CD/DVD (Bluray) drive no longer reads.

Hi, Rob82:

Those error codes are very generic. Please try running a READ test on your drive with a data disc in the drive.

How do I do this please?

Go into the diagnostics. Put a data disc, either CD or DVD, in the drive. In the list of available tests, you should see the read test. Run that with the disc in the drive. This is the best way to determine whether you have a hardware or software problem. I suspect hardware, but it's best to confirm first before replacing the drive.

You need to select custom test, then you can pick a component and test.

How would I do this?

Hi Rob,

sorry to butt into your conversation but do a search for Powerdvd 8,2 and read some of the posts.  It will not help resolve your problem but will show you a small sample of the other problems that are being suffered by other Blu-Ray drive users.  Some of us are trying to get Dell and the Media to do something about all these problems.  Let me know if you want to join us.

Regards,

Ron

See if this article helps.

Ron:

Sorry if I missed something, but where did the OP indicate that he was having a PowerDVD problem?

Hi osprey,

What you missed was my pointing out that there are numerous examples of problems with Dell systems and Blu-Ray drives.  The Powerdvd issue being one example.  I did say that what I was pointing out was not a solution.  I just wanted Rob to know he was not alone and that there are many others with Blu-ray problems seeking a solution from Dell or with help from the IT industry.

Regards,

Ron

Ok, I understand. Are you aware of chronic issues apart from the problems playing BR movies using PowerDVD?

I am of the opinion that Blu-Ray is still in the toddler stage of technology and that problems are to be expected.

Hi osprey,

Yes I do believe that there are chronic problems with Blu-Ray technology as implemented by Dell.  I bought my system almost a year ago , so saying it is still at the toddler stage is, I think, being too generous.  The reason I think there is a major problem with the use of Blu-Ray on Dell systems is because of the number of posts here in the community about problems of such a variety as to be unacceptable.

My own problem was not being able to format a BD-RE disc.  Dell immediately told me - "It is a software compatability problem,  Please call this premium rate number and pay a "nominal" fee to get the solution".  Well my problem with that is that if Dell know immediately that this is a sw issue, why did they sell me a system with a sw problem?!  This then led me to search the community forums for problems with "untested" systems.  There are many.  Why should I , or anybody else, be expected to pay for "known/shipped" problems on systems that obviously have not been fully tested?!  I will not let this drop, even though I have found out what my problem is - and it is not sw incompatability!!

Dell have failed to deliver support and have tried to boost their revenue by getting me to call a premium rate number and pay a nominal fee for a fix which would not solve my problem!

You may be able to tell, I am mighty angry about this.

Regards, Ron

Ron:

I'll plead ignorance since I don't have a BR drive, but why exactly does one format a BD-RE disc? You certainly wouldn't format a disc for movies. And the Vista and Windows 7 built-in programs that can do UDF (packet writing) cannot write to BD discs. So I'm a bit baffled by the idea of formatting a BD-RE disc.

Hi osprey,

From all your posts I thought you had a Blu-Ray drive.  Well let me just tell you what I have seen from Roxio/ImgBurn/Vista and Windows 7 format process, etc.

Each time you go to write to a BD-RE disc, the message is issued that the disc is not formatted.  Therefore, you have to format BD-RE discs before first use.  Neither Dell nor Microsoft have told me that the BD-RE disc does not need formatting.  So I think it is fairly conclusive that BD-RE discs need to be formatted.  Besides i would have thought that it would be very insecure if the media could not be formatted.

I don't get your comment about not formatting a disc for movies, sorry.

Regards, Ron

Ok, as I said, I'm behind the curve on this subject. Obviously, the capability to write to blu-ray discs has not reached any Windows OS yet, so I assume you are using ImgBurn or Roxio. ImgBurn have their own forum. Have you done some exploring there? I see lots of issues with certain brands (LG). That may be a better source for help.