Samsung SD-616E not working / reading discs

Question

I have 2 dvd roms on my computer. 1 is functioning correctly, but the other has stopped working. The drive that no longer works is the samsung dvd-rom sd-616e (d:). When looking in device manager the device is shown as working properly. The d: icon also appears in explorer. However when a disk is inserted into the drive the drive does not recognize that there is a disc in the drive. The disc drive has power because the tray opens and the light flashes, but it cannot read discs. I have attempted to use various disks - they are all able to be read in my other dvd drive (e: nec drive), but they will not read in the samsung drive. I have performed the following steps to try to resolve the problem: 1) I have gone to the Dell website and downloaded the updated driver for this dvd drive, but the problem was not fixed. 2) I have also attempted to use various restore points from the past, but that does not work either. 3) Using device manager I have removed the device and reinstalled it -no luck. 4) I started the computer in Safe Mode (F8) and attempted to use the disc drive - that did not work. 5) Using F12, 'boot to utility partition' I ran the custom test on the drive. All tests failed for the d: samsung drive except for the device self-test. I also received an error stating 'the cd does not contain any digital data, try again using a software installation disc.' No errors were listed because the test came back N/A because of the previous message. I used a Turbo Tax installation disc, Windows XP install disc, data disc, and audio disc for the test - all gave the same error message. The exact same discs worked perfectly in my 2nd drive (e: nec drive) - all tests passed. 6) I cleared the NVRAM and reset the system setup (from the F2 bios menu, maintenance tab, load defaults & clear event log). This didn't work. 7) I opened up the computer, unplugged and replugged the power and data cables for the DVD-ROM. I contacted tech support and they are issuing a new dvd player - however, just checking to see if anyone knows of a software issue or another possible fix out there that may work. I noticed another post with a samsung 616e failure from a few days ago - maybe just a coincidence (no resolution on the post).

aweety · Answer

I'm glad to hear chrisatl that dell is replacing your dvd drive, they wouldn't however replace mine.  They told me ths problem isn't a hardware issue but a software issue and my warranty doesn't cover software..isn't that nice?!?  I'm still waiting from them for a reply to my self test results.   Sure I can still use my E drive to play movies and listen to music, but i paid too much for this system (only 14 mos old) to not be able to burn a cd even.

Predator · Answer

Hello Chris,You covered the standards steps and more to trouble shoot this issue which satified Dell for the replacement. You menetioned downloading the driver, which in fact this is the Dell firmware I suggested for Aweety, Members have reported having to run the flash twice and disconnect any second drive on the same IDE cable. However, drives do fail, post back after receiving the drive and let us know the results. I would suggest Aweety try the steps you listed as well. I will address this in his/her previous post shortly.Happy New Year !! 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 thedifference. CD/RW Link

melbiny · Answer

Your problem sounds very similar to mine except neither one of my two drives is working. I have tried all of the same steps that you have with the same results. I contacted DELL and after running some diagnostics I was transferred to a fee based service because they said that it is a software issue. I then hang up and decided to do some research on my own. My computer is a Dell Dimension 2400 series and the drives are both from Dell, the D drive is a Sony IDE CD-Rom drive and the E drive is a Dell Teac DV-W58E 8X DVD=RW.

Storage, Drives & Media

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