CD disk disintagrated inside computer

vanity | 06/01/2009 | KillerMosquito

[Yardstick]

Torch the whole thing. Once a computer has done something like this, it’s got to be put down.

[Young Werther]

Sorry. This is June First which is also LOL Monday!

Good luck with the PC fix!

[Kirkwood]

Is it under warranty? Check to see if Dell will replace the CD drive. If not, take out the old cd player completely and then see if you can shake out all the shattered pieces. If the door is stuck, use a paperclip wire in the little hole on the door to get it unstuck. If you can’t get all the pieces out and it won’t work anymore, go to a store that sells replacement drives and buy a new one, or else just buy a USB plug-in replacement CD drive.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

If you just bought it in January it should be covered by warranty.

Call and check.

[mad_as_he$$]

laptop? if not there are hundreds for desktops available for 10 bucks.

[TomGuy]

I received a COMPUSA e-mail and there is a 1 terabyte drive available for less than $100!

I agree.

I've move away, almost entirely, from DVD-R/RWs, and I have 2 DVD-write drives in my computer. The USB hard drives are much more convenient, hold more and copying to them is much faster.

I have several from 250GB up to 1TB.

[TomGuy]

I'd do business with the 'new GM' before I'd do business with the 'new CompUSA'.

Not sure why you are disparaging CompUSA. It is now owned by Tigerdirect. I've done business with Tigerdirect for years and never had any problem with them.

[Greysard]

If the CD blew apart it's probably because the CD itself had a flaw (a crack, likely.) Modern CD drives spin disks pretty good (to achieve higher data rates.) See if you can return the remains of the CD to the store for an exchange.

The CD drive itself is most definitely not the cause of the damage because there is nothing that would catch the disk or anything. In the worst case (see Xbox 360 problem) the head would scratch the disk, and you'd need to rotate the drive while accessing it to do this. You can rotate an Xbox, but probably not your desktop Dell :-)

But the drive is definitely done for. Even if the damage is not obvious, don't push your luck - get a new one, they are dime a dozen today. To remove the drive you probably need to open the side cover, and then see if there are any green plastic rails to press on, or any #4 screws to undo. The CD/DVD unit is a single metal box, easy to handle, and the connectors on the back are also simple and keyed.

[jblann1]

try to remove as much of the debris as possible, and see if the drive functions after that. If its a bust, a dvd/cd drive is fairly inexpensive and quite easy to replace. You can do it in five minutes; a retailer can do it in about five weeks : )

[PAR35]

They made a poor business decision keeping the old name. CompUSA earned its failure. I’m not sure why a company would want to keep negative good will, but they’ll have to accept the consequences of their choices.

[PAR35]

A company only gets one chance to rip me off. CompUSA used its chance. GM hasn’t yet (Chrysler has). So feel free to do business with CompUSA. See how it turns out in the end.

[AFreeBird]

You haven’t been using your CD drive as a cup holder, have you? :)

[Kirkwood]

Replace a drive in 5 minutes? Don’t think so. It would take most people 5 minutes to find a screwdriver.

[AFreeBird]

You use screws?

[newhouse]

My fractured CD a few years ago was shredded- sounded like a 22 caliber gun going off in my ear. Took it apart, dumped out the shards, put it back together and life went on.

[al_c]

No suggestions but I did see this on mythbusters. Good thing you aren’t made of ballistics gel.