How to fix the built-in optical drive in a laptop with your own hands. How do I erase data from a DVD to prepare it for new recording? How to clean a disk from dust

It may happen that we bought a film, watched it and gave it to our friends or acquaintances to watch. Then, after returning the disk, it suddenly became unreadable.

What's happened? We open the drive, look carefully at the disk and see with disappointment that scratches have appeared on it that were not there before, but what is even more strange: it is somehow all dirty, smeared with something, covered in some kind of dried stains. How can a poor man read? It’s just that a friend’s child acted carelessly with it: let’s say, he threw the disk face down on a dirty table, and, God forbid, he put some object on top of it and moved it around the table.

In no case do not wipe the CD some napkins or rags - you can scratch (damage) the working surface of the disk even more...

Well, nothing can be done about scratches. If they are insignificant, then the disk will be readable. But you can remove dirt from the disk by washing it in warm water and soap. Yes, like a regular plate, only with your hands, not with a rag or sponge.

We wet it with plain water and carefully distribute the soap solution over the surface with a soapy hand. Simply put, wash your hands thoroughly before complete removal dirty spots.

Done, washed:

Then just shake it well and let it dry, but if the water is hard, traces of hardness salts may remain after drying. To dry, we simply blot with a material that absorbs moisture well, for example, a terry towel:

It is advisable to carefully blot or wipe (rub) the CD/DVD disc, but do not. Any friction on the working surface of the disk can lead to scratching; what if a grain of sand remains in the material? So it’s safer to blot:

And if possible, do not touch the work surface with your hands:

Give the disc a few tens of seconds to dry completely and that’s it. Disk ready to eat. Try it, it may happen that those discs that were not read before will be successfully read in your drive.

By the way, if most of the discs from your collection are not readable in a CD/DVD drive, then check on another drive, for example, with friends or acquaintances. It may happen that it is time to change the drive due to mechanical displacement of the reading head relative to the surface (they say that the “eye is lost”).

How to clean a DVD disc

Computers are an integral part of our work, everyday life, and leisure. However, with this widespread use and distribution of computer technology, ordinary users have certain difficulties with its operation. In particular, with regard to working with disks. Not everyone can figure out how to clear a DVD from an existing recording so that a new recording can be made. And it's not as simple as it seems. To simplify this task as much as possible, it is better to use a special program. and literally in one click he will tell you how to do this and create a special application for burning CDs, DVDs and Blu Ray discs - “Disc Studio”.
How it works? Everything is elementary! Now you don't need to be a great professional in computer technology to complete this task. Actually, like a number of others, now the problem will not be the question of how to clean a DVD disc, nor how to record a new one on it - music or video.

So, cleaning the media is a separate function in the program: select the desired drive with a disk and press the “Clean up disk” button. If necessary, you can now overwrite and clear again an infinite number of times.

Even more - the program opens up a whole range of new possibilities: creating beautiful design to your disk. For example, if you are compiling a home archive or preparing promotional materials for a presentation or handouts. You can choose a disk image or use graphics. Everything that might be necessary and everything that might come to mind is now easy, accessible and simple!

An important nuance is that working with the Disk Studio program, which can be downloaded, helps save all valuable data from loss or unintentional destruction.

“Disk Studio” is a good solution for those who want not only to simplify their communication with technology as much as possible, but also to simply “keep up the brand” in everything. Order in your own archives and easy work will be ensured.

How to clean laptop DVD

Although DVDs are already becoming obsolete, they are still available on many computers and laptops. Many people have a licensed Windows system that is stored on a disk, and installing it requires a DVD drive (although it can be written to a flash drive and installed from it). Therefore, I want to consider in this article how you can clean the DVD drive in your computer or laptop yourself, using simple tools.

I have been using the method described below for many years and it has proven to be very effective.

The reason that the DVD drive began to work poorly, does not read discs or does so intermittently, most often is dust getting on the laser lens. This is what we will clean.

Required tools:

Philips screwdriver (cross);
A regular paperclip (it needs to be bent);
Cotton swab or swab.

How to clean your computer's DVD drive

First, remove the DVD drive from the computer. You don't need to do this on a laptop.

Turn it upside down and unscrew the 4 screws that secure the lid.

Very carefully remove the lid and set aside. We will see a board with electronic components.

Now we place the drive so that its front panel faces us. We insert our straightened paper clip into the small hole intended for emergency opening of the drive tray. Feel free to press on the paper clip until the tray comes out of its place a little.

We manually pull out the tray to about half its length. Now remove the front plastic panel. To do this, you can press the side latches with a screwdriver.

Side bezel latches

Now turn the drive over with the cover down and carefully remove it from there.

We take out the DVD drive from the cover

Now you can see the very laser lens that needs to be cleaned. Look at it carefully. Most likely you will find small hairs or dust on it.

Do not try to remove dirt with your hands. There may be greasy stains that will be difficult to remove.

Take a cotton swab and lightly brush the dirt off the lens. There is no need to polish the lens, just remove dust and hair.

Cleaning the lens with a cotton swab

After this procedure for cleaning the drive, you need to reassemble it in the reverse order.

How to clean laptop DVD

The procedure is the same as with a computer drive. Just don't need to take anything apart.

Simply slide out the DVD tray and gently wipe the lens with a Q-tip.

Most likely, after such manipulations, the DVD drive will begin to read discs it previously ignored. If there is no noticeable improvement, most likely it cannot be helped and only needs replacement.

If you liked this tutorial, please like and share it with your friends.

PCgu.ru

How to fix the built-in optical drive in a laptop with your own hands

A broken DVD or CD drive in laptops is the most common defect in devices that have been in use for more than 2-3 years. Dust, which will definitely settle on the focusing lens after many years of operation, will certainly, if it does not lead to a complete failure of the disk drive, then make its operation less reliable and fast. The reason for a complete refusal to perceive or record information from a computer onto optical media may lie in both a hardware and software malfunction of the system. Remember: the optical drive in laptops may refuse to read information from DVD discs for so many reasons.

Firstly, it is necessary to 100% eliminate the possibility of a software failure in the operating system. You can simply insert a disk into the drive that can be used as a boot disk. Either an installation distribution with Windows or some kind of service disk designed to work with a hard drive, as well as for treating viruses, banners, and preparing the system for installation is suitable operating system from scratch, etc. The main thing is to set in the BIOS that the DVD drive is the first one to boot, i.e. precisely from him, and not from hard drive, you need to download. Probably, many who independently installed the operating system either from a disk or from a flash drive know what we are talking about. If loading such a disk is quite successful, then the problem should be looked for in the installed operating system, namely: in drivers, as well as in software products that can in one way or another change the system configuration of virtual and physical optical drives. Remove all dubious software for burning and copying DVDs, and also check in the device manager whether your drive is detected correctly or not. Of course, everyone software faults It’s almost impossible to describe in one article, but we can give universal advice: Do a system restore.

Secondly, if the drive refuses to accept boot disk, then most likely there is a hardware problem. Often the solution to the problem comes down to cleaning the focusing lens. Dust falling on this lens prevents the laser head beam from transmitting normally reflected from DVD disc signal. If at any stage of operation this led to read or write errors, then one “fine” day the drive may simply refuse to read a completely clean and new disk. The most correct way to solve this problem is to clean the focusing lens.

The whole truth about cleaning discs

Nowadays, so-called cleaning discs have become widespread. The idea behind such discs is certainly good, but the technical execution is not always acceptable. Some samples can, instead of being useful, simply “finish off” the sensitive mechanisms and optics of the laser head. Also, incorrect use of cleaning discs can lead to the user simply completely destroying the drive. The instructions for such discs are often written either in English or Chinese, which makes understanding the principle of operation, purpose and use of such a disk simply inaccessible to a Russian-speaking person. The main mistake users make is incorrectly applying the cleaning liquid. As a rule, it needs to be applied only to certain cleaning bumps, and very little at that, placing the disk at approximately an angle of 45 degrees relative to the horizon line. Excessive amounts of this liquid simply flood the laser head, making reading information virtually impossible.

If we talk about Chinese cleaning discs in the 100-150 ruble category, then their purchase will not be justified from both a practical and economic point of view. And if your problem is not in the lens, then this is money thrown away. To protect the reputation of cleaning discs, we note that new contactless cleaning discs are now appearing. Their main difference is that they work like wind turbines, that is, they blow air through the laser head without direct contact. We recommend purchasing these cleaning discs without fear of harming the sensitive elements of the optical drive.

How to clean a DVD drive without a cleaning disc

Many repairmen, although they themselves sometimes recommend using cleaning discs, never use them. The cleaning disc is a solution for novice users and housewives. You can clean the disk drive much more professionally and efficiently only when you remove it from the laptop and disassemble it. To disassemble the drive, no complex equipment or conditions are needed. All you need is a table, a set of screwdrivers, a paper clip, a needle, a syringe, ear sticks, and isopropyl alcohol.

How to remove a disk drive

First, you need to turn off the power to the laptop. Turn it face down and remove battery.

No matter how funny and unreliable this may seem, the fact remains: on all modern laptops, the entire drive is secured to the laptop using one screw. We take a thin Phillips screwdriver and remove it.

You can also use this method when you urgently need to remove the disk, but the electricity is turned off and the battery is low. After inserting a needle or paper clip into the technological hole, the disk drive will obediently open, and you can pull it out completely by pulling the disk tray.

How to disassemble a disk drive

With the optical drive open and facing down, you'll notice the rear panel cover, which hides many of the important parts of the laser system.

Remove the 4 retaining screws and the cover will obediently come off without the slightest effort on your part. After removing the cover of the rear panel of the laser drive, we have access to the back of the laser diode, as well as the optical system.

Then you can put on the cover and tighten the 4 mounting screws.

How to clean a focusing lens

The lens is very sensitive to touch, so it is better not to touch it again with your hands or tools. To begin with, you can try to limit yourself to blowing from a can of compressed air.

If this does not help, we recommend using an ear swab pre-moistened in 90% isopropyl alcohol to wipe the lens. Use the other dry and clean end of the stick to remove the remaining alcohol. Remember that using cologne, moonshine, or vodka for these purposes is simply unacceptable. You will only do harm. Isopropyl alcohol evaporates quickly, is relatively non-toxic, and also does not leave marks on glass and lenses, which is very important for the technical task at hand. Then you need to dry everything again using a can of compressed air. All that remains is to assemble everything, insert the drive and screw in the fastening screw. Assembly is simple and intuitive.

Finally, we note that in some cases, the breakdown still cannot be eliminated, since it may lie in a burnt-out LED laser, worn-out mechanics, burnt-out driver chips, etc. Therefore, the last repair option is to completely replace the DVD drive.

muzhik-v-dome.ru

DIY DVD drive repair

How to repair a CD-DVD drive yourself?

This is a short story with pictures about how you can revive a CD-DVD, and probably a Blu-Ray drive, without resorting to the expensive help of specialists. There are several common reasons that can lead to complete or partial drive failure. Eliminating these causes is not a repair, but rather technical maintenance CD-DVD-ROM and can easily be performed by a user who has some skills in working with electronic equipment. More details at oldoctober.com

The most common causes of drive failure.

Worn drive belt (passenger).
Increased friction in the loading mechanism.
The laser lens is dirty.
Reduced laser efficiency.

To eliminate any of these causes, partial disassembly of the drive is required. The design of the drives may vary, so the accompanying pictures should not be taken absolutely.

Tools and materials.

For preventive maintenance we will need the following tools, materials and components. oldoctober.com

Paper clip.
Phillips screwdriver.
Medium size brush.
Calico (cotton fabric).
Silicone grease SI-130.
Passik.
Cleaning cloth.
Thin screwdriver.
Tweezers.

Begin. Disconnect the cables from the drive and unscrew the mounting screws. Remove the drive from the housing system unit.

Disassembly.

Disassembling any CD-DVD drive begins with pulling out the tray. To pull out the tray, you first need to make a simple device from a paper clip.

Carefully, by inserting the end of a paper clip into the technological hole on the front panel of the drive, we feel for the part of the mechanism that is responsible for locking the tray. This part is located exactly opposite the hole. We press on it and the tray extends slightly. Now you can pull it out with your fingers.

We release the latches securing the front panel of the drive. First, press out one of the side latches.

Then, press the latch located at the bottom of the drive and the other side latch.

Pull out the front panel, unscrew the four Phillips head screws and remove the metal casing panels.

We press the latches and separate the tray from the main mechanism.

Thoroughly clean the mechanism from dust and dirt using a brush. If the old lubricant is heavily contaminated, then remove it using calico and apply new lubricant.

We replace the worn belt with a new one. Then we wipe the belt and the internal surfaces of the pulleys with a cleaning cloth or calico soaked in alcohol.

Wipe the laser lens with a cleaning cloth. Dust deposited on the top surface of the lens may not be visible to the naked eye, but it is almost always present there.

If the drive is very old or is known to have had too many discs written to it and is having a read or write problem, you can try increasing the laser current. This rather delicate operation requires patience and can take quite a long time. Do not attempt this procedure if your drive simply does not read several old discs or discs recorded on other people's drives. This can be caused by a lot of different reasons, and the laser current value is in 38th place here.

It is best to regulate the laser current when the drive is in a semi-assembled state.

To start the drive without a casing and front panel, you will have to remove the front wall of the disk tray.

Somewhere on the carriage with the laser installed there is a small-sized potentiometer, the position of the slider of which determines the laser current. The location of this potentiometer depends on the drive design.

Before turning this screw, be sure to sketch the position of the slot in order to have a reference point, and in general, so that if something happens, you can return it to its original position.

By turning the screw 10-15 degrees, first in one direction and then in the other, each time we check the reading quality in some program, for example, Nero DiscSpeed.

It is only advisable to check on several types of media at once, for example, CD-R and CD-RW or DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, etc. It's probably not necessary to check all supported media types, but at least check the ones you use all the time.

Multi-purpose universal drives are quite a compromise product and therefore they often read some types of disks better and others worse. For example, by increasing the laser current, you can get perfect CD-R reading and make half of your CD-RWs unreadable.

Assembly does not present any difficulties, except for one thing. When inserting the tray into the loading mechanism, you need to align the loading mechanism slide lock with the guide groove located at the bottom of the tray.

The slide is usually spring-loaded, so before inserting the tray into the guides, you need to fix the slide in the correct position using tweezers or another suitable tool. In the photo, the position of the slider is fixed using an awl.

If, quite by chance, you happen to have a small set of belts of different diameters at your disposal, then you just need to choose a suitable copy. If you don’t have such a set, you’ll have to buy a belt.

And although the era of video and audio tape recorders has passed, you can still buy an assortment of rubber belts at all kinds of radio markets.

When buying a belt, you need to pay attention to several of its parameters, such as: cross-section, diameter, elasticity and quality of vulcanization of the rubber from which it is made.

The cross-section of the belt can also be determined by eye, since the likelihood that you will be able to find a belt with a strictly appropriate cross-section is small.

The diameter of the belt can be determined by applying the old belt to the new one and making sure that the diameter of the new one is slightly smaller than the old one.

Elasticity can be measured using a makeshift stand, like the one in the picture.

I usually check the properties of the belt by touch without any dynamometers.

The quality of rubber vulcanization can be determined by color and tactile sensations. The color of the “wrong” rubber is deep black, and the surface is smooth and highly reflective. While “correct” rubber has a slightly grayish tint and a more matte surface.

Also, the quality of rubber vulcanization can be determined by the time it takes to restore the original size. To test, you need to strongly stretch the belt with your fingers and very quickly throw it flat onto a flat surface. The faster the belt takes on its original size, the higher its quality. If you can notice by eye how the diameter of the belt changes, that is, it seems to shrink, then such a belt will not last long and it is better not to use it at all. However, it is not a fact that you will find a belt at the market High Quality, and even exactly the same as required. Therefore, in the absence of anything better, you can buy what you have, but adjusted for diameter, cross-section and elasticity.

And so, all these four parameters affect the properties of the belt. When choosing a belt, you need to take them all into account. If the cross section of the belt is slightly smaller, then you need to choose a belt that is a little shorter and vice versa. If the quality of vulcanization is low, then you need to choose either a slightly larger cross-section or a slightly smaller diameter.

If the belt is pulled too tight, it can lead to jamming or premature wear of the disk loading mechanism. If the belt is tensioned too loosely, this may cause it to slip relative to the engine pulley.

If there are several belts with similar properties at the market, then it is better to buy several different ones at once so that you can choose the most suitable one at home. The price of a belt for a CD-DVD drive can range from $0.3 to $0.7.

Cleaning the DVD Drive

As I have written before in other articles, the biggest problem for a computer is dust. It gets packed in everywhere possible in such quantities that sometimes you are simply amazed. The DVD optical drive is no exception.

Dust, if the device is not cleaned, affects the operation of the drive tray, reduces the accuracy of the laser mechanism and affects the quality of the clamping mechanics. In general, your DVD drive should be cleaned at least once a year. Optimally – once every six months.

To clean and maintain the DVD drive, you will need lubricant, cotton swabs and alcohol. After removing the DVD drive from the system unit, you need to remove its front panel. The first step is to pull out the drive tray. This is done using any long and thin object (a needle, a paper clip, a piece of wire 3 cm long).

There is a small hole on the front panel of any DVD drive (item 2 in the bottom photo). Behind it (on the inside of the panel) is a mechanism for manually opening the tray. You need to press this mechanism through the hole with a little force and the tray will extend 1-2 centimeters, after which it can be pulled out completely manually.

Next, you need to remove the dust cover from the tray. To do this, you need to turn the drive over and, bending the cover with your fingers, pull it down. On the lid, as a rule, there are two latches (item 1 in the bottom photo) and two guides on which the lid is held. It comes off without much effort.

Next, you need to recess the front panel latches. As a rule, there are four of them (two on the bottom, two on the sides) or five (two on the sides, three on the bottom). After removing the front panel, unscrew the bolts (4 or 5 pieces) on the bottom cover of the DVD drive and remove the cover.

Then you need to take the DVD drive by the top cover and shake it slightly. The plastic drive mechanism will fall out of top cover(see photo below). After removing the covers, the optical drive tray itself is removed. It extends all the way, then the latches located on the back of the tray in the corners are bent (see photo below) and the tray is removed.

All unnecessary parts have been removed from the DVD drive, you can start cleaning. The main body of the DVD drive has many notches, grooves and indentations. They must be thoroughly blown to remove any accumulated dust. Even a small amount of it at the back wall or in the grooves of the tray can cause the tray to stop opening (closing).

The tray is driven by a motor, which communicates with the mechanics by a rubber strap (passenger). You need to remove the belt carefully so as not to stretch it. The mechanical operation of the drive tray depends on the condition of the belt. By the way, problems often arise with the tray after long-term (more than two years) operation without maintenance. First, dust accumulates in the guides and the tray does not get into the extreme position because of this, and then the belt stretches due to the fact that the drive mechanism cannot open the tray due to the incorrect position of the tray.

Following the belt, remove the mechanical control board (1 or 2 latches). Care should also be taken not to damage the motor control cable coming from the main board. On inexpensive models The cables may well turn out to be fragile or poorly soldered. We remove dust from the mechanics with a soft brush or air from both sides (top and bottom). Ideally, it is advisable to go over the entire DVD drive first with a brush and then blow it with air (for example, using a rubber blower, which is sold in any pharmacy).

After all the dust has been removed from the drive housing, the rubber parts are degreased with alcohol and the old grease is removed from the guides (usually by the time of maintenance there is a mixture of fine dust and dirt with a small amount of remaining grease).

Finally, the moving rubbing mechanical parts are lubricated with a small (tiny) amount of lubricant, just to form a film (no longer desirable). There should be no visible accumulation of grease.

The final touch is to blow through (only with a rubber bulb) the lenses of the laser mechanism (under no circumstances should they be wiped) and the drive is put back together.

To be able to rewrite data on a DVD, you must have a DVD writer (DVD+RW format) installed on your computer. In modern laptops and computers of the latest configuration, as a rule, such DVD-roms are already included in the equipment package.

There are two types of DVD discs - rewritable (RW) and non-rewritable (R). In the first case, you can use the drive several times, deleting and writing new data to it again; in the second option, information can be written to the disk only once. In our case, we need DVD RW. Before writing new information to a disk with data already on it, you must delete the old data (format the disk). This can be done using a special software, or using the operating system installed on your computer.

How to delete information from a disc - DVD+RW or CD+RW

If your computer has Windows XP or earlier versions of the operating system installed Windows systems, then it is best to use special programs. For example, which is one of the most popular among PC users. It allows you not only to clear the disk of old information, but also to write new data to it. The program is especially popular because, in addition to stable operation, it also has a very convenient and visual interface.

Download installation file You can download Nero software for free online and then install it on your PC by following the installer's step-by-step instructions. After this, it is best to restart your computer, then insert the desired disc into the DVD drive and use the desktop shortcut to launch Nero Start Smart.

In the main menu of the program window that opens, find the “Advanced” function and click on it. In response to this, a dialog box will open in which you need to click on "Erase DVD", thereby activating the “Program Operation Wizard”. The wizard will display prompts on the screen, using which you can clear the disk of unnecessary information. Once the disk is successfully formatted, a notification will appear on the monitor screen.

Use built-in disk cleaning programs

OS Windows Vista and Windows 7 have intuitive and stable built-in capabilities for formatting DVDs. After the system independently detects the disk installed in the drive, a dialog box will appear on the monitor screen in which you need to click on the “Burn files to disk” function. In the new window that opens, you need to select the disk name, then click on “Show formatting options” to set the parameters for future recording to the disk. If the new information will consist of files of the same type (for example, movies or music), then you need to select the Mastered option so that the disc can be read well by the equipment that plays these files. To collect files on one disk various types It's better to choose LFS. Having asked required parameter, click on the “Next” button. In response to this, the formatting process will automatically start, after which a corresponding message will appear on the monitor screen.

Useful video

We have prepared a video especially for you on how to clear data from a CD/DVD disk: