[ltp] Thinkpad 600 CDROM woes

[Martin Sanborn]

On Wednesday 14 November 2001 02:07 pm, you wrote:
> 1. Remove the unit, clean lens and connectors (use antistatic brush or
> "canned air"- use with caution) and reseat in the Ultra-Bay

I have not tried reseating it yet, which should have been obvious. I'll check 
that. It's quite possible that things are a bit dirty after sitting around 
for a long time. Perhaps reseating it will remove any corrosion.

> 2. Update to the latest System Setup (BIOS) (see IBM support site)
> 3. Check for and install any firmware upgrades (see IBM support site)

Hmm.. Now that would be flaky if it fixed the problem since the CDROM drive 
had been wokring fine since it's last BIOS/firmware upgrade (2000). 

> 4. Run Test from System Setup with and without CD inserted

It passed that test, but still doesn't read  correctly.

> 5. Test the unit in as many operating systems as you can; Linux,
> 	Windows, OS/2, whatever...

I've only got linux on the machine, having abandonded Windows about 2 years 
ago. That being said, the Linux driver hasn't given me trouble before.

> have a defective internal connector or system board. I have one for my
> TP770X and this is handy but that may not be an option for you.

Fortunately, my brother owns a TP 600X, so we can swap drives over the 
holiday weekend and see how things go.

> This problem occurs with clean CD disks and various types from
> off-the-shelf SW and one's you have created or have been burned for
> you? I have run into problems where "burned" CDs did not work and could
> be traced to the media and in some cases to the SW used to create them.
> Older CD drives were prone to this problem.

This is all types of CDs - CDRs, audio, data, and software. It's not 
particular type, which leads me to believe it is a hardware issue.

> In the end, I think you will most likely find the unit is defective,
> but this a way to confirm. Still under warranty by any chance?

Ah, if only it was.. It expired earlier this year. Fortunately, refurbished 
thinkpad drives are easy to find for $25 or so. I'm sure sending it in for 
repair would cost alot more.

Thanks,

Marty Sanborn

-- 
| Martin Sanborn - Dept. of Chemical Engineering - Northwestern University |
| m-sanborn@nwu.edu - (847)467-1653 - http://zeolites.cqe.nwu.edu/marty |

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