Microsoft KB Archive/321641

= How to troubleshoot common problems that occur when a Windows XP-based computer cannot read a CD or a DVD =

Article ID: 321641

Article Last Modified on 11/16/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional

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This article was previously published under Q321641



SUMMARY
This article describes how to troubleshoot common problems that may occur when a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer cannot read a CD or a DVD in a disc drive. This article contains several methods that you can use to try to resolve these problems.

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.

You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.



Symptoms of the problem
When you try to open a file or a program on a CD or on a DVD, you may receive an error message that notifies you that there is a problem with your disc, with the CD Drive, or with the DVD Drive.

Note Additionally, one or more of the following symptoms may occur:
 * The disc label does not appear in Windows Explorer.
 * The contents of the disc do not appear in Windows Explorer.
 * When you insert the disc in the drive or when your computer tries to read the disc, the computer stops responding.
 * You cannot eject the disc from the drive.
 * The computer takes a long time to read the disc.



Methods to resolve the problem
Use the following methods in the order in which they are provided.

Method 1: Check the disc for damage and clean the disc
Whenever you experience problems with a disc drive, always check the disc first to see whether it is damaged or dirty. A good way to do that is as follows:
 * 1) Remove the disc from the drive, and then examine the disc for damage, for scratches, or for cracks.
 * 2) If the disc is damaged, contact the manufacturer of the disc to obtain a replacement.
 * 3) When you receive a replacement disc, see whether the computer can read.
 * 4) If the computer can still not read the disc, try cleaning the disc by using. a disc cleaning kit, or by gently wiping the silver side of the disc with a soft, lint-free cotton cloth.

Note Do not use a paper cloth to clean the disc because that can scratch the disc.
 * 1) Wipe the disc from the center, outward.

Note Do not use a circular motion because that can scratch the disc.
 * 1) See whether the computer can read the disc.
 * 2) If the computer can still not read the disc, try cleaning the disc by using one of the following items:
 * 3) * A water-dampened cloth
 * 4) * A commercial CD cleaning solution
 * 5) * A commercial DVD cleaning solution
 * 6) When you are finished, dry the disc thoroughly, and then insert it in the disc drive again.
 * 7) See whether the computer can read the disc.

Method 2: Use a different disc drive
If the computer has more than one disc drive, insert the disc in a different disc drive, and then try to read the disc again. Or, you can check whether the disc works in a different computer.

Note Make sure that the disc is compatible with the disc drive. For example, do not try to use a DVD disc in a standard CD Drive. Or, do not use a CD-RW disc in a CD drive that does not support CD-RW discs. For DVD discs, make sure that the drive has a DVD logo on the front.

Contact the manufacturer of the disc or CD/DVD drive
If the disc works in the different disc drive, contact the manufacturer of the computer or the disc drive manufacturer for help. The original disc drive may have a problem.

If the disc does not work in the different drive, contact the manufacturer of the disc to obtain a replacement. The disc may be damaged.

Method 3: Run Windows Update to check for updated drivers
Sometimes the problem may be that your computer is missing an update. To check whether this is the case, follow these steps:

Visit the following Microsoft Web site to check for updates:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

If the previous steps do not resolve your issue, please use the advanced troubleshooting section in the article. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/



Advanced Troubleshooting
This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/

Method 1: Test the disc by copying files

 * 1) Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER.
 * 2) Copy the files from the CD drive or from the DVD drive to the cdtest folder on the hard disk. To do this, type xcopy  :\*.*  :\cdtest /v /e at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

Notes
 * 1) * In this step,  is the drive letter of the CD-ROM disc drive or of the DVD disc drive.   is the drive letter of the hard disk drive.
 * 2) * If you are asked whether &quot;cdtest&quot; specifies a file name or a directory name, press F.
 * 3) * After the files have been copied, you can remove the files. To do this, type rd /s cdtest at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.

Step 1: Restart the computer without using nonessential software
 Restart the computer without using any nonessential drivers or applications.

Note For more information about how to start Windows with a minimal set of drivers, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310353 How to configure Windows XP to start in a &quot;clean boot&quot; state



Step 2: Exit all nonessential programs
 After the computer is restarted, exit all programs that are running. Right-click each icon in the notification area, and then click Exit.

Note The notification area is located at the far right of the taskbar, near the clock. Some programs that are listed in the notification area do not have an Exit command. Therefore, you may have to click Quit, Close, or Disable, depending on the commands that are available for that program. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, and then click Task Manager in the Windows Security screen. In Windows Task Manager, click Applications.</li> If any programs appear in the Task list, click the name of the program, and then click End Task.</li> Repeat the previous step until the Task list is empty.</li></ol>

Step 3: Try to read the disc again
 Try to read the disc again.</li></ol>

Method 3: Switch the disc drive controller to direct memory access (DMA) mode
 Configure the CD Drive or the DVD Drive to use DMA mode. For more information about how to switch your computer's disc drive controller to DMA mode, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310751 Device settings are hard to find in Windows XP

</li> Try to read the disc again.</li></ol>

Step 1: Unplug any cables that are connected
 Unplug any cables that are connected to the video outputs of the computer.</li> Try to read the disc again.</li> If you still experience problems with the disc, go to step 2.</li></ol>

Step 2: Update the DVD driver
 Contact the manufacturer of the DVD Drive to obtain an updated driver for the DVD drive, and then follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install the driver.</li> Try to read the disc again.</li> If you still experience problems with the disc, go to step 3.</li></ol>

Step 3: Obtain a hardware-based DVD decoder or software-based DVD decoder
<ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;"> <li>Contact the manufacturer of the DVD Drive to obtain a hardware-based DVD decoder or software-based DVD decoder, and then follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install the decoder.

Note Many video adapters help decode DVD discs. However, the video adapter may not fully decode a DVD movie.</li> <li>Try to read the disc again.</li> <li>If you still experience problems with the disc, make sure that the sound card in the computer is compatible with the DVD drive.

Note Hardware and software decoders usually need a sound card to play back DVD movies.</li> <li>Try to read the disc again.</li> <li>If you still experience problems with the disc, contact the manufacturer to obtain a new disc. .</li></ol>

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Similar problems and resolutions
If you are still experiencing problems similar to the one described in this article, it may be a different problem than the one described in this article. This is a list of articles that discuss similar problems that you can review to try to address the problem:

308012 How to troubleshoot problems that occur when you play a DVD in Windows XP

324129 How to troubleshoot issues that occur when you write data to a CD-R or CD-RW optical disc in Windows XP

314096 Advanced troubleshooting for issues that occur when you are installing a new CD or DVD drive on Windows XP

818733 Windows XP does not recognize a DVD-RW disc

126380 Troubleshooting CD-ROM Problems in Windows 2000 and Windows NT

218617 How to Troubleshoot CD-ROM or DVD-ROM Read Issues

If the articles listed above do not help you resolve the problem or if you experience symptoms that differ from those that are described in this article, search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for more information. To search the Microsoft Knowledge Base, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com

Then, type the text of the error message that you receive, or type a description of the problem in the Search Support (KB) field.

Keywords: kbresolve kbtshoot kbexpertisebeginner kbprb kbceip kbhowto kberrmsg kbinfo KB321641

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