Disks Won't Read

[Civman33]

Ok, I can't tell if my pc is a vista, or an xp, but it won't read disks! If I put a disk in, ( Including my best game, Civ 4! ) it will make a weird struggling sound, and nothing happens or pops up! I even did the shortcuts with the games in the drive! Bah! Not even 3 years... And this! This is madness!

Spoiler :

This is SPARTA!!!!!!!!!

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Does the disc drive show up in my computer? If not, I'd guess the drivers got killed.

 

[Civman33]

It appears, however, the disk name never pops up.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Hmm. What happens if you right-click the drive and click eject?

Also, any programs installed/uninstalled recently? Various DRM's sometimes don't agree with drives.

 

[Civman33]

My latest install was Sid Meier's Pirates!. But that was about a month before this happened. The "eject" would probably just make the Disk Reader? Open...

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Do the disks read fine in another drive? (Find one and test it out)
If so, you can try to reinstall the drivers for your cd drive, but if that doesnt work, looks like the drive is dead. You can get a new one for 25$ off newegg though if your pc is a desktop.

Also, how the hell can you not know if your pc is Vista or XP. It says what flavor of the OS it is at least twice when you turn on your pc. That and they look so different from each other.

 

[Civman33]

Alright, I turned my Civ computer on, and it's XP. A downside, though, is that it has but a single disk drive. (I know, it's a bit crappy...) The SM's (Sid Meier's) Civilization games worked well on my computer before. Last time I played was more than 2 months ago.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

If you know anything about computers, maybe to see if the disc drive will work in another computer? Try swapping it, see if the discs show up there, if it does I'd guess its OS problem. If not, might be hardware.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Alright, I turned my Civ computer on, and it's XP. A downside, though, is that it has but a single disk drive. (I know, it's a bit crappy...) The SM's (Sid Meier's) Civilization games worked well on my computer before. Last time I played was more than 2 months ago.

I meant find someone else who has a computer and test it there. You have friends right? Get one of them to help you out.

If you know anything about computers, maybe to see if the disc drive will work in another computer? Try swapping it, see if the discs show up there, if it does I'd guess its OS problem. If not, might be hardware.

Well no crap, if its not a software problem, its a hardware problem. It kinda has to be one or the other.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

What about a firmware problem? What would that be?

 

[GVBN]

If it stops reading discs and shows up in BIOS/My Computer/Device Manager then 99% of the time it's broken and you have to buy a new one

Hell I wish I had a DVD drive that lasted 3 years. Just bought a new one a few weeks ago

 

[Genocidicbunny]

What about a firmware problem? What would that be?

Hardware. Its pertinent to one specific piece of hardware.

If it stops reading discs and shows up in BIOS/My Computer/Device Manager then 99% of the time it's broken and you have to buy a new one

Hell I wish I had a DVD drive that lasted 3 years. Just bought a new one a few weeks ago

Dont buy crappy drives? My CD-RW drive is going strong 8 years down the line. First DVD-ROM that I got just went into a folding rig, still works fine.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

What's a "folding rig"?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Hey, lets learn to use search a bit eh
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=324147

 

[Formaldehyde]

If no other CD or DVD will work in the drive, it sounds like your CD/DVD drive has died an ugly death. But it could be the OS has gotten corrupted in some way. Try booting from your Windows CD/DVD. If that works, then your drive is OK and your OS needs repair or replacement.

If it is a bad drive, the good news is that DVD burners are dirt cheap these days and they are very simple to replace.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=5&name=CD-DVD-Burners

Just be sure to get the right type: IDE or SATA depending on your existing system and capabilities.