Insp9100 - Disappearing CDRW/DVD Drive Problem

Question

I am wondering if anyone has heard or experienced the following problem. I am using Insprion 9100 running Win XP PRO, 3.2 GHz P4 HT, 512 MB RAM, Radeon 9700 128 MB and SAMSUNG_CDRW/DVD_SN-324S (which is the part I am having problems with) I only had this laptop for about 3 weeks and the very first time I tried to boot it up I got the following error: 'The device in the system modular bay cannot be identified. It may not be completely inserted or may have some other problem' I didnt think much of that at first, maybe the drive wasnt properly seated or got shifted during transit, so I took it out and put it back in and it booted up. Now ever since the drive keeps on periodically disappearing from the system, especially after prolonged use. I maybe using it and everything is fine and then I take the cd out, close the drive and it disappears from the system and the 'Safely Remove Hardware' icon in the system tray disappears also. Now I know that the drive has not moved and is still properly plugged in. It is still receiving power because its able to open up when you click the 'eject' button on the drive but its not recognized by the system. Most of the time this is fixed by rebooting but even then it might give me the error saying: 'The device in the system modular bay cannot be identified. It may not be completely inserted or may have some other problem' And there are times where I take the drive out of the modular bay, put it back in and still cannot boot up because of that error. Like last night, I was watching a 3 hr dvd, everything was fine. After the dvd ended, I took it out, closed the drive and it disappeared. I tried rebooting but the system couldnt recognize the device in the modular bay drive. I tried taking it out, putting it back in...nothing worked. I took the drive out of the bay and that lets windows boot up...I put it back in and I get the error and cant even get into the bios because that error halts the system. I left it like this and this morning I turn the pc on and its working fine. Finally, here are some errors that appear in the Event View when this problem occurs: Event Type: Error Event Source: PlugPlayManager Event Category: None Event ID: 12 Date: 9/22/2004 Time: 3:29:20 AM User: N/A Computer: INSP9100 Description: The device 'SAMSUNG CDRW/DVD SN-324S' (IDE\CdRomSAMSUNG_CDRW/DVD_SN-324S________________U303____\5&877bd2b&0&0.0.0) disappeared from the system without first being prepared for removal. Event Type: Error Event Source: atapi Event Category: None Event ID: 9 Date: 9/22/2004 Time: 3:29:20 AM User: N/A Computer: INSP9100 Description: The device, \Device\Ide\IdePort1, did not respond within the timeout period. Have anyone ever experienced this (or heard of this problem) with Inspiron 9100. I hope that its just a bad drive (but the weird thing is that it works fine when its being recognized). Dell is sending me a replacement drive for the system. I just hope that its not a problem with the actual modular bay, because I would imagine you would have to send the whole laptop back to Dell to fix that and I really dont want that (although I have the next business day onsite service but could they really replace a mod-bay onsite?) Thanks for your input (and sorry about the lengthy explanation )

stillwaiting9-8 · Answer

I'm having the identical problem - Inspiron 5150 with the same Samsung CD drive.

After 2 hours on the phone with tech support, they determined that the drive is no good and they said they would send a replacement. They said I would have the replacement within 3-4 business days. That was 7 days ago. They are now unable to tell me when the replacement will be shipped. They say it's backordered with no info on when it will be available (although they seem to have no problem quoting ship date of 10/7 for new systems with this drive).

I have the same fear as you - I eventually get the replacement only to find that the drive itself wasn't the problem.

webzila · Answer

Thanks for the reply. The fact that you are having the same problem and the same drive gives me some hope that this is a problem with the drive and not the modular drive bay. If you do a search on this forum, there are some other people that have been having problems with Samsung drives also. So I really hope its a drive issue, because I dont know how a modular drive can be replaced onsite.

I never even called Dell about this problem. I did it all through email and it only took about 2 emails for the Dell techs to get my info and send a replacement...and they answer the emails very quickly.

Then about 1 hour after I got the response saying that I will be shipped a replacement the order appeared on my Dell acct and it says that its shipped and has the info about the product shipped and tracking info...so you might want to check your acct online or chat with a c/s rep on the Dell site.

The funny thing is that the order says that I am being shipped CDRW/DVD,Hitachi LG Data Storage. So according to this info they are sending me Hitachi instead of Samsung which would be great if its really true because I have a feeling there is a problem with all of these Samsung drives..

Hopefully the Hitachi will be the correct replacement for my modular bay.

webzila · Answer

stillwaiting9-8,

I wanted to ask some more question about the problem with your drive, if you dont mind answering....just wanted to compare it more to my issue.

Does your drive disappear randomly at any time or after the drive has been in use for some time? Also, did reseating the drive in the bay help or not?

Do you ever get the error when booting up the pc that says: "The device in the system modular bay cannot be identified. It may not be completely inserted or may have some other problem" ?

Thanks

stillwaiting9-8 · Answer

It seems to disappear randomly, but always after it's been in use. The first time, it was after I tried burning a CD. Several boots later it reappeared, but then disappeared again after playing a music CD or two. Then it would reappear several boots later. This is the general pattern that I've seen.

Reseating the drive seemed to have no effect.

I've never gottne the "The device in the system modular..." message.

I'm curious about your experience with getting a replacement drive. I reported my problem on 9/15 and they said I would have a replacement within 3-4 business days. When there was no progress on the online order status system, I posted to the order status forum and was told that the drive was backordered and they couldn't give me a date when the replacement would be shipped. I took your advice and emailed tech support. Now on 9/23, they're saying that it will be another 5-10 days business days before I get the replacement. How does this compare to your experience?

webzila · Answer

Yeah its weird that its taking so long for you to get a replacement drive. I dont think it should matter what kind of warranty you have?

I first emailed Dell about this problem on Tuesday and on Wednsday morning the tech who was communicating with me by email (always the same person) asked me for my contact info so that he can setup a service ticket. I emailed him my info and 10 minutes later received an email from him and an automated email from Dell that a service ticket has been setup and he told me that I should receive the item in 5-7 business days..

Then about 1 hour later I logged into my dell acct and saw that the order was shipped. It says they sent a Hitachi drive, not a Samsung. I chatted with a customer service rep and they gave me a DHL tracking number for the shippment. I just checked the tracking info and the estimated delivery date is Today (probably because they ship from Austin, TX and I am just 3 hrs away).

stillwaiting9-8 · Answer

I'm a lowly 'Home Use' account. Do you have a business account or some other reason for preferential treatment?

webzila · Answer

No, I am same as you. Home user. When you look at your order status, what drive does it say they are sending you?

stillwaiting9-8 · Answer

Order status shows '24X CD-RW/DVD COMBO DRIVE,I5150,TIED'. I was surprised to see that the order status includes Pre-production and In Production steps. I had figured that they'd just send a raw part, but perhaps they need to do something to prepare it for an Inspiron 5150. Maybe this is a difference between Inspiron 5150 and 9100???

webzila · Answer

I would imagine its the same modular bay...not sure though. It seems like you are getting a different drive than what is being sent to me.

webzila · Answer

Hey Mithranderthefirst, What brand is your drive? Just curious to see if its an issue with a specific drive or just random. And did you say you have a CDRW/DVD or DVD-RW drive?

Mithranderthefi · Answer

Having the same problem with my Inspirion 9100. My DVD+RW keeps disappearing, especially when I try to install software. I'm gonna try calling Dell on Monday to see what's up since I've only had this thing for a about a week and a half.

webzila · Answer

I got the new drive today. On the outside it looks exactly like the old one, all the writing, labels and specifications are the same except the little bar code...those were different. Also the old drive (Samsung) said it was made in Malaysia and this Hitachi says its made in China...

In the Device Manager the drive is specified as HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4243N whereas before it clearly said Samsung. I have been trying to test this drive ever since I got it...I played a music cd non stop twice all the way through and watched a 2 hr dvd, closed and opened the drive....its still here and is not disappearing and I hope that it stays this way.

One thing I did notice is that this Hitachi drive is noiser than the Samsung. When its reading data you can feel it spin, like a fan and air is blowing out near the modular bay...so maybe its cooling itself??? The previous drive didnt do that so its possible that it was overheating.....just guessing...probably not the correct guess anyways

I hope this replacement drive keeps working fine for me and hope that when you get yours it will work fine for you too.

Mithranderthefi · Answer

Mine is the HL-DT-ST DVD+RW GCA-4040N.

realmadrdbeckha · Answer

I have a similar problem with my Inspiron 9100.  I installed Roxio onto my system (which originally had Sonic) and on my reboot I got the blue error screen.  I took out the drive and rebooted it went into WinXP Prof without a problem.  I inserted the drive and it recognized the hardware except it has a yellow question mark over it.  I checked Device manager and it says the device driver is either missing or corrupted (Code 39).  I downloaded the driver from Dell's website and tried to run it, but it said it didn't detect the drive.  I don't know where to go from here.  Could someone please assist me? Thank you.

Storage, Drives & Media

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