I need some more advice regarding this 3000.00 good for nothing Toshiba Satellite Laptop that you helped me fix a few months ago. This is the one with the XP Media Edition.
The problem is the Dual drive.
I can install some software and cannot install other software. I can't load MIDI files but I can load Commercial Song tracks.
I did a diagnostic and I get an error # 11.
Looking this up I am told that it is a defective cable between the computer and the drive.
Would you agree with this?
I was going to pull the bottom off and have a lookie see but there are so many screws I don't know which ones hold the bottom on and which ones are for other things. Some are labled F 14 and others are I believe F4.
should I look deeper or just take it to the shop. I bought an extended warranty for it but I just noted that it was a 2 year warranty and expired 1/06. Darn.
Appreciate any advice,
Bebop

Hello Bebop
Without having the computer in front of me it would be difficult to determine the exact cause, however the drive normally plugs into the main board, and so it could be a bad connection.
Dismantling a laptop is not for the faint hearted, in most cases you have to remove the screen, keyboard, battery etc, and then undo about 15 (Or more) screws, however if you feel confident, you will find that if you go to the Toshiba web site, and look in the Help and Support section, you will find full details of how to dismantle the laptop and gain access to your DVD Drive. (Once you have dismantled the required parts, the drive just slides out, you can then give it a firm push back in)
However before you go to this length, check to see if you can load the files from a USB stick or other connected drive, to make sure that the files are not corrupted, secondly if the problems are with discs that you have made yourself, (Possibly even on another computer) try a different brand of disc, as not all brands are fully compatible with all drives.
I hope the above helps, and if you require any more info just let me know. (You can contact me direct if you wish)
TIP. Before dismantling, place a sheet of paper on the desk and mark out sections F14, F4 etc, and place the screws you have removed under the appropriate headings.

Bill

HI BILL,
Thank you once again for your expert impute.
The dual drive slides in and out after unlocking just as the battery does. As this is a multi media computer it can accomodate either the dual drive OR the TV Tuner in that slot. I have moved the drive in and out several times to see if it would clean the plug in contacts but no change.
I was able to install a program for my camera that is HP software without a problem. I then tried to install a new program that is commercial software program for the motorhome parks all over the US and it will not even open it, and I keep getting an i/o error when I try to open it. I thought perhaps that it might only have 2 licenses so I had them send me another copy and it won't open either although it will open in both the desk top and the other new Toshiba Laptop?
I stuck a MS Office disk in it and it opened ready to install, but office is already installed on this computer.
I tried a home brew disk full of Midi files but it won't open it.
The commercial disk for the motorhome parks installed without problem in my Sony vaio desktop and also in the other Toshiba laptop that is the same except a year newer.
This is pretty confusing to me.
Thanks for your advice,
Best to you and yours,
Bebop

[This message has been edited by BEBOP (edited 09-24-2006).]

Hello Bebop
Looks like the drive may be on the way out, however there are a couple more things you can try. (If you haven’t already)
1. Purchase a CD Drive Cleaner Disc, and run that through.
2. Right click My Computer and select properties
3. Select the Hardware tab followed by the Device Manager Button
4. Double Click the DVD/CD Rom Drive in the Menu
5. Right Click your DVD drive and select uninstall (Click the OK button when asked for confirmation)
6. Restart your computer and let windows Re-install the drive (This should clear up any corruption in the driver)
Hope this helps

Bill

thanks Bill,
I was thinking about uninstalling that drive and then reinstalling it but was not sure about it. Thanks for confirming that. I will get a cleaner kit and try that.
I have hardly ever used that drive, so it should not be worn out or crudded up?
Best and thanks again,
Bebop

I did the driver delete and reinstalled this combination drive without problem.
It still doesn't want to work right. I kept looking deeper into the problem and I discovered what seems to be the problem.
When you put a disc into it a screen comes up now that asks if it should open, play, view or whatever the contents. there are several choices to choose from such as Music, Data etc. If you don't have the right choice then it won't open the disc. So.........therein lies the problem.
Is there a way to get rid of that program so any disc will open when you put it in the drive?
thanks for your help to date,
Bebop

Hello Bebop
The box you see is part of Windows and will normally pop up when there is more than 1 type of file on the disc, or more than 1 program that can open the file; it allows you to make a choice.
If you find it really annoying then open My Computer, right click the CD drive, select properties followed by the AutoPlay Tab, you can then set a specific program to open a specific file type, which will prevent the box from opening with single file types.
If there are different types of file on the disc, the box will still pop up as Windows has no way of knowing which type of file you wish to open.
If you wish to prevent it completely, you will need to disable the auto run feature, but as this involves modifying the registry, I suggest you leave well alone.
If you do want to disable auto run let me know and I will post the instructions.
Hope this helps

Bill