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The DVD is loading. What to do if the laptop does not see the disk

CD/DVD drives are practically no longer used in everyday life, but in some situations you cannot do without them. Due to infrequent use, some users encounter a problem when the drive does not read discs. What to do when this happens on Windows 7, as well as prevention methods, is described in this article.

Causes of malfunction

The disk reading problem has several solutions, but first let’s look at the possible causes of the problem:

  • damaged disk;
  • physical failure of the drive;
  • driver problem;
  • OS malfunction.

Advice! Before carrying out further manipulations, check the functionality of the disk itself. Perhaps that is where the problem lies.

Solution options

There are several ways to fix the problem. Let's look at them in order of frequency of occurrence.

Note! All steps are described for the Windows 7 operating system. In Windows 8 and later, the program interface in question may differ.

Hardware check

Problems with iron most often occur in two cases:

  • poor disk drive connection (applies to PC);
  • internal damage to the device.

In the first case, the power cable (on the left in the photo) and/or data transmission (on the right) may not be inserted completely or may be physically damaged. The latter applies mainly only to the data transmission loop. This manifests itself, first of all, as a quiet crackling sound when bending this cable, which indicates the need to replace it.

In the second case, the drive cannot read data from the disk due to accumulated dust that has settled on the lens, or due to the burnout of the reading laser chip. If such situations arise, it is better to buy a new drive, because repairing it is more expensive.

Turning on the drive

There is a possibility that the drive has turned off at the software level. This happens due to a system failure or unintentional user influence.

  1. Click Start menu → Control Panel.

  2. Go to System and Security.

  3. Open "Device Manager" → click on "DVD and CD-ROM drives".


    If there are no drives in the drop-down list, do the following:

    Note! The absence of the “DVD and CD-ROM drives” item in the list means that the computer does not detect the device at the hardware level, as described above.


  4. After this, disk reading should work.

Reinstalling the driver

The need to reinstall the software responsible for the operability of the drive occurs when there are system failures (less often due to viruses) or an OS update.

Uninstalling software

The problem of using the drive sometimes occurs due to installed multimedia programs that create virtual devices. The most famous of them: “Nero”, “Daemon Tools”, “CDBurnerXP”.

To remove such software, it is better to use a third-party utility (for example, “Uninstall Tool”), rather than the built-in Windows tool.

  1. Launch "Uninstall Tool".
  2. Select the program for creating virtual drives → “Uninstall”.

  3. The deletion will start. Confirm your choice.

  4. A search will be made for the remaining files and registry entries about the software being removed. If you find such elements, remove them.


  5. After completing the uninstallation procedure, close the notification window and the utility itself.

  6. Restart your computer.

System Restore

Performing the previous steps does not guarantee that the situation will be corrected, as Windows may have critical errors. The built-in system recovery tool will help you eliminate them.

Important! This procedure is only possible if there is already a previously created restore point on the PC.

  1. Open in “Start” → “All Programs”.

  2. Go to the “Standard” → “Service” folder.


  3. Run System Restore.

  4. In the window that appears, click “Next”.

  5. Select the latest one from the list of restore points → “Next”.

  6. When the process is complete, click “Done.”

After this, the computer will restart and the drive should work again.

Important! If there is no restore point on the PC, then a complete system reinstallation is necessary. How to do this is discussed in the article “”.

conclusions

This article discussed several ways to solve the problem associated with reading discs with a CD/DVD drive. The offered options are suitable for PCs and laptops. You should check the physical condition of the drive, and then proceed to the software procedures.

It is difficult to store all the information on a computer hard drive. Over time, its volume runs out. If the hard drive is full, the computer works slower, because a paging file is formed on this disk, which is used to increase RAM.

So - the hard drive is not dimensionless. In addition, if the computer breaks down, it is not easy to recover information from the hard drive. Therefore, many users burn files with movies and music onto CDs and DVDs. Many people have accumulated huge digital libraries on these media.

Laser discs often fail

But it turned out that laser discs may not exist forever. Probably everyone has experienced problems with reading data. Moreover, we are not necessarily talking about discs recorded independently. Factory stamped blanks also often fail.

What to do if the disc is unreadable? First, you can check the drive. Just insert a few other discs into the optical drive. If none of the “blanks” are readable, the equipment should be blamed. Then you will probably open the necessary information from the disk using another computer.

Your drive may be working, but its driver is not installed correctly. After reinstalling the driver, you can use the discs.

The disk has cracks

What if the drive is working and sees other disks? Then the disc is flawed. First you need to inspect the disk. Perhaps cracks, scratches, or chips have appeared on its surface. Hold the disk up to a light source and carefully inspect its surface.

Are there any visible cracks or chips on the disc? Most likely, you will have to come to terms with the loss of information. On cheap rims, radial cracks often appear, but they are not always easy to notice. If the crack comes from the working hole, the information will be damaged.

Sometimes the disk stops working even due to small cracks. If the crack affects the contents of the disc, the drive will not be able to accept the disc. If a disc appears cracked, do not insert it into the optical drive. You will no longer be able to save the necessary information. And the disk itself may well rupture inside the drive.

In this case, you will lose both the information on the disk and the drive itself.

To prevent the disc from falling apart

The use of faulty and damaged “blanks” often provokes disk rupture. How to avoid this? You should not insert discs brought from the cold into the drive. Discs with cracks should not be inserted.

Sometimes discs with labels on them rip. Their balance is disrupted. When buying a disc, try to purchase products from well-known, trusted brands.

If there is a rattling or crackling sound in the drive, it is better to remove the disc. If this does not work, you should turn off the computer's power. Then we take out the disk manually, and install the drive in place, it will be able to work.

If the disk does rupture inside the drive, the device should be removed and cleaned of small fragments. It is better to have specialists do this. But you should know that the warranty does not cover such repairs.

The disk is dirty

You examined the disk and found no cracks on its surface. But the information remains unreadable. The drive may not be able to read the disc due to dust.

How to clean the surface of a laser disc to avoid minor scratches? First, you can simply blow off the dust that has accumulated on the disk. If the disc shows no signs of life, you can clean its surface with soft optical wipes. You should wipe the mirror surface very carefully; it is better to make movements from the center to the edge.

What to do with scratches

Scratches are a common cause of damage to information on disks. The drive may refuse to read a disc if there are scratches on it. To ensure there is no mechanical damage, you should carefully inspect both sides of the disc. Scratches can be located on the optical layer, as well as on the back of the disc.

Many people believe that the outer side of the disc, which has a reflective coating, does not affect the recorded information. However, if this side is scratched, the drive will not be able to see your disc.

So, you found scratches on the back of the disc. If they are small and have not damaged the working layer and the contents of the disk, they can be eliminated. Try painting over minor scratches with a layer of reflective nail polish. Perhaps the disk will become accessible and you will be able to read the information you need.

Now let's consider the option when scratches damaged the optical layer. These damages can be polished using polishing paste. Not everyone succeeds in this operation right away. Therefore, practice first on another disk that is not so important to you.

There is no visible damage, but the disk does not work

You have examined the disk from all sides. There is no external damage, but the disc still does not play. Why? Sometimes the disk matrix is ​​damaged because the number of unreadable sectors increases.

The reason for this may be the low quality of the blanks and the materials from which the product is made. The discs may have been stored in inappropriate conditions, such as cold, high humidity, or direct sunlight.

Programs used to recover information

If your drive refuses to read the disc, you can try changing some of the optical drive settings. In modern disk drives, the speed of reading information can be adjusted. Does your drive support these options? Try reading the disk at minimum speed.

There are special programs that can make reading such a problematic disc easier. The most popular of them are Nero DriveSpeed ​​and CDSlow.

How do hardware data recovery programs work? They repeat requests many times to read information written to the damaged cluster.

If the cluster is completely damaged and cannot be read, the program replaces it with a zero value and continues working. As a result, the program will read what can be read, and will replace the remaining clusters with zeros.

If you decide to start the data recovery process, be patient. Sometimes diagnosis and recovery can take several hours. A copy of the CD/DVD file will appear on your computer's hard drive. Moreover, not only the information will be restored, but also the disk structure. Next, you should run a program designed for data recovery, such as CDCheck.

How to avoid information loss

We already understand that information on laser discs can be lost. How can you protect yourself when the information written to the disk is very important?

Write important information onto multiple discs. If one of the duplicates fails, you can use the other. New external devices for storing digital information have appeared. Use one of them.

Sometimes discs are stored incorrectly, which leads to their damage. The disc should not be exposed to sunlight, otherwise it will not last long. Laser discs should be protected from electromagnetic radiation and dust.

It is best to put the discs in special boxes. Significant temperature changes can also shorten the life of CDs and DVDs.

Despite the fact that the use of CD/DVD drives is gradually giving way to other methods of reading information, nevertheless, for a number of operations it is still quite relevant, for example, for installing an operating system stored on a disk. Therefore, the failure of this device can be very inappropriate. Let's figure out what causes the drive to not read discs and how to solve this problem in Windows 7.

We will not focus on such a banal reason for the problem of reading information from an optical drive as a defect in the disk itself, but will focus on malfunctions of the drive and the system. Among the main causes of the problem we are studying may be:

  • Drive hardware faults;
  • OS malfunction;
  • Driver problems.

Below we will look at various ways to solve the problem in as much detail as possible.

Method 1: Solving hardware problems

First of all, let's focus on solving hardware problems. The reason that the drive does not read discs may be its failure or incorrect connection. First you need to check the connection of the cables to the SATA or IDE ports. They should be inserted into the connectors as tightly as possible. You can also try reconnecting the device to an alternative port (usually there are several of them). If the cause of the problem lies in the cable itself, you can try cleaning the contacts, but it is better to replace it with a new one.

However, it is quite possible that the drive itself is broken. One indirect confirmation of this may be the fact that it reads DVDs, but does not read CDs, or vice versa. This indicates defects in the operation of the laser. Malfunction can be expressed in various forms: from failure of microcircuits due to overheating to dust settling on the lens. In the first case, you cannot do without the services of a professional technician, but it is even better to purchase a working CD/DVD-ROM. In the second case, you can try to clean the lens with a cotton swab yourself. Although for some device models this is quite problematic, since they are not designed by the manufacturers for disassembly.

Method 2: Enable in Device Manager

However, even a working drive can be disabled due to some kind of failure or intentional actions. "Device Manager". Therefore, it is imperative to check this option and, if necessary, activate the drive.

  1. Click "Start". Go to "Control Panel".

  2. Go to "System and safety".

  3. Now press "Device Manager".

  4. Will start "Device Manager". In the list of equipment, click on the name "DVD and CD-ROM drives". If this name is not there or the drive name does not appear when you click on it, this means either a hardware failure of the drive or it is disabled. For the procedure in the first case, see Method 1. If the DVD/CD-ROM is simply disabled, then the problem can be solved right there.

  5. Click on the horizontal menu "Action". Choose "Update hardware configuration".

  6. A new device search will be performed.

  7. After that click on again "DVD and CD-ROM drives". This time, if everything is OK with the drive hardware, its name should be displayed.

Method 3: Reinstalling drivers

The next reason why the drive may not see the disk is incorrectly installed drivers. In this case, you need to reinstall them.


If this method does not help, you can use specialized ones.

Method 4: Uninstall programs

The problem with reading disks through the drive can be caused by the installation of individual programs that create virtual drives. These include others. Then you need to try to remove this software, but it is better to do this not using Windows tools, but by using specialized applications, for example.

  1. Launch the Uninstall Tool. In the list that opens in the application window, find the program that can create virtual disks, select it and click "Uninstallation".

  2. After this, the standard uninstaller of the selected application will launch. Act according to the recommendations displayed in its window.

  3. After uninstallation, the Uninstall Tool will scan your system for residual files and registry entries.

  4. If uninstalled items are detected, the Uninstall Tool will display a list of them. In order to completely remove them from your computer, just click the button "Delete".

  5. After the procedure for removing residual elements is completed, you need to exit the information window indicating the successful completion of the procedure by simply clicking the button "Close".

Method 5: System Restore

In some cases, even if the above programs are removed, the problem with reading disks may persist, since this software has managed to make the appropriate changes to the system. In this and some other cases, it makes sense to roll back the OS to a restore point created before the described malfunction occurred.

  1. Click "Start". Go to "All programs".

  2. Go to the directory "Standard".

  3. Open the folder "Service".

  4. Find the inscription "System Restore" and click on it.

  5. The standard OS recovery utility will launch. Click "Further".

  6. The next window will present a list of restore points. Select the most recent one that was created before the drive problem occurred, and click "Further".

  7. In the next window, to start the recovery procedure to the selected point, click "Ready".

  8. The computer will restart and the recovery procedure will occur. After this, you can check the drive for functionality.

As you can see, the reason that the drive has stopped seeing disks can be various factors, both hardware and software. But if an ordinary user is not always able to solve a hardware problem on his own, then in case of software errors there are action algorithms that almost everyone can operate.

Almost every user may have had some problems with their computer's optical drives. To quickly solve problems that arise, you need to know the reasons that affect the fact that the drive does not read disks and other things.

The manifestation of the problem can be completely different. In some situations, one type of disk may read but not another. In addition, the drive can take a long time to spin up the disk, but in the end the operating system will not see it. Sometimes problems can arise with rewritable discs, but industrial disks work fine. You can also note the most common problem, which is that DVD video discs cannot be read.

The simplest, but not necessarily correct option - the DVD drive fails

Discs may not be readable due to dust, wear and tear due to constant use, and many other reasons. There are several main symptoms that the problem has arisen due to physical reasons. If the drive is able to play DVDs, but CDs won't open, the problem may be a faulty laser.

If, when inserting a disk into the drive, you hear the sound of it spinning, and then you can hear it slowing down and a grinding noise may be heard. If this happens with discs of the same type, then the reason for this behavior may be mechanical wear of the lens or its contamination. In the case when this happens with a specific disk, we can assume that it is this media that is damaged. In addition, the drive can play licensed discs, but cannot read reusable discs.

In addition, hardware reasons may contribute to problems with disc recording. In this case, the behavior may be as follows. It may happen that while recording any types of discs, they begin to be recorded, and then the recording is abruptly interrupted or completes, but then the resulting media cannot be played back anywhere. Sometimes, after recording, it is impossible to erase the information on a reusable disc and write it back.

If any of the above occurs, then most likely it is due to hardware reasons. Most often this can happen due to dust on the lens or a malfunction of the laser. In addition, this problem may arise for one more reason. Sometimes the IDE or SATA power and data cables may be poorly connected. Initially, you need to check this point. To do this, you need to remove the side panel of the system unit and check that all the wires are in place. There must be a reliable connection between the motherboard and the drive, as well as the power supply.

If this is all right, then the problem may arise for the first two reasons. In this case, the easiest way for most users will be to purchase a new optical drive, which is not very expensive. In the case of a laptop drive, the situation is a little more complicated. Replacing it is more difficult, and the solution may be to use a third-party drive that connects to the laptop via USB.

If you have the desire and opportunity, then you can disassemble the drive and wipe the lens with something soft. Most problems are solved this way. It is worth noting here that the design of most drives does not require disassembly at home, but this can be done if desired.

Software reasons why DVD does not read discs

Such problems can be caused not only by hardware reasons. In addition, this can happen for software reasons. Discs may stop playing after reinstalling the operating system. In addition, the installation of a program may influence the occurrence of the problem. This is mainly influenced by utilities for cutting data onto optical media or working with virtual disks. Quite rarely, the drive stops working after updating the drivers, either automatically or manually.

To check this, you can use one effective method. To do this, you need to insert a boot disk into the drive, and set the BIOS to boot from disk. If the download was successful, then the drive is working properly.

In this case, you can do several manipulations. The first step is to try to remove the application that may be causing the problem. If this is the reason, then you can try to look for a similar utility or install the same one, but a different version. In addition, you can try to roll back the system to the moment when everything worked.

If the drive stops working after updating the drivers, then you need to perform slightly different manipulations. Initially, you need to go to the device manager of the operating system. This can be done using the Win+R combination and writing the command devmgmt.msc.

After that, you need to go to the DVD drives or CD drives section. Then you need to right-click on the drive and select “Delete”. Then you need to select "Action". In this window you need to click on “Update hardware configuration”. After this, the drive will be re-found and the operating system will install all the necessary drivers for it.
Additionally, if you see virtual drives in Device Manager, you may need to remove them and restart your computer, which may help resolve the issue.

If you are using a Windows 7 drive, then you can try to solve the problem in another way. You need to go to the device manager again and go to the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers section. The items ATA Channel 0, ATA Channel 1 and the like should be displayed here.

Then you need to go to the properties of each of them and look at the value in the “Device Type” item in the “Advanced Settings” section. If it says ATAPI CD drive, then it is recommended to remove this and set it to “Enable DMA”. After this, you need to save the changes, restart the computer and try the drive.

If you are using the XP version, you can go to Device Manager, right-click on the drive and select “Update Drivers”. After this, you need to select “Install driver manually” and select any standard driver for the drive from the list.

Question from a user

Hello.

Help with one problem. My drive doesn't recognize the DVD (at all). When I insert a disk, it starts to make noise, crunches a little, the computer freezes, and that’s all. After a couple of minutes, everything ends if you don’t try again to see what’s on the disk.

The disc itself was recorded on another drive, and it can be read on it...

Arkady.

Good day!

Oh, 10 years ago this problem was much more popular... I agree with many users that CD/DVD drives have been used less and less lately (and have probably become obsolete). However, sometimes there is an urgent need for them, for example, when you need to read a disk with old documents (which cannot be found on the Internet), run a game from a licensed disc with protection, install Windows when the USB ports do not see the flash drive, etc.

To be honest, I myself have not transferred my collection of DVDs to an external HDD (although I have been trying to do this for a long time). In this article I will look at what can be done to solve this problem of "invisibility"...

What can you do if the drive does not see CD/DVD discs?

Understand the specifics of the problem

Before that, I recommend taking several discs: CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, etc. (both recorded yourself and purchased in stores). Then insert them one by one into the DVD drive and try to read the information from them.

If you have a writeable drive, also try writing information to a couple of discs.

The essence of this action: Find out the nature of the problem, determine whether the problem is with one specific drive, or with a specific type of drive (say, the drive can see CDs, but not DVDs). I think that before spending money on a new drive (which will not always solve the problem), it is much wiser to spend half an hour on a “debriefing”...

For visibility problems with many discs

As I said above, the drive may either not see DVDs, or CDs, or none at all. All reasons for disk invisibility can be divided into two types (this makes it easier to deal with them):

  1. or the drive itself (the laser in it) has become unusable, the cable has come loose, the socket is loose, etc. That is. the problem is related to the hardware component;
  2. or the problem is software related.

How to determine if there is a hardware problem:


If the problem is hardware

2) Most often, the problem lies in dirt and dust that has gotten onto the laser and now it cannot read information from the disk. To clean it, you can try various special cleaning discs and liquids.

For example, there are disks with brushes; when such a disk spins in the drive, the brush brushes away dust, which has a beneficial effect on the operation of the drive.

3) You can also clean the drive by manually disassembling it and blowing it out, for example, using a can of compressed air. However, not every drive can be disassembled, and it’s not that easy.

You can try to simply open the tray and blow the drive through it with a spray can. Very rare, but it helps.

4) What about repairs? Nowadays, as far as I know, no one repairs such drives (unprofitable). If they break down, they are simply replaced with new ones. If you don’t know how to replace the drive (or which one to buy instead), pay attention to external devices - they can be connected to a regular USB port without any problems.

5) By the way, there are now very cheap external DVD drives on sale (both writers and readers). They can be a great help when you suddenly need to work with the CD/DVD format.

External USB 3.0 DVD-RW drive

If the problem is software

1) Removing (disabling) programs that interfere with operation

To begin with, I recommend remembering (paying attention to) when the problem appeared, after installing which program. Most often, the problem is associated with programs for emulating CD/DVD drives (these are programs such as Alcohol 120%, Daemon Tools, Nero, Ultra ISO, Clone CD, etc.).

Sometimes, some antiviruses can block reading disks, suggesting that there are threats there (and until the disk is completely scanned, you will not be allowed to read it!). For example, Panda Titanium used to be famous for this when setting the maximum level of protection.

Advice: while testing the DVD drive, remove the software that creates the virtual drive. In addition, disable (or uninstall) your antivirus.

2) Try to roll back the system (if there are restore points)

3) Try updating/replacing drivers

Often the problem is related to drivers. To reinstall the current driver, go to device Manager (press the Win+Pause button combination, you will see a link to the manager in the menu on the left) , and expand the "DVD drives..." tab. Find your device in this tab and remove it.

As a rule, this simple method allows you to restore normal operation of the drive.

By the way, pay attention to the “IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers” tab: there are several ATA Chanels in it. Open properties each ATA Chanel and check whether it is engaged everywhere DMA. If not somewhere, check the box and save the settings.

4) Reinstall Windows OS

It also happens that no amount of tricks can restore Windows operation: some system files may be damaged, something may be deleted, infected with a virus, etc. In some cases, rather than finding the reasons and solution for what is wrong with the system, it is much faster to reinstall it...

When a specific disk is invisible

As a rule, such unreadable discs are already pretty scratched. When inserting them, it is not uncommon for the computer to freeze while trying to read the information from them. An example of one such disk is shown in the photo below.

1) Try using a different CD/DVD drive

If you really need information from the media, the first thing I recommend is to use another drive (preferably DVD-RW, since recorder drives are more sensitive to reading information). It is not uncommon for one drive not to see the disk, but the other is able to read all the data from it.

If the disc is readable on an excellent drive, immediately make a copy from this disc. Because It may happen that next time you won’t read it...

2) Try to gently wipe the disc (there are special products for sale for this). Thanks to this rubbing, you can “smooth out” some of the scratches and the readability of the disc will increase somewhat.

3) Use special programs for reading bad disks (for example, Bad Copy or Unstoppable Copier). They will try several times to count the non-responsive area (sector), and in the worst case, they will simply “fill” it with zero (and not freeze, like Windows).

If we are dealing with video, music, pictures, then most likely you will simply have a “silent” second in the video or part of the picture will be lost. Not as bad as losing all your information. If there are archives of programs and games on the disk, then the consequences are the saddest, such areas “filled” with zeros will not allow you to install these applications (i.e., in fact, they will be damaged!).

Last tip...

Well, the last thing I would like to note is that now you can find the vast majority of files on the Internet (be they old games or movies, some programs, etc.) that you may want to read from an “invisible” disk.

And if we are not talking about something unique and specific, perhaps it is worth spending a few minutes searching for information on the Internet rather than repairing and “dancing” around the DVD drive? Most likely, you will be able to find files in even better quality!

That's all I wanted to say.

All the best!