Hello,

My DVD drive (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH24NSD1 LG00) stopped recognizing blank DVD-R media:
when I insert the disk and close the tray, the LED lights up and I can hear 3 repeats
of unusual movements sounds (different from what I remember from the days the drive
worked OK). After the 3 movements end and the LED goes OFF, openinig "k3b"
and going to "Device -> Media info" results in "Missing media". At first I thought
that my media is bad (it was few years old and I remember reading that DVD-R disks "shelf life"
is quite limited) but after buying a new pack of DVD-Rs the same problem repeated.
Interestingly, when I attempt to insert CD-R blank disk it gets recognized OK, both by
"k3b" and by OS/KDE which opens a prompt asking me how to open the disk.

I very rarely use DVD media and a considerable time (months?) passed since the last
DVD media which I inserted into the drive. I can't rule out dust accumulation but
then again, why the CD-R had been recognized? Are the larger "bits" of CD-R not that
sensitive to dust as smaller "bits" of DVD-R?

Or maybe it's just a software problem and I need to upgrade some package?
What packages are needed for DVD drive operation?

Any ideas?

TIA for any help,
kaza.

All of my CD ROM players failed eventually.

That GH24NSD1 is a cheap commodity product. Such cannot be expected to remain reliable any length of time. Consider yourself lucky if you got 5 years out of it. A new replacement can be had retail for as little as $14USD delivered when on sale, $20 otherwise.

1 members found this post helpful.

Thanks for all the replies, going to buy a new one.

I wonder if it worth to by two and to keep one of then
in its original hermeric package on the shelf so that
when the installed one will fail (according to Murphy laws -
exactly when I URGENTLY need it) I could just take the one
I have instead of wasting time on buying.
In other words: what causes the damage: the time itself
or the actual use (mechanical parts moving and wearing,
electromigration changes electronic parts operation,
ON/OFF power cycles cause thermal cycling of electronic
elements and cracks them)?

Thanks for all the answers,
kaza.

Most often the power cycling and/or mechanical activity is the cause of failure of any type of cheap electronics. There was a lengthy period when time was a significant factor, when defective capacitors that deteriorate from chemical breakdown were common a decade ago from production in the early 2000s.

I do not buy two at once, since there's greater likelihood both would have been born out of a same production batch.