Would BIOS update fix my DVD-ROM problem?

Question

My dvd rom just says 'please insert disk' when i put dvd's in it, whether it be a movie or a pc game.  There are no firmware updates for my drive (HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8162B), I have looked.  There is a little documentation i found on dell's site, but it is utterly useless.  I just reformatted my harddrive to see if that would help (among turning the tide on the battle against malware that i was losing badly), but it didnt.  I remember a year ago when this computer was brand new it had no trouble with DVD's.  Ive made threads about this before, but to no avail.  Do you think a bios update would have any chance of fixing this?  If so what would be a good bios to update to?

Predator · Answer

Hi Fish,

You have been through a few things my friend, read the posts in the Virus conference.
After formating the system, did you first re-install the Intel Chipset Drivers, if not this can cause problems, these can be be found in the Downloads.
As far as BIOS updates, these fix known and sometimes other problems as well and also add features, so updating to the last one available is the route to go, they are suppose to cover / include previous updates. Howevr you may wish to confirm this in the Dimension-BIOS conference.

Best Regards

God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do
and the eyesight to tell the difference.

CD/RW Link

fish111 · Answer

To my knowledge I didn't install the chipset drivers, do you mean the one's on dell's website?  And how do i know if theyve automatically been installed, quite a few of my devices were installed with no action on my part.  The sound and video cards were i believe the only ones not to.   Ill try the BIOS board for the other thing.   Thanks, Jeff

Predator · Answer

Hi Jeff,

They are not automatically installed, you should have a disc that shipped with your system, however the ones on the Dell site under the Downloads for your system may be more recent.

Best Regards

God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do and the eyesight to tell the
difference.

CD/RW Link

fish111 · Answer

There is an item in add/remove programs called Intel (R) Pro network adaptors and drivers.

Ok, get this, I reboot my computer and after everything on the system tray is done loading i put a dvd movie in, and it immediately ran the autoplay, i clicked to use windows media, and it started playing just fine. I took the disc out, waited a few seconds then put it back in, and it refuses to play or recognize that there is anything in the drive.

fish111 · Answer

Ok, looking through the downloads section, AO7 appears to be the newest bios for the dimension 8300.  Also Im donnloading the new chipset drivers as we speak.   Oh, and I forgot to ask, during my whole reformatting process I set my dvd rom drive to boot first before the HDD, should i put this back?  If so, should it be in this order: floppy, HDD, dvd-rom? Message Edited by fish111 on 01-25-2005 05:23 PM

Predator · Answer

I like the Foppy HD CD order, otherwise the system tends to keep trying to access the optical drive at times, but this is just my nickel...and worth about that much ..lol

Best Regards

God, grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do
and the eyesight to tell the difference.

CD/RW Link

Message Edited by Predator on 01-26-2005 07:20 AM

fish111 · Answer

Well, I hadnt even a nickel on the subject so i guess Ill borrow yours. Thanks, predator.

Storage, Drives & Media

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