Laptop not recognizing discs

Unknown

So yesterday I looked over to my desk and saw that an old laptop which a friend gave me was just sitting there. It's currently running on Windows Vista with a mere 1GB of RAM and a terrible CPU. Needless to say, it doesn't run very well. So, I decided to try putting Linux onto it. I popped in a DSL disc to begin with, just for the lulz. It booted just fine, and I was actually considering installing it but I wanted something with a bit more beef to it. I then tried Xubuntu, but the live CD wouldn't boot properly. It would get halfway through loading and then the machine would just lock up, and I eventually had to remove the battery if I wanted to reboot it again. I decided that I wanted a newer version of Xubuntu and maybe that would work on the laptop, so I downloaded the distro and burned it to a CD, just like I've done with the rest of them.

Only problem is, the laptop doesn't seem to recognize discs anymore. I originally though I'd fucked up the burning of the latest Xubuntu CD, but when I attempted to put DSL back in there again, it too wasn't recognized :facepalm:

Now I don't know what I should do. I can't boot from a fucking disc anymore so I can't install Xubuntu

Slartibartfast

That's odd. Have you tried resetting the bios? Is the disk drive still set to boot first?

a 'mere one gig of RAM' is an amazing thing to say...


Try installing Arch man, just go for it.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_Guide

Unknown

Disk drive is set to boot first, yeah. In fact, I made the HDD boot last just to make sure. When I was in the BIOS looking at the boot settings, I had a CD in but it wasn't showing up there either. It spins the disc up, but doesn't acknowledge that it's an OS disc. I took the CD out and tried it in my desktop, and it works just fine.

I'll take a look at Arch, thanks for your help

Unknown

After about 50 attempts to get it to work, it's finally recognizing discs again. I put in the Xubuntu disc I made and hit the install button, but now it's hanging and the disc drive is making some really horrible noises :facepalm: Piece of crap, the previous owner must have dropped it or something as the side panel is also all smashed off. Makes me mad when people don't look after their computers

Unknown

Fuck yeah, time for another update in case anyone actually cares. I managed to get Xubuntu to install, after a fuck load of barriers hit me in the face. Things weren't working left and right, which was annoying :mad: However, I got it installed and it's running SO smoothly. This laptop must love me right now, after being bogged down for so long with Windows Vista. On another note, I was so surprised to see Xubuntu looking so sleek! I remembered it looking totally different to this... Although I haven't used it in about 3 years, which might be a reason.

Anyway, the only problem I had was with the Wireless not working. It wouldn't pick up any access points, but thanks to a bit of Googling I discovered that running "rfkill unblock all" would allow my Wireless to actually work again. Now I'm downloading a shit load of updates and enjoying my new system!

Darth Beaver

Slartibartfast wrote: »

That's odd. Have you tried resetting the bios? Is the disk drive still set to boot first?

a 'mere one gig of RAM' is an amazing thing to say...


Try installing Arch man, just go for it.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_Guide

No shit considering my first "system" had 4k of system memory that I boosted to 20k with a 16k ram pack that plugged into the back. And my first windows system only had 8MB and that was 4 times the minimum system requirements.

trx100 wrote: »

After about 50 attempts to get it to work, it's finally recognizing discs again. I put in the Xubuntu disc I made and hit the install button, but now it's hanging and the disc drive is making some really horrible noises :facepalm: Piece of crap, the previous owner must have dropped it or something as the side panel is also all smashed off. Makes me mad when people don't look after their computers

OK, I was going to suggest checking to see if BIOS was recognizing the optical drive but I guess it is moot at this point.

Unknown

The BIOS wasn't recognizing the drive, that was the problem. I have no idea what I did, but it suddenly started recognizing it again :facepalm: Also, my first installation attempt failed because the damn thing failed to recognize that there was a Hard Disk in there... Piece of crap.

LSA King

trx100 wrote: »

The BIOS wasn't recognizing the drive, that was the problem. I have no idea what I did, but it suddenly started recognizing it again :facepalm: Also, my first installation attempt failed because the damn thing failed to recognize that there was a Hard Disk in there... Piece of crap.

Doesn't surprise me. I paid $2,000 for a laptop back in 2007, was one of the best out at the time, and the first thing to fail on almost ALL laptops is the DVD Drive. I have a feeling it has to do with the crappy hardware they use in such a small compressed enclosure that is a laptop where the heat eventually starts destroying hardware slowly but surely. One of the reasons why I now buy external hardware as much as possible so I can easily use it on either laptop or PC. Mine did the same thing where after a couple dozen times it would eventually read but then give up the minute I open up the drive and try to read another disc. Never got it to work so I chalked it up to laptops just fucking sucking. Doesn't help laptops aren't meant to last more than 2-3 years physically and hardware wise. I hate the fact they are considered throw-away computers just seems like a colossal waste of money in the short/long run.

Unknown

I've had a laptop which has lasted me since... 2007? It's still running well to this day, and I use it for my Backtrack OS. I am yet to experience any hardware failures, and everything still works totally good Even the screen got cracked in the corner and still fixed itself, somehow. It's a good laptop