The only real potential fix will come from updating the combo-drive's firmware. If a device firmware flash is available for your device it will be located in the Drivers and Downloads section of the Dell Support page. Enter your service tag in the appropriate field on the support page to obtain the list of available drivers and updates for your particular machine. You will find a fflash for your optical drive under REMOVEABLE STORAGE.
Unfortunately CD/DVD-R/RW drives (all optical drives really) are delicate and sensitive. If the surface of your disk is clean and free of heavy scratches yet still not read by the drive the odds are fairly good you will need to purchase a new optical drive. THE GOOD NEWS is they are extremely affordable, generally selling for less $20 USD almost anywhere. You can shop Fry's, Best Buy, your favorite auction side or e-tailers like Amazon. The plastic tray-front you will need to keep and it can be removed without the use of special tools. If you have a pen or a flat-head screwdriver you can simply push in on the lock tabs at each side of that plastic part (called a Bezel.) You find these on the inside underside of the tray...so you will have the tray open when removing the bezel.
You don't need to have the same brand, Optical Drives (except some Blu-Rays) are Universal Plug and Play (UPNP) so come with their own self installing drivers.
If this information was helpful please remember to hit the YES button and if you need further assistance don't hesitate to contact.
Thank you; I will give that a try. I can tell you that I ran a complete diagnostic scan via Dell Support and the only "failure" was a "Cannot Run" relative to the Spindle Test on said drive.
Thanks for coming to the community with your question. The drive is probably just showing it's age.
I have a quick test for you. Do you have a bootable disk? Like the Windows disk that may have come with your computer? If so, pop it in the drive and reboot to the one-time boot menu ( F12 when you see the Dell screen ). Once in the one-time boot menu, try to boot to the Windows disk. If it fails there and it’s a known good Windows CD, you have a bad drive.
If you’re under warranty or would like to purchase a drive from Dell, PM your first/last name, email and service tag and we’ll start a case.
ScottGranger
3 Posts
0
August 12th, 2014 14:00
Follow up -- when I run Microsoft Fixit, I ultimately get the following message:
"Media in CD/DVD drive is not readable (MATSHITA DVD+- RW UJ8C2 SCSI CdRom Device)"
N7U
615 Posts
0
August 12th, 2014 17:00
Hi Scott,
The only real potential fix will come from updating the combo-drive's firmware. If a device firmware flash is available for your device it will be located in the Drivers and Downloads section of the Dell Support page. Enter your service tag in the appropriate field on the support page to obtain the list of available drivers and updates for your particular machine. You will find a fflash for your optical drive under REMOVEABLE STORAGE.
Unfortunately CD/DVD-R/RW drives (all optical drives really) are delicate and sensitive. If the surface of your disk is clean and free of heavy scratches yet still not read by the drive the odds are fairly good you will need to purchase a new optical drive. THE GOOD NEWS is they are extremely affordable, generally selling for less $20 USD almost anywhere. You can shop Fry's, Best Buy, your favorite auction side or e-tailers like Amazon. The plastic tray-front you will need to keep and it can be removed without the use of special tools. If you have a pen or a flat-head screwdriver you can simply push in on the lock tabs at each side of that plastic part (called a Bezel.) You find these on the inside underside of the tray...so you will have the tray open when removing the bezel.
You don't need to have the same brand, Optical Drives (except some Blu-Rays) are Universal Plug and Play (UPNP) so come with their own self installing drivers.
If this information was helpful please remember to hit the YES button and if you need further assistance don't hesitate to contact.
ScottGranger
3 Posts
0
August 13th, 2014 13:00
Thank you; I will give that a try. I can tell you that I ran a complete diagnostic scan via Dell Support and the only "failure" was a "Cannot Run" relative to the Spindle Test on said drive.
Justin C
4 Operator
•
783 Posts
0
August 13th, 2014 14:00
Hi ScottGranger,
Thanks for coming to the community with your question. The drive is probably just showing it's age.
I have a quick test for you. Do you have a bootable disk? Like the Windows disk that may have come with your computer? If so, pop it in the drive and reboot to the one-time boot menu ( F12 when you see the Dell screen ). Once in the one-time boot menu, try to boot to the Windows disk. If it fails there and it’s a known good Windows CD, you have a bad drive.
If you’re under warranty or would like to purchase a drive from Dell, PM your first/last name, email and service tag and we’ll start a case.