Need Windows 7 driver for DVD drive on a T43

[pmennen]

I installed Windows 7 on my ThinkPad t43.
Despite the warnings about the wireless, it worked fine after
a few windows update/reboot cylcles. In fact everything worked
great excpet for the DVD. The device driver identifies it as:
MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ-822S
And some default microsoft driver gets installed.
I doesn't appear to work however. When I insert a data disk
(either CD or DVD) a window pops up indicating that it thinks
is a blank disk (which its not). If I put in a blank CD it will let me try
to write on it, but it will soon issued a failre.

I haven't been able to find this driver anywhere. Does anybody
know where one can find such a thing? It would be a shame to
have to replace a perfectly good computer because of a missing
driver. (I'm not sure I can even roll back to WinXP since I don't
have the recovery disks).

~Paul

[Brad]

Can you start your ThinkPad from the optical drive?

Brad

[pmennen]

> Can you start your ThinkPad from the optical drive?
> Brad

I can't. I created a rescue disk on a 700Mbyte CD-R, and I can boot the ThinkPad using this disk in an external USB DVD drive.
However when I put the disk in the Thinkpad's internal optical drive, it won't boot from it.
Does this mean that I simply have a bad drive?

~Paul

[RealBlackStuff]

Maybe there was just enough life left in the drive to do the install.
You could try a head-cleaning CD, but more likely is a dying or now dead optical drive.
Get another one, they are reasonably priced.

Normally Windows does not need any special drivers for CD or DVD. These are built-in into Windows.

[lukee]

Last rescue could be update drive firmware.

[mpcook]

I have had a string of bad CDRW/DVD drives for T43's. In fact, I am on my 5th or 6th replacement (under warranty) for my personal T43. It died just before my Win 7 upgrade yesterday. I had to steal the drive out of my wife's machine. Another call, and another drive will be shipped. Just buy another one, you don't need a special driver to run the drive. The only thing you will be missing is burning software, you cannot download the Sonic software package that comes from Lenovo with the T43 with XP. You will have to find another program, also the WINDVD player.

Mike

[newmanm]

I am on my 5th or 6th replacement

sorry to go off your WIN7 topic and to pick up on the dying DVD drives:

my DVD drive died after about 4 years. I bought a new one off eBay, slightly used. it lasted for maybe a month. that drive has now died.

the CD works on both drives. neither drives will read a DVD.

any idea why the drives die?