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Hi guys! I'll try to give as clear an explanation as possible, but feel free to ask for clarification if needed 
I picked up a used DW1640. Physically, the drive looks great. Very little cosmetic flaw whatsoever. So, it doesn't appear as though it was physically abused.
The problem is that the drive does not appear to read any discs I put in it. I have done the following in trying to troubleshoot the problem:
1. I have tried the drive in three different computers, of three very different configurations:
a. Windows7, P41 chipset, JMicron IDE controller
b. WindowsXP, P45 chipset, Marvell 61xx IDE controller
c. WindowsXP, P915 chipset, Intel IDE controller
2. I have tried 5 different IDE cables
3. I have tried 3 brands of CD-Rs, 3 brands of DVD-Rs (including one Dual Layer), 2 commercial DVDs (in good condition), 3 commercial CDs (in good condition)
4. I have tried blowing into it in case of dust. Probably wasn't very effective, though.
5. I have tried holding it at various angles while it attempts to read.
6. I have tried almost every combination of search terms/keywords I can think of and looked through dozens of pages worth of results to try to find information about someone else having this problem with this model of drive.
7. I have tried yelling at it.
8. I have tried asking it nicely.
So, overall, I'm thinking the optical block is cooked but I thought I'd ask around here first before I return it for a refund.
I originally bought this drive because I read it had good error correction and performed well with lousy and damaged media. I have a CD I burned years ago with some files I can't seem to find in any of my backups. Unfortunately, none of my drives appear to be able to read the CD, although they can read the file system (e.g. I try to copy the files, but get the cyclic redunancy check error). I've tried stuff like CDCheck to get the files and the most important one, which is 72KB, sort of reads but I have like 3 or 4 sectors that don't succeed. With it being that on the edge, I thought maybe picking up a really good drive might be enough, since the drive I'm using right now is rated as having considerably poorer error correction and damaged CD reading capabilities than the DW1640.
So, with that in mind, if anyone has any recommendations on an awesome drive for reading really difficult CD-Rs, that would be fantastic as well!
Thanks guys
I picked up a used DW1640. Physically, the drive looks great. Very little cosmetic flaw whatsoever. So, it doesn't appear as though it was physically abused.
The problem is that the drive does not appear to read any discs I put in it. I have done the following in trying to troubleshoot the problem:
1. I have tried the drive in three different computers, of three very different configurations:
a. Windows7, P41 chipset, JMicron IDE controller
b. WindowsXP, P45 chipset, Marvell 61xx IDE controller
c. WindowsXP, P915 chipset, Intel IDE controller
2. I have tried 5 different IDE cables
3. I have tried 3 brands of CD-Rs, 3 brands of DVD-Rs (including one Dual Layer), 2 commercial DVDs (in good condition), 3 commercial CDs (in good condition)
4. I have tried blowing into it in case of dust. Probably wasn't very effective, though.
5. I have tried holding it at various angles while it attempts to read.
6. I have tried almost every combination of search terms/keywords I can think of and looked through dozens of pages worth of results to try to find information about someone else having this problem with this model of drive.
7. I have tried yelling at it.
8. I have tried asking it nicely.
So, overall, I'm thinking the optical block is cooked but I thought I'd ask around here first before I return it for a refund.
I originally bought this drive because I read it had good error correction and performed well with lousy and damaged media. I have a CD I burned years ago with some files I can't seem to find in any of my backups. Unfortunately, none of my drives appear to be able to read the CD, although they can read the file system (e.g. I try to copy the files, but get the cyclic redunancy check error). I've tried stuff like CDCheck to get the files and the most important one, which is 72KB, sort of reads but I have like 3 or 4 sectors that don't succeed. With it being that on the edge, I thought maybe picking up a really good drive might be enough, since the drive I'm using right now is rated as having considerably poorer error correction and damaged CD reading capabilities than the DW1640.
So, with that in mind, if anyone has any recommendations on an awesome drive for reading really difficult CD-Rs, that would be fantastic as well!
Thanks guys