>
> I have a Creative 36x cd rom drive that seems to be giving me the
scratches here.  Whenever I insert a CD, it makes a clicking noise as though
the spinner is having problems functionning properly.  The result becomes
the CD inserted is not read, detected, and unaccessible through My Computer
and Windows Explorer.  Windows Explorer does see the cd rom drive and
displays it is there.  When I checked the Device Manager, it says my cd rom
is working fine(!) and that I am using the most up to date driver
available(!).  How can I fix this?  It won't even read/detect my Windows 98
CD(!)  Help!
>
> Phil

You may be lucky and only need to clean the drive's read head lens.
You can buy a cleaning CD for that job although I don't know how well they
work.

It is not unusual for CD drives to fail so you may need to replace the
drive.
Fortunately knew CD drives are quite reasonable so it shouldn't cost a lot.
You may want to consider moving up to a CDRW drive at this time if you don't
already have one as they are also quite reasonable now.
Either way a new drive will also give you a considerable speed boost in the
bargain.

Ron White

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