Laptop CD Drive problem

[Chris Jones]

i bought a laptop from novatech just before christmas and its been fine. i take it to uni alot and around friends houses (the whole point of a laptop), but recently i noticed the cd drive was sticking out slightly, like its come loose. its hard to explain, the actual cd draw is sticking out about a few mm it wont go in any further.

does anyone know how to fix this?

also, i think because of this, windows doesnt detect a cd drive at all, the only way i get it to detect its there is by putting a cd in so the drive spins up and then going on control panel-> add new hardware and windows "finds" it again, im not sure how to fix this

i dont think this problem is related, but occaisonally when playing games or just using my laptop, it suddenly goes very jerky, in task manager the cpu using is around 25% even though there isnt anything major happening in the process list, i have to restart my laptop to fix the problem, which will come back at somepoint

i would format my laptop and start from scratch, but because of the cd drive problem, i dont want to risk it... the cd drive might not be detected at all, then im stuck with a formatted laptop...

any ideas, suggestions please? i really need help on this

thanks

[Coops]

It does sound like the CD Drive is sticking out.
I take it that it was not always like this?

Please could you provide your NNB- Code so that we can offer correct advice to sort this out.

[Chris Jones]

yea its sticking out, looking at it, i think its the whole drive thats sticking out a bit, when you piush it in, it moves in a few mms, but when you let go it comes out again

whats an NNB code and how do i find it?

thanks

[Chris Jones]

ah, i think i found the NNB code, i searched the novatech site for the neptune elite laptop, im pretty sure its that 1, the link had "NNB-324H" in it, but the page never came up, probably cos its been removed now, although a link came up for it with a pic and a description first

anyway, hope thats correct

[Coops]

OK

The optical drive in this notebook is held in by one screw that secures a right angled bracket that is screwed to the rear of the optical drive.

To remove the optical drive, turn the notebook over so you are looking at the bottom of the unit. Roughly in the middle of the unit slightly over to the side the optical drive is on, there is a screw in the base of the chassis. Next to where that screw is screwed in there is a marking in the casing it kind of looks like a circle with a smaller circle in the middle of it and then an arrow pointing to the screw. This is the Optical Drive retaining screw. Remove this screw.
You should now be able to remove the drive from the unit by sliding it out from the side of the unit. Becareful when doing this not to damage or apply any pressure to the drive casings or tray.

Now with the drive removed there should be a right angled piece of metal screwed to the back of the drive using two screws. This is the optical drive mounting bracket. What has must likely happened is that the screws have come undone slightly pushing the drive forward causing it to stick out and disconnect. Sometimes this can be caused by drive vibration.
Do these two screws up nice and tight. This will stop it happening again.

Now slide the drive back in to the unit making sure that it goes all the way in so that it has connected. The bezel should be level with the edge of the unit . Now replace the screw that retains the optical drive in the unit.

Power on and drive should now be ok.

Please do not undertake this if you do not feel confident or something else may be the problem. If this is the case please contact our Tech Support and we will arrange for this unit to come back to us to be checked out.

Regards

[Chris Jones]

thanks! i will try this soon!

novatech are great, ive never found any other company as usefull/helpfull!

[Chris Jones]

i tried to do this the other day, and i took the screw out, but i cant work out how to take the drive out, ive tried it with the drive closed and open and i cant pull it out, is there something ive missed?

if i do have to take it in to get fixed, how much will it cost? cos im a student and cant afford much.. well not now ive just bought new computer parts from novatech for a new pc!

i had the novatech laptop carepack thing, does that make any difference? although how can i prove that? cos i dont remember getting anything particular with my laptop..

thanks

[Coops]

If your unit is still under warranty then there will be no charges for repairs.
All we need is to identify your original order to check for care pack.

We can do this using order number of your address.

Please contact out Technical Support Department to discuss your issue.