CompTIA A_ Certification All-In-One Exam Guide, Seventh Edition - Michael Meyers [217]
How a BIOS detects an optical drive depends on the system. Most BIOS makers have created intelligent BIOS software that can see an installed CD-media drive. Figure 13-40 shows a modern Award Software, Inc., BIOS recognizing a CD-RW during startup.
If BIOS detects the device, Windows recognizes the drive and you’ll see it in My Computer or Computer and Device Manager.
If the drive won’t read a CD-R or CD-RW disc, first try a commercial CD-ROM disc that is in good condition. CD-R and CD-RW discs sometimes have compatibility issues with CD-ROM drives. The same goes for a DVD-RW or any other writable DVD disc in your DVD drive or writable Blue-ray Discs in your Blu-ray Disc drive. Also, no optical drive will read badly scratched discs.
Figure 13-40 BIOS recognizing an optical drive at boot
If the drive still does not see a disc, try cleaning the drive. Most modern optical drives have built-in cleaning mechanisms, but from time to time, you need to use a commercial optical-drive cleaning kit (see Figure 13-41).
Figure 13-41 Optical-drive cleaning kit
Optical drives are not cleaned too often, but the discs are. Although a number of fine optical disc cleaning kits are available, you can clean most discs quite well with nothing more than a damp soft cloth. Occasionally, you can add a mild detergent. Always wipe from the center of the optical disc to the edge—never use a circular motion when cleaning a CD, DVD, or Blue-ray Disc! A common old tech’s tale about cleaning optical discs is that you can wash them in a dishwasher. Although this may seem laughable, the tale has become so common that it requires a serious response. This is not true for two reasons: First, the water in most dishwashers is too hot and can cause the discs to warp. Second, the water pushes the discs around, causing them to hit other objects and get scratched. Don’t do it!
The final problem with optical drives—stuck discs—comes from technician error and is not actually the fault of the drives. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve pulled an optical drive out of a system to replace it, only to discover that I or my customer left an essential disc inside the now-powerless drive. Luckily, most optical drives have a small hole in the front, usually just below the drive opening, into which you can insert a wire—an unbent paper clip is the standard tool for this purpose—and push on an internal release lever that ejects the disc. Try it!
Burning Issues
The tremendous growth of the CD-R and CD-RW industry—and to a lesser extent, the recordable DVD industry—has led to a substantial number of incompatibility issues between discs and drives. Some of these incompatibilities trace back to serious IO (Ignorant Operator) problems; people try to make these discs do jobs they aren’t designed to do. Even when people read the manuals and jump through the proper hoops, real problems do arise, many of which you can easily solve with a few checks.
Know What It Can Do Most mistakes take place at the point of purchase, when someone buys a drive without completely understanding its capabilities. Don’t just assume that the device will do everything. Before I purchase a CD-RW or DVD-RW drive, for example, I make it a point to get my hands on every technical document the maker provides to verify exactly what capabilities the drive possesses. I make sure the drive has a good reputation; just use any search engine and type in review and the model number of the drive to get several people’s opinions.
Media Issues The optical disc standards committees refused to mandate the types of materials used in the construction of discs. As a result, you see substantial quality differences among CD-R and CD-RW discs of different brands and sources (they are made in several different countries). As mentioned earlier, CD-R discs use organic inks as part of the burning process. Fellow techs love to talk about which color to use or which color gives the