Cds on computer not working?

Question

DVDs will work, but whenever i put in a cd both ones with photos on them and with games nothing happens. Its just like there's not a cd in my computer. I have no clue what to do! Please help me...

Answer 1

Subject : Why can’t all DVD devices read CD-R and CD-RW discs?

DVD format specifications deal with elements of disc design and not the hardware that reads them. As a result, DVD device manufacturers are free to incorporate whatever features they like into their products, including deciding which types of discs are supported. Consumer demand and cost considerations are taken into account by manufacturers who then construct their products and marketing accordingly.

In addition to these market forces a number of technical issues come into play. Despite appearances to the contrary, a CD and a DVD are distinctively different physically from each other. For example, a DVD disc uses a substrate half as thick as does a CD (0.6 mm vs. 1.2 mm) as well as smaller pit and lands and has less distance between the coils of the data track. A DVD is also read using a shorter wavelength laser (650 nm red vs. 780 nm infra-red) through an optical lens with a larger numerical aperture (0.60 vs. 0.45). Thus, DVD devices which also read prerecorded (pressed) CDs employ a number of tactics to accommodate these differences. However, a CD-R disc has its own unique construction so reading it requires additional hardware components.

Unlike the molded plastic pits of a prerecorded disc the optical responses of the organic dyes used in the recording layer of a CD-R disc are carefully designed to function in the 780 nm range used by CD drives and recorders. Consequently, when a CD-R disc is read using the shorter 650 nm DVD laser wavelength the signals returned from the disc are greatly diminished and may not be read reliably. DVD devices that are designed to read DVD and CD-R discs (such as those compliant with MultiRead and MultiPlay specifications) compensate for this problem by incorporating dual laser optical pickups to generate both 650 nm and 780 nm wavelengths.

A CD-RW disc is a little different. The optical response of the phase change material used in its recording layer is not as wavelength dependent as organic dye in a CD-R and can be read using a 650 nm laser. However, because a CD-RW disc has relatively low reflectivity and signal modulation the optical systems of some DVD devices may not be sensitive enough to read it.

hope this basic information helps



try  hooking  up an ext USB dvd/cdr/writer ..maybe you can rent one from your friends to test and compare before you replace your current crappy dvd/cdr