DVD ROM No Longer recognizes all DVD's

[trancy1]

Hi everyone!!

My problem is My DVD ROM has worked fine for years.

NOW, it only plays some DVD's and not others.

For the ones it won't play, after I insert them, the DVD rom seems to "bounce the DVD around", like it's looking for a code or something, that it can't find.

When I go to the D drive icon, and try to run it manually, I get an error message that there is no DVD in it!!

In the course of downloading and deleting files over the years, gateway tech support says that I may have mistakenly deleted a key component of the Windows 98 SE operating system, that is necessary for my DVD player to run smoothly like it used to, and the only way to reinstall that component, IS TO RELOAD THE WHOLE OPERATING SYSTEM!!

I've got 3 years of important data on this machine, and I ain't yet ready to lose it all.

Please tell me there is another way.....pleeze

Thanks!

[setarip]

"My problem is My DVD ROM has worked fine for years."

Have you recently run a DVD/CD cleaning disk on it? Maxell makes one that sells for approximately $10US. If the cleaning disk doesn't do the trick for you, it might simply be time to purchase a new DVD-ROM (It'll cost you less to replace it than to repair it).



By the way, since you've indicated that it plays some DVDs but not others, Gateway's suggestion that you might have deleted a critical piece of software sounds like nonsense.