Problems reading DVD discs on PCG-V505BP

[gbdavidc]

Hi,

I have a PCG-V505BP, and it's extremely 'picky' about which DVD discs it will read.

Some of them will read fine, but many (in fact MOST) won't read. When you look in Explorer at the CD/DVD drive, no files are displayed.

Does anybody else have the same problem? Any suggestions?

I have already updated the CD-R/W/DVD-R firmware to the most recent version (Matshita FW UJDA v.1.04 for VAIO), and this has made no difference.

Thanks.

David.

[Twisted-Rizla]

You are right to suggest that some machines are "picky" about the type of disc they like to read. This seems to be a common problem with some users.

Apart from the obvious, such as making sure you are using the right discs in terms of + or - and dual layer etc try changing the brand of disc you use. This helped for me.

Make sure also that you have, not only the firmware updates, but any available patches from Vaio-link as well.

[gbdavidc]

Hi,

Thanks for getting back to me on this one so quickly.

I've taken on board what you were saying about changing the type of discs I use, but the problem is more to do with pre-recorded DVDs. In particular, when I rent DVD movies, only about 1 in 5 of them will read on my laptop.

These movies are all from the Blockbuster rental shop, so they must all be the correct Region (Region 2).

I've also had a look for patches for the PCG-V505BP, but Sony haven't posted anything.

Any further suggestions?

Thank you.

David.

[seb21__]

Any further suggestions?

Maybe to late but,

never buy a laptop with Matshita drive.

[kee-lo_]

Wonder if any other drive could sit in that bay nicely?

[gbdavidc]

That's exactly what I was wondering, and ideally a drive that could burn DVDs as well, as my current drive is only DVD-ROM.

Cheers.

David.