Dell Inspiron 8100 - Manual (Page 44)

If you cannot play a music CD or install a program from a CD
If you cannot play a DVD movie
If the CD-RW drive stops writing
If you have a hard drive problem
HINT: High-speed CD drive vibration is normal and may cause noise. This noise does not indicate a defect in the drive or the CD.
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive— Double-click the My Computer icon. If the CD drive is not listed, perform a full
scan with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing
the drive.
Test the drive with another CD— Insert another CD to eliminate the possibility that the original CD is defective.
Clean the disc— See the Tell Me How help file for instructions.
Adjust the Windows volume control— Double-click the yellow speaker icon in the lower-right corner of your screen. Be sure
that the volume is turned up and that the sound is not muted.
If you have one CD in the fixed optical drive and one CD in the media bay drive— Identify which CD is not playing:
1. Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Double-click the drive letter of the device the you are verifying.
HINT: Because of different worldwide file types, not all DVD titles work in all DVD drives.
Ensure that Windows recognizes the drive— Double-click the My Computer icon. If the DVD drive is not listed, perform a full
scan with your antivirus software to check for and remove viruses. Viruses can sometimes prevent Windows from recognizing
the drive.
Test the drive with another DVD— Insert another DVD to eliminate the possibility that the original DVD is defective.
Clean the disc— See the Tell Me How help file for instructions.
HINT: If you must disable standby mode to write to a CD-RW drive, remember to enable standby mode again when you finish writing the CD.
Disable standby mode in Windows before writing to a
CD-RW disk—
Search for the keyword standby in Windows Help .
Change the write speed to a slower rate— The CD-RW drive must receive a steady stream of data when writing. If the
stream is interrupted, an error occurs. Closing all programs before writing to the CD-RW may also alleviate the problem.
Check the hard drive for errors—
Windows Me:
Click the Start button, point to Programs—> Accessories—> System Tools, and then click ScanDisk.
Windows 2000:
1. Double-click the My Computer icon.
2. Right-click the Local Disk icon and then click Properties.
3. Click the Tools tab.
4. Click Check Now.