Windows 10: DVD/CD Drive not recognising media on new Dell laptop (Windows 10)

Dell Inspiron 5000 series, brand new

Originally the DVD drive would not show at all in File Explorer, despite Device Manager recognising, drivers up to date, etc. Dell diagnostics reported various feedback ranging from perfectly ok (SupportAssist, on-line smart diagnostic quick test) to failing some tests (on-line optical drive tests) and requiring attention (sadly, the attention it suggested I use was a 'fix' tool on the Microsoft website that would not run on Windows 10 operating platform so I have not been able to persue further)

Things improved a little after downloading and installing all of the urgent and recommended Dell updates, plus installing all of the Windows updates. Now the laptop shows the drive in File Explorer, and occasionally media is recognised and even played. For example, inserting an audio CD into the drive immediately after booting up will run autoplay and the tracks are displayed as expected in File Explorer.

However, subsequent CDs (or any other media) are not recognised. The drive 'acts' like it should (led goes on, whirring sound made, etc) but nothing happens. File Explorer displays whatever the previous media contents were.

So for example, if I insert an audio CD with 10 tracks immediately after booting, the CD will autoplay and the 10 tracks will display in File Explorer. Everything seems fine. If I then eject this CD, and put in an audio CD with 5 tracks, File Explorer will continue to display the 10 tracks from the first CD. The new CD wont autoplay. Its basically not recognised.

This is quite frustrating because it means I have to reboot every time I want to change media. Its also a brand new £700 laptop, so disappointing that it doesn't work straight out of the box.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

:)

 

Matshita DVD-RAM UJ8C0 CD DVD Drive Burner Writer not burning

I am currently using an Asus K55N laptop running Windows 10 and with a Matshita DVD-RAM UJ8C0 CD DVD (SATA) Drive Burner Writer. The drive reads and recognises CD/DVDs but will not write to any of these media. The outcome remains unchanged irrespective
of attempt with another brand media. This problem existed prior my recent upgrade from Windows 8.

I am seeking a resolution to this issue.

 

Windows 10 Media Player

Windows 10 Media Player in brand new dell tower won't play music CDs or even recognise a CD in the F: drive

 

Since this is a new PC, best contact Dell support. Only Dell support can get it corrected under warranty.

You can try a "refresh" and see if that helps. If there are any Windows corruptions that usually fixes that. Go to the Device Manager, uninstall the optical drive in the Device Manager. Then restart the PC and when Windows starts it will detect and reinstall the drive.
It that doesn't help, best to contact Dell Support.

 

There is a built in W10 diagnostic for devices. Type hardware in the search box and then select "Find and fix problems with devices". It might find something.

 

Thanks for the tips

I have so far tried: installing all of the 'urgent' and 'recommended' Dell updates, Updating to the latest Windows 10, uninstalling and re-installing the device in Device Manager, all of the Dell diagnostic tools (both pre-installed on the laptop and via the Dell Support website) - some have said that everything is ok with the laptop, other tools have reported problems - but frustratingly the only solution they provide is to refer me to a Microsoft website which had a 'Fix It' tool that doesn't actually run on Windows 10!!!

I think I do need to call the Dell technical support (although I did try that this morning and I was told that for my particular laptop I can only access their support Monday to Friday - presumably I didn't fork out an extra £100 for some kind of premium support option - typical!)

I guess it will have to wait. I have run out of ideas. I have also posted this directly on the Dell support website.

Thanks anyway - appreciated!

 

Hi Tom and Amy, Did you ever gt you Autoplay problem fixed? I have the exact same problem with a Dell Inspiron 5559 laptop. It's my parents computer and is one week old! been this way out of the box, and Dell support has been useless. In fact they even told me once that CD's are going obsolete so that may be why they are not being recognized. I knew right then that this guy wasn't going to be able to help me.

Please let me know if you have had anyupdates on the situation.

 

Dell tech support wont help. I had no end of problems with them, including having to wait over a month for a technician to visit my home and repair the laptop, only for him to turn up with completely the wrong parts! I wiuldn't waste your time with Dell, you wont get anywhere i'm afraid. You'll get a different response from each different person you speak to, and none of them will actually solve the problem which is more than likely an operating system problem.

The only thing I could do to rectify the problem was a complete wipe of the hard drive and clean re-install of Windows 10, which seems to have worked, but it wasn't particularly straight forward, at least not for someone who is technically incompetent like myself. Perhaps you'll have more luck - hope you do!

 

how did you do the re-install of Windows 10? Did you use the dell recovery image or did you use a different method? Was this suggested by microsoft or Dell or just tried it on your own?

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

I did a full clean install - i.e. making new boot media from scratch and rebooting from this. I tried a simpler re-install/recovery of w10 first but this didn't work, so I decided to take the nuclear option and completely start again.

I used the media creation tool from the microsoft website, which will automatically download and set up a w10 ISO and install it to a USB flash drive that you can then boot from. You can also create a DVD, but because, like me, you are having problems with the DVD drive not working, you will probably find that a USB flash drive will be the only option. (I purchased an 8GB sandisk cruzer flash pen from Argos for about five pounds which did the job fine).

If you carry out a clean re-install you will lose any files you have on the laptop, which may not be a problem if it is brand new, but just be aware of that. One problem I had was that all the Dell pre-installed software was lost, and because they didn't supply me with any of the installation media when I bought the laptop I couldn't put it back on - so things like microsoft office and any anti-virus software that was included was lost. Although that was a sacrifice I was willing to make to have a working laptop.

If you have windows 10 then the re-installation process should automatically self-register during the install, so you dont need a serial number/key for the o/s.

The media creation tool is available here:

Windows 10

And the walkthrough that I (mostly) used is here:

Download Windows 10 OEM and Retail TH2.iso – The Unofficial Windows 10 Reinstallation Guide

Good luck, if you do decide to go down this route....

 

Thank you! I would think if I already installed office or anti-virus i should be able to re-install them later although it may be more of a hassle having to download them from manufacturers instead of coming pre-installed. It's ridiculous Dell can't figure this out!

 

Well did a clean install and the problem is still there.... Did you use all of Dell's Drivers from their download site anfter you installed Windows? What model do you have? Mine is a Inspiron 5559.

Thanks