DW-U50A - Doesnt read

[hamzahansari]

Hi folks, I've got an FR-315S with a DW-U50A DVD+-RW drive which has recently stopped detecting all kinds of optical media. Initially it was just DVD+RWs that it didnt write to, then it progressed onto reading them then it stopped reading DVDs altogether and now it doesnt seem to read/write at all - in fact 9 times out of 10 it cant detect the disc.

I put in a brand new DVD movie and that was detected surprisingly, however upon playing it kept on freezing. I am assuming that its due to a laser that has become progressively weak over time - does any one have any experience/other suggestions?

With regards to a solution, I dont want to send my unit to Sony for three weeks and be presented with a £150 bill to replace the drive....does anyone know if where I can obtain either this or a compatible drive from?

Many thanks folks

[Blencogo]

I presume you have tried the usual tricks?

1. Try a lens cleaner in your drive.
2, Check in Device Manager to see if there are any warnings against your drive or any conflicts.
3. Uninstall the drive in Device Manager and Re-boot to force Windows to reinstall the drivers.
4. Look for any firmware updates for the drive.
5. Use System Restore to a point before you had any problems.
6. Uninstall any 'packet' software like Nero's 'InCD' or Roxio's 'Drag to DVD'.

If all of this fails, then it is probably a hardware problem. As you say, a Sony replacement is ridiculously expensive when these drives now cost peanuts to buy. The problem you will have is getting the faceplate of the drive to fit your laptop - for this reason alone you will probably have to buy a replacement of the same drive.

Could try e-bay because a

PROPER REPLACEMENT will be expensive!

[hamzahansari]

Thanks for your reply. I did try a lens cleaner, it just wasnt recognized. I cleaned the lens manually; did make a small difference but reverted back to its usual self soon after.

I did manage to remove the faceplate once. Is that all that is required to be removed? If so, would this work on my particular system?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/product.php?sku=143029&camp_id=kelkoo_search

Many thanks

[seb21__]

LMAO, I think you can replace the drive with any Slimline drive.

There is no need to buy the original drive. The only problem is look and feel. Everyone will notice your different drive in your VAIO.

A NEC ND-7551 Slim for example costs around 80€ in Germany and you burn Covers on CD via LabelFlash.

You could also use an external optical drive. But make sure it's bootable.

Hahahaha 250$ for a preowned one:smileylaugh: :smileylaugh:, excuse me. But I'm using the same VAIO like you. I can say, if you would like to buy this VAIO again (preowned) then I wouldn't pay more than 250$. LMAO

Sony makes me always lough:smileylaugh:

[hamzahansari]

Thanks for your reply seb21.

Tell me, if I do swap my drive for the NEC or any of the others and changed the bezel, it would close properly right? Also, it would not be obvious that its a replacement drive?

[Blencogo]

Seb is right - almost any slimline drive will fit and work but will look funny as the faceplate will not match your Vaio.

The Sony drive from PC World looks interesting - perhaps it would be possible to fit your existing faceplate to this as it is a Sony product..

[hamzahansari]

Thats the thing - I did manage to get my faceplate out. If I just simply swap the faceplates, it will work fine right?