Plextor PX708A doesn't read any dvd anymore

CD, DVD and (Ultra HD) Blu-ray Writers Plextor Writer
#1

here’s my problem:

i have a px708a which used to function quite mediocre (couldn’t write) and now it’s not doing anything but crash my pc. ofcourse, the biggest problem is that it has to deal with my ancient windows98se and pentium III 733hz.

anyway, it used to play all my dvd’s perfectly until i recently installed a dual monitor (matrox card) and a network card (which shouldn’t be the problem). in the process i updated my firmware, cuz before the network i had no internet.

what happens now is when i insert any dvd my system blocks. i can shut down the player (power dvd) but my screen no longer refreshes so i always have to restart my pc.

the system diagnostic, i found included with power dvd, tells me my “DVD rom station doesn’t follow the standards and this may cause several problems when playing a copyright-protected(css) DVD title.” then i’m asked to insert such a dvd to do a test, but obviously then my pc crashes…

i reïnstalled every plextor thing i could find, but it didn’t help.

anyone know a solution?

#2

Try doing a self test on the drive:

http://club.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=49767#general-defective

#3

I did the test. The drive is working, so i guess it must be the software.

#4

does anyone know if it’s possible that a dvd won’t play due to a bad video card?? (it shouldn’t be, but this is my only guess)

#5

right, i changed the videocard back to the old one (nvidia riva 128zx). now he doesn’t crash anymore and the dvd starts playing but there is no image and no sound… just a timeline proceeding… weird

#6

First have you tried to reinstall power dvd? It may not recognize your riva.

Secondly it may be your video card drivers causing the problem. Have you totally unistalled the matrox drivers and tried the last version for the riva? If it is a card from dell, gateway, etc. check their websites.

#7

Run dxdiag, check especially the overlay mode and directdraw prefs.

#8

it works, it’s kinda stupid though… i reïnstalled my matrox card (using some software i found on the matrox site, which really uninstalls everything from matrox) et voila!

also when i reinstalled the driver i noticed that windows tries to make me install another driver, maybe that’s what i did before… anyway with 98 you never know.

thanks for the feedback though!