Most CD/DVD/Blu-ray drives/writers have upgradable operating software usually called firmware stored in flash ROM (read-only memory) inside the drive itself. Upgrading this firmware to the latest version can often solve problems such as the inability to read certain kinds of discs, or errors when burning CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs.

Take great care when flashing/installing firmware - flashing/installing the wrong file (designed for another product) can kill a CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive.

You need to find out the exact model name and manufacturer of the drive. Right-click with the mousepointer on My Computer (XP) or Computer (Vista) and click Properties. Open the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button. Click the + beside DVD/CD-ROM drives to show the drives that are installed. The model name should be displayed as the title. My MSI M662 laptop PC shows Philips DVD-RAM SDVD8821, so it is made by Philips. If the manufacturer is not apparent, Googling the model number should provide that information.

When you know the manufacturer and model number, you need to find the firmware update. The best source is the drive manufacturer's website. Philips only sells drives to PC manufacturers not to the market, so I have to get updates from the PC manufacturer's website, which is MSI in my case.

Download the firmware update file. Most of the time, the download is a small file with an .exe extension that you click on to install. When you open it, it should present a simple user interface. If the update is contained in a zip file (a file with a .zip extension), it is very important that you unzip every file to a folder (preferably created to contain them) before running the update or it may fail. If it fails you can render the drive useless. All of the files have to be together in a folder. You must not install firmware from inside a zip program such as WinZip, because all of the files won't be accessible. The manufacturer's website should provide specific instructions on how to update the firmware. Instructions can also be provided as text files that come with the zipped download. Some manufacturers, such as Samsung, included a PDF file on how to install the firmware update. (A PDF file (a file with a .pdf extension) requires a reader such as the free Foxit.)

Note that it is extremely important that your computer remains on and doesn't freeze up during the update process. If you are updating a laptop, you should have the battery attached and charged in case of a power failureand you should close all other unnecessary programs before starting the update, such as anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall and any other protection that can interrupt the process. Norton (Symantec) and McAfee security software interrupts the process, because it assumes that a security issue is involved in every action. Such an update should not be installed during a thunderstorm because if your computer shuts down due to a power interruption while the update is installing, the drive can be rendered useless.

How to update the firmware on any hardware in your computer -

http://www.ehow.com/how_2225435_update-firmware-any-hardware-computer.html

Note that some brand-name drive companies purchase their drives from several manufacturers. For examle, if you have a Creative and Iomega drive, these two companies actually purchase their drives from various manufacturers and are not good at producing firmware updates.

DVDINF Pro - is a free utility that provides all the details you might want to know about an installed DVD drive, including the driver and version of firmware being used. -

http://www.dvdinfopro.com/

The Firmware Page - Update Your CD/DVD Drive Firmware. Most users know that they can update their BIOS but not many know that they can also update the firmware of (most) CD/DVD and Blu-ray drives. This site has full details plus some handy tips for overcoming the region locking on your DVD drive. -

http://forum.rpc1.org/portal.php

Computer diagnostics: How to solve or fix common desktop and laptop PC problems

To diagnose and troubleshoot specific and general problems with Microsoft's software (Windows 95, 98, Me, XP, Vista, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express) using the MS Knowledge Base, visit the Diagnostics page on this site.

Click a relevant link below to visit the information it describes on this website:

1. - Recovering and repairing Windows XP when a computer crashes or fails to boot

2. - Recovering and repairing Windows Vista when a computer crashes or fails to boot

3. - Windows Vista problems: How to fix problems with Windows Vista

4. - Recover, restore and repair Windows 7 (Win7) when a computer crashes or fails to boot

5. - Windows 7 problems: How to diagnose and fix problems with Windows 7

6. - Windows XP: How to troubleshoot and fix shutdown, restart (reboot), and startup problems

7. - Typical DLL (Dynamic Link Library) device driver problems

8. - Software problems: How to fix problems with Windows, programs, and utilities

Also visit the Software pages on this site for more information on specific software-related information and problems.

9. - Motherboard and power supply problems: How to fix common problems with faulty motherboards (mainboards) and power supplies (PSUs)

10. - RAM memory problems: How to fix problems with the Random Access Memory

11. - Hard disk drive problems: How to fix computer hard disk drive (HDD) problems

12. - CD/DVD drive problems: How to fix problems with CD and DVD drives and discs

13. - Processor problems: How fix common processor (CPU) problems

14. - Video/graphics card problems: How fix common computer video and graphics problems

15. - USB and FireWire problems: - How to fix common USB and FireWire problems

16. - Network problems: How to fix common wired and wireless networking and internet problems

17. - Laptop/notebook problems: How to address or fix the most common laptop/notebook problems

How to fix problems with device drivers in Windows XP and Windows Vista and Windows 7

Although the information on the following page is specific to Windows XP, much of the advice is relevant to the earlier versions of Windows. Click here! to read Troubleshoot Device Driver Problems. Click h ere! to go to Tips for fixing common driver problems in Windows Vista. Those tips should also be applicable to Windows 7.

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Visit the Build a PC page for information on how to build a desktop PC and solve self-build problems, and visit the other pages, such as the Video/Graphics, Sound, Motherboards, and Monitors pages for more problem-solving information, all of which can be accessed via the menu items and jump menu on the orange navigation bar, or via the site search engine at the top of each of the main pages.

The Tips & Tricks pages of this site contain additional useful tips, tricks, and problem-solving advice.

The safest way to upgrade RAM memory: Use the UK and US Crucial Memory Advisors

Paul Mullen, who was the highly-respected computer guru of the Helpfile at ComputerShopper.co.uk - "I have recently been buying my memory only from Crucial Technology. I would rather pay the extra cost than waste time trying to track down the obscure program faults that bad memory can cause."

The best way to choose RAM memory for a brand-name desktop or laptop computer, or memory for a particular make/model of PC motherboard is to make use of the Crucial Memory Advisors (provided under the brief guideline on the minimum memory requirements for Windws XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7). If the Crucial memory you receive does not work, you are guaranteed a refund and standard shipping is free.

The memory requirements of the versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7

Most of the versions of Windows Vista require more RAM memory to run optimally on a computer that doesn't use memory-hungry applications than Windows XP. A video-editing application is an example of memory-intensive software. Only Windows Vista Home Basic has a recommended minimum amount of memory of 512MB, which is the same amount recommended for Windows XP. Windows Vista Home Premium, the most popular version, and Windows Vista Ultimate require a recommended minimum of 1GB (1024MB) of memory, which is twice the amount of minimum memory recommended to run Windows XP. Note that if you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, up to 4.0GB, it requires twice the amount of memory as a 32-bit version, which can only use a maximum of about 3.5GB. For more information on computer memory, read the RAM pages of this site, which includes information on the lower memory requirements of Windows 7.

UK - Crucial Memory Advisor - UK

USA - Crucial Memory Advisor - USA

How to Use the Crucial Memory Advisor

For example, if your computer has an Asus motherboard, open the menu, scroll down to ASUS, and click GO. If, say, you have a Dell computer, scroll down to DELL, and do likewise. You will be taken to the relevant information on Crucial's website.

If you don't know the make and model of the motherboard installed in your computer, here is a good free utility - Belarc Advisor - that creates an analysis of the hardware and software on a personal computer. Look under FREE DOWNLOAD - http://www.belarc.com/. Another utility that also provides detailed information on the memory itself is CPU-Z.

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