Reset Flash chip in a Lite-On drive?

CD, DVD and (Ultra HD) Blu-ray Writers LiteOn / PLDS / Sony Writer
#1

I have a Lite-On drive, LTD-163. The light flashes when the PC reboots, but the drive isn’t recognized by Windows. When I installed the drive for the first time, it was recognized by Windows. However …

This drive had trouble reading disks because of the obvious dust, lint, and contamination. So I removed the cover and blew it all out with compressed air. That led to the state that the drive is now in. I suspect the drive is good, but one must know what to do.

If the drive can’t be flashed in it’s current state, isn’t there a chip with a pin that can be shorted to ground in order to reset or erase the contents of the chip and allow a flash ? (I’ve done this with a USR modem)

Anyone ? :bow:

#2

Not sure if this is a hardware or software problem. Does the drive show up in your BIOS?

#3

The drive doesn’t appear at post, nor is it recognized by Windows. If I replace the drive with another, the replacement works fine. The light on this drive flashes normally when I reboot, and unless the cover is booby-trapped, I couldn’t have done any harm. (A technician is probably laughing somewhere, I know this drive can be restored)

#4

That doesn’t sound good! There is a list of Lite On Tools Here. Having a read of Mktflash may help, but like you say if the drive is not showing up in post then the tools are probably useless. I would open up the drive again and look for anything that could be shorting or unplugged then check the simple stuff like jumper position and bent IDE pins on the on the back of the drive. Maybe someone else has some ideas.:slight_smile:

#5

Sorry to say but it looks like your drive is dead, have you tried it in another box? If the Bios still doesn’t recognize it in another box it sounds very much its gone to where all dead CD-DVD drives go in the sky and time to buy a new one.The light flashing when you reboot is because it’s getting power after a reboot but it doesn’t mean the drive is still good.

#6

Thread moved to Lite On Forum.:wink:

#7

If the drive is jumpered correctly, IDE connects are good, but it’s not recognized then it’s dead. Static electricity might have killed it when you had it open, but who knows. It’s pretty old anyway, and $25 will replace it.