eglispor:

Please see the "Why is the CD or DVD drive on my computer so noisy?" article in the Dell Knowledge Base by clicking here.

I would recommend using the Dell Diagnostics disk to test the DVD-ROM drive. Just insert the Dell Diagnostics CD and reboot the system. The diagnostics program should automatically begin to load. Once it has finished loading the diagnostic modules insert one of the problematic "DVD" disks. Then run the IDE CD/DVD test. If you get a failed message we can be sure there is a hardware problem; either there is something wrong with the disk in question or the drive is defective and will need to be replaced.

To have this arranged if the system is under warranty, you can, 1) contact our Mobile Computing Hotline at 800-822-8965 for Corporate/Government Accounts or at 800-247-9252 for Direct accounts; or 2) you can email mobile_support@dell.com. If you do choose to email, make certain to include a brief description of your issue, with your service tag and the troubleshooting steps you have followed.

Otherwise, you may wish to check the Dell Software and Accessories site - they are our Software and Peripherals Superstore and sell components from other vendors for our Dell systems, as well as Dell-branded parts and accessories.

I have an i8100 with the same drive, also running WinXP SP1. While mine can play audio cds fine, sometimes it locks up trying to play DVDs or read CDRs/RWs, and as the original poster mentioned if you leave a disk in the drive and suspend, when you wake the machine it will lock up, requiring a hard reboot. Looking over the forum I have discovered other posts regarding this drive that mention the same problems.

I have the same problem in Win2K (SP2 and now SP3) where the DVD drive will not read anything but DVDs.

I ran the diags and the drive came up bad when I read normal CDs. I called tech Support and they rushed me a new drive. I still have the problem. I contacted them and we went through a few scenarios. They wanted to ship me another drive, but I know that the drive is not the problem. Is there a Firmware issue or Driver issue?

This drive used to work fine, that's why I don't think the problem is the drive... Is there a DLL or application program that does this after you install it?

DELL,

Can you please help the hundreds of people like me who are having this issue? My company purchased one hundred of these Inspiron 8000's. We need the data drive option on the DVD to run our presentations and install software when we are using the optional bay with two batteries (we do it all the time)...

This is now a business requirement and we will be forced to return the units if we continue to have this problem.

Edwin Bencosme
CEO and President
EBS, Inc.

I have the same problem:
if a CD is in the drive (DRN8080B) at the time when I reactivate I8100 from standby mode - notebook hangs.

I think there is a problem with BIOS that requires a fix. My BIOS is A13.



I8100/1GHz/256MB/IBM-TS48GH/DVD-CD/GF2Go16MB/NV-30.82/UXGA/BIOS-A13/WXP-SP1

I'm experiencing the same problem (only able to read DVD), either has to do with an upgrade of the BIOS or WinXP SP1.

Having these problems with an Inspiron 3800.

TIA

Mister GiF

I have the same problem, my LG only reads DVDs, on Inspiron 8100 with WinXP Pro. I believe it's the BIOS, because this problem appeared only after I upgraded my BIOS. Any ideas on what to do?