Upgrading & Fixing Laptops DUMmIES

Check the documentation that comes with your laptop or the maker of the

optical drive. (You can find the name of the manufacturer of the drive and its

model number by checking the properties of the CD or DVD drive from the

Control Panel.) If you can identify a maker and model number, check the web

site for that manufacturer and see if it has any specific recommendations. As

an example, Toshiba states the following in its manual for a current laptop: It

recommends silver-colored CD-Rs, followed by gold, with green-colored discs

the least reliable.

If you are having a problem loading a program from a commercially created

CD-ROM, consult the software’s documentation and check that the hardware

configuration meets the program’s needs. Some installation programs will fail

but not inform the user why they have stopped.

Computer dementia ...........................................................................

CD and DVD drives make great demands on the system and, depending on

the type of information stored on the disc, to the sound card and graphics

Chapter 9: Going Round and Around: CD and DVD Drives 159

When a disc gets stuck on you

If a disc is not properly installed on the spindle
in an optical drive, it can jam the drawer when
it closes or prevent the motor from rotating the
disc; in the worst case, the mechanism can be
damaged.

Take special care in placing a disc on the spin-
dle, pressing it gently until it clicks into place.
The disc must be lying flat and unwarped, with
its printed label side facing upward. Support the
drawer from underneath to keep it from warp-
ing as you apply pressure from the top to seat
the disc into the circular spindle. Make sure the
drive tray closes properly; never force it shut.

If the drive does not come to life, press the disc
eject button on the drive and hope that it pops
out to give you access to the disc. Some systems
also have an eject button that is part of the CD or
DVD playing or recording software. Additionally,
there may be a special-purpose eject key on the

keyboard that works in conjunction with the Fn,

or Function, key shift.

By the way, each of these steps requires that your

laptop be connected to a power source. If none of

these steps frees your disc, try the following:

Shut down the laptop through Windows and

then restart the machine. Once Windows

restarts, try ejecting the disc through use of one

of the previously described buttons. If you still

cannot eject the disc, shut down the computer

and turn off all power. Locate the manual eject

button on the disk drive, a small hole nearby the

power eject. Use a straightened paper clip or a

tiny screwdriver to press the button until the

drawer is released; carefully pull the tray open

and remove the disc. (Never use a pencil to

press the manual eject; the soft lead may break

off and fall inside the computer, which could

cause internal damage.)