Share your experience!
Several members seem to have problems with their CD/DVD drives at the moment. As far as I know, there is no magic solution but you could try some or all of the following: -
1. See if there is an updated driver or updated firmware for your drive at Vaio-Link. Some Sony drives are re-badged from other manufacturers and you may have to search for updated downloads. For example, if you have a Sony DW-D56A drive, you can get a firmware download from HERE (Use PFS2). Many other drives are also supported on this site.
2. Use System Restore to return your Vaio to the configuration when it was last working normally.
Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore - choose a restore date before you had the problem.
3. Look in Device Manager to see if there are any errors against your DVD/CD-ROM drive.
Start -> Right-Click My Computer -> Properties -> Hardware -> Device Manager - expand DVD/CD-ROM Drives and check the status. If there is an Error Code or a yellow triangle with a ! or ? come back here with the number and we may be able to help.
4. If there is no error and the drive is reported as working normally, try Uninstalling the drive by right-clicking on it in Device Manager and choosing Uninstall. Re-booting your Vaio will reinstall the drivers.
5. Try some different software to read/write your discs and see if that works. Also try a different brand of discs - Sony, TDK and Verbatim seem favourites.
6. Try a liquid lens cleaner on the lens and polish with a microfibre cloth ? this can sometimes help.
7. If your drive works with either CDs or DVDs only make sure the ribbon cable is not preventing the reader head from moving freely - check that the laser head in the drive can move freely for the whole range of its travel. The disc information is held on the outside tracks for DVDs and the inner tracks for CDs.
8. Last resort is to perform a full C:\ Drive System Recovery from your Recovery Discs. Make sure you back up all your Data as the contents of C:\ will be lost and your Vaio returned to the factory configuration.
If none of these work, you may have a hardware problem and you need to contact Vaio-Link. There is no point contacting them until you have carried out a Drive C:\ Recovery as this is the first thing they will ask you to do.
Thanks alot! I'm contacting them now about it. If I get any positive feedback then I'll post them here.
I am so glad mummy.
Finally, Sony has changed my dvd-writer...... In this momment my Vaio VGN-FE31Z has a dvd-writer Pionner PIONEER DVR-K16M, but with firmware 1.00. Should I have to change the firmware?
Today I burned at dvd film dvd+r 16X Verbatim, and alcohol has burned the fil at 4,2X..... I don't know if this velocity is for the writter, the dvd+r or orther things....
This dvd writer recognized the thiscs too fast than Matshita........
I'm very happy to have my computer again and works fine.... :smileygrin: :smileygrin: :smileygrin:
Hi,
I have purchased a Sony Vaio VGN-FE31H on Friday (26/01/06). all of a sudden the the laoptop cannot reconise the CDROM drive. i have had a look in the panasonic website they have ststed for me to go back to the laptop manufacuters.
i have tried everything, uninstilling the drive, looking for the driver on the laptop.
im a final year student, i really need the drive to work. please can someone help?
model of the CDROM: Matshita DVD-Ram UJ-8505
error code: code 39
laptop model number: VGN-FE31H
Asif
Hi asif,
Welcome to Club vaio,
You need to delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters registry values, see MS kb314060 and follow the Manual steps to delete the UpperFilters and LowerFilters..
Your a star mate, its WORKING..hey hey
the link to the site is http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060/EN-US/
you simple startup the Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe)
locate the upper filters and lower filters in:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
and delete them then do a restart the system
simple as..enjoy
Asif
I've never known such an unrealiable drive as my VAIO FE21H's SONY DVD RW DW-G520A. I have never been able to find a disk that I could create the recovery dvd on. I would have sent the machine back in the first week if it wasn't that after installing Nero I found I could actually burn to DVD. However now I find that very few DVD films will mount in My Computer nor will DVD data disks. There appears to be no drivers or firmware for the drive. The one firmware download I could find perporting to be for said drive when ran errors "no such device found".
I've tried all your solutions including running vaio recovery this made no difference.
Its a shame that this has tarnished my opion of the VAIO otherwise a fantastic machine. To prove a point I took a couple of my "troublesome" DVDs and popped them into my 7 year old desktop and guess what they load fine. What is going on?
You're welcome Asif...
Did you not notice the yellow link I provided in my post...
HIYA MATE
POINT NUMBER 3 - IN MY DEVICE MANAGER I HAVE A YELLOW CIRCLE WITH A "!" INSIDE OF IT.
"Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)"
- THIS IS WHAT IT STATES ON THE DEVICE STATUS SECTION.
ONCE AGAIN ANY HELP IS APPRICIATED AND THANX FOR YOUR EFFORTS,
DEAN
Hi Hartley07 and welcome.
Try the solution mentioned earlier in this thread - I dont know if it will work for Code 37 but it's worth a try.
A small Registry edit will fix your problem. Be careful and don't change anything else while you are in the Registry.
1.Click Start > Run and type REGEDIT and hit enter.
2. Navigate to –
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
and highlight it. Then locate UpperFilters in the right hand window, (if it exists) right click on this and select Delete and then OK.
3. Under the same Registry Key locate LowerFilters, (if it exists) right click on this and select Delete and then OK.
4. Quit Registry Editor and re-boot the computer, new registry values will be created that will hopefully cure the problem.
After you remove the Upperfilters value and the Lowerfilters value, you may possibly need to re-install your burning software – but not necessarily.
Welcome to Club Vaio and Good Luck !