Computer repair Miami Article About Laptop CD drives and dvd drives how to… Laptop CD drives and dvd drives are no different than their counterpart drives in a desktop. Because of the need to save space in the laptop they are thinner but retain the same functionality of the desktop version. I am not saying that they will have all the features of the desktop drive, but they will read and write a cd or dvd. I have not seen any Dual Layer drives for a laptop as of yet, you can expect them to be on the market soon. As with a desktop cd/dvd to make it function to it’s fullest you need the correct drivers. This includes the hardware drivers and the video drivers. Hardware drivers that the manufacture supplies and software drivers that a program will require. Then there are additional drivers called Codec that some video programs require that are not installed until you need them. These codec’s can be a pain to find. Before you go on the road and lose you internet connection try all your programs, read and write to the cd/dvd, watch a movie, watch an avi, mpeg, listen to some music. Better to do it now than to be
on an aircraft over the Pacific with out the necessary drivers to watch that move you bought just for the trip!
Another program you may have and need to test before you hit the road is a cd/dvd burning program. You don’t want to get to your work/vacation site and need to burn a cd/dvd and it not work! The cd/dvd drive is one of the components that you can stop and remove while the computer is powered up, just like a USB flash drive. Same principle. You can use the icon Safely Remove Hardware in the tray next to the clock to stop it. Why would you want to stop and remove the drive? Maybe you have a floppy drive for the bay instead of a usb floppy some laptops still come with them instead of powering down your computer to change to the floppy you can stop the cd/dvd, pop it out and insert the floppy drive, the hardware and OS will see the floppy then you can use it. Or vice versa you have the floppy in the bay, stop it, remove it, install the cd/dvd drive. These devices do fail on occasion, not often enough to trouble shoot. If it will not stay closed, or will not read three or four different cd or dvd’s then the drive has failed.
They are not repairable, if the system is still under warranty contact the manufacture for a replacement. Different manufactures have different policies about replacement they may or may not replace it for free and may require the old one back so don’t take it out and throw it away until you have the new one. I do not recommend you clean the reader head with anything besides Isopropyl alcohol and a Qtip. If you use a Qtip insure you have the type that will not leave any stray strands of cotton on the head, one strand that you can not see will render the drive inoperable.
