Dell GU051 Drive Problems, Optical drive problems, Problems writing to a CD-RW or DVD+/-RW, 105

Drive Problems

CAUTION: Before you begin any of the procedures in this section, follow the safety instructions in the Product Information Guide.

Fill out the "Diagnostics Checklist" on page 174 as you complete these checks.

E N S U R E T H A T M I C R O S O F T ® W I N D O W S ® R E C O G N I Z E S T H E D R I V E —

•Click Start →Computer.

If the drive is not listed, perform a full scan with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing the drive.

TE S T T H E D R I V E —

•Insert another floppy disk, CD or DVD to eliminate the possibility that the original media is defective.

•Insert a bootable floppy disk and restart the computer.

C L E A N T H E D R I V E O R D I S K — See "Cleaning Your Computer" on page 188.

E N S U R E T H A T T H E CD O R DVD I S S N A P P E D O N T O T H E S P I N D L E C H E C K T H E C A B L E C O N N E C T I O N S

C H E C K F O R H A R D W A R E I N C O M P A T I B I L I T I E S — See "Troubleshooting Software

and Hardware Problems in the Windows Vista™ Operating System" on page 130.

R U N T H E D E L L D I A G N O S T I C S — See "Dell Diagnostics" on page 97.

Optical drive problems

NOTE: High-speed optical drive vibration is normal and may cause noise, which does not indicate a defect in the drive or the media.

NOTE: Because of different regions worldwide and different disc formats, not all DVD titles work in all DVD drives.

Problems writing to a CD-RW or DVD+/-RW

C L O S E O T H E R P R O G R A M S — CD-RW and DVD+/-RW drives must receive a steady stream of data when writing. If the stream is interrupted, an error occurs. Try closing all programs before you write to the drive.

Troubleshooting

105