Laptop DVD drive problem

[draterrojam]

I have a dell laptop, i believe its a Dell Inspiron 1501. The DVD/CD drive will play CDs but will NOT play DVDs. I don't know much about computers but it has been suggested that it might be a software issue. Does anyone know how to fix this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[frozenlead]

Will it read DVDs? If it does, then it's a software problem.

 

[draterrojam]

Will it read DVDs? If it does, then it's a software problem.

It recognizes and plays CDs just fine, it does not however recognize DVDs at all. I just put it in and it does nothing. It is a combo drive, and it worked in the past.

 

[frozenlead]

If it won't read video DVDs as well as data DVDs, the drive is probably damaged. There's not a whole lot you can do to repair it.

 

[pitstop87]

If your drive read DVDs in the past, then it's obviously got a hardware fault now.
However if it has always had this problem, then it is a firmware issue. To solve this simply get the latest firmware update for your particular drive model from the internet and flash your drive. Be careful while flashing cause if done carelessly it could damage your drive permanently.
My DVD drive had an issue with burning DVDs from when i bought it. But after changing the firmware it burns most DVDs without any problem.