Internal DVD drive: Can a bad reading laser be repaired?
 

I have a Lite-On iHAS424 that burns just great. But something is happening to its ability to read, whether ones I burned myself or, at times, commercial disks. It seems to be getting slowly worse, too. It takes almost no time at all before the channel reverts to PIO mode, causing me to uninstall-reboot-reboot often. Other drives on other computers work just fine.

Is this repairable? Or should I just add it to the landfill?

People too often focus on the question of "How long will a disc last?" -- but this is a perfect example of why that become more and more of a moot point as time goes by. The bigger question is this: How long will drives exist?

Drive have a very limited lifespan, especially with the mass-produced consumer models. (Which is almost all burners.) They give out in just a couple of thousand hours, sometimes less. Environment can have an impact, too, from dust and humidity.

It's time to simply pitch it to the landfill and get another one.

What you've described is a standard "dying drive" syndrome.

Replace it with one of these: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/forum/show...orst-2808.html
Pioneer, Samsung and Sony Optiarc are what you want in 2011.
And that post links to several excellents deals in ther $21 to $40 range (free shipping, no tax).

Easy enough. :)

I've replaced many drives in the past 10 years -- yes, 10 years I've burned DVD-R! At least now a new drive only costs $25-40. I remember when a "cheap" drive was $200-300, and the good ones were $400 or more. The original Pioneer DVR-103 was $900 in 2001. The burner literally doubled the cost of the computer.

thanks for the advice and the suggested brands.

FYI, the drive was one year old. How long it sat on a shelf I cannot say. Heat and humidity? You betcha, here in Thailand.

Cliff

What's the indoor RH % (relative humidity) in Thailand where you are?
Same for the temperature. (Fahrenheit if you can, or I'll convert Celsius in Google.)

There was some crank online a few years ago claiming all kinds of insanity about how discs die in Thailand, but it was long suspected that he mistreated the discs (bad storage) and was using highly flawed testing procedures -- one of which included an outdoor environment and aging/decaying drives. Mysteriously, all of this writings have disappeared in the past 1-2 years, possibly deleted after be discovered a fraud.

As far as discs go, Alaska has higher RH % than Thailand, and cold is just as evil for disc life (maybe WORSE than heat). And then Texas is at least as hot and Thailand, and the gulf coast is just as humid. And media from those locations has been fine. Drives, however --- that's a different story. Those die.

Just swap the drive, and you should be good to go. :)

If you want to squeeze more life from your current drive, try a cleaning: How to Clean a DVD or CD Drive [GUIDE]
It might work, or it might not. There's harm in trying.
Dust + humidity = microscopic mud, which dries into a sticky surface. And that's what's inside your drive.
It also attracts dust mites, which can go everywhere.

Note that SMOKING indoors, around the computer, is also bad. It gives the drive "lung cancer" as the tar builds up, just like the sticky micro-mud.

You should check first if the hardware is still being offered in the market. If the product is already discontinued, then you are better off getting a new combo rom. There are alternatives if you do not want to bring your computer to the service center, you might want to look at external drivers. They perform the same functions as the internal ones its just that they are plugged in through the usb.