cd/dvd drive not working

[zina]

had problems before with my disc drive(didnt open lots of times),but always postponed to send it to sony cause need it for work.
yesterday tryied to write a cd .....it took ages to read it and when it did and was trying to write the cd wizard said there was no cd in the drive(not only once)........after lots of times it read the cd but when i was gonna write again it said that the empty cd is full(all of the empty cds i tryied)......
anyone had these kind of problems with their drive before?
gonna take it for repair but hate the fact im gonna have to wait for 10 days at least to get it back

[kee-lo_]

The fastest they've repaired a VAIO was 3 working days

[zina]

i dont think that is gonna happen in my case.........everything works really slow in greece!:smileylaugh:
they told my that its the least 10 days:smileyangry:

[kee-lo_]

They have UPS and DHL so it shouldn't be too much hassle

[Rafferty2000]

Sony is PANTS! Having just lashed out a huge wedge on a A497XP to find I have to send it back because they shipped it without a working DVD ROM. Tried installing the firmwear fix - no better.

Obviously they have no QA or customer care.

[Twisted-Rizla]

@Wheresmybeaver.

Yes, the D partition is unnafected by a restore so it is safe to put your files there.

As for the DVD question Sony ship a lot of their machines with Drag n Drop software which can be used to make a "back up" copy of any disc so I wouldn't worry too much about having AnyDVD software on your machine.

Of course you could always delete it if you are really concerned and re-install it again when you get yoy PC back.

[Twisted-Rizla]

but now it does not read any CDs nor DVDs.  I have a firmware update, but do not think it is a software problem? Is this a popular problem?

I guess it is the best to report this to Sony...

Yup, you'll have to get in touch with Sony. Contact numbers found
here.

[Twisted-Rizla]

The fastest they've repaired a VAIO was 3 working days

But that was the Managing Director's PC:smileylaugh:

[jimmex]

hehehe - I guess as another frustrated user with a malfunctioning DW D56A I really ought to throw in my 10 cents worth to this thread.

My unit, fitted into a VGN-A417M, is only 2 1/2 months old and has stopped recognizing blank CDRs and only intermittently reads written CDRs. DVD writing and reading is still working ok but Im now nervous as hell as to whether that will stop functioning soon.
.
Thanks first to Twisted for help in a separate thread prompting me to spend the past 3 days scouring the net and various forums to gen up on this pig of a drive!!

Concensus says its a Liteon SOSW 852s drive which has been rebundled and used by both Sony, Dell and a number of other manufacturers leaving a wake of disatisfied users all complaining about it malfuctioning in various ways.

Updating drivers and flashing firmare, suggested by many, seems to give sporadic results and certainly hasnt worked for me.

Conclusion:
If you depend on your optical drive for anything other than casual leisure use then best replace it asap as sooner or later it will probably malfunction for you, and forget Sony repair unless they can provide you with a more reliable (and proven) model !!

The popular model for replacement for the D56A seems to be the NEC ND-6500A which can be found in the price range of 120 - 160 USD and which apparently can fit into most Sony Vaios without too much problem and change to the cosmetic appearance (it may be necessary to shave off a couple of plastic lugs to get a snug fit.).
I haven't found a bad comment from anyone who has gone this route.

I guess any action like this will blow your Sony warranty but for me a working laptop takes priority over warranty - particularly as I'm working in a country that doesnt seem to have any Sony repair facility

Like I say - i'm a newbie - so take this recommedation as you find it.
All I know is that Im sufficiently frustrated by this drive to go the mile and change - unless of course anybody can convince me that Im talking a load of cr#p - LOL!

Jim
(Down (but not out) in Dhaka, Bangladesh - LOL!!)

[Twisted-Rizla]

Thanks for the useful info Jim.

You are right about invalidating your warrantry if you change your drive but i think a lot of people wion't have much of a choice.

Sony need to come out of the closet on this one and admit they've messed up with these drives. I've got the DW56A which won't read CD-Rs. Reads everything else though.

As Sony haven't done anything about it I may have to take matters into my own hands and change to the NEC. Thought I'd sit it out for a while first to see if anyone had found a fix. The NEC unit seems to be the only way especially if Sony are going to keep replacing the DW56A with another DW56A.

[zina]

The fastest they've repaired a VAIO was 3 working days


But that was the Managing Director's PC:smileylaugh: