DVD won't read burned DVDs

[Amadeus Amadeus]

The DVD reader in my T41 reads commercial DVDs just fine, but won't read burnt DVDs. Is this a known issue or do I just happen to have a bad DVD reader? CD reading works without a hitch.

The reader in question is a:
MATSHITA_UJDA755z fw1.24

[dr_st]

It is frequently an issue with old / worn out optical drives that they start getting picky about what media they read, way before they flat out die completely.

And since the drive must be old, my first assumption would indeed be a bad drive.

[Neil]

I've found it to be true more so with DVD reader than DVD burners too. Most of my older DVD readers simply won't read DVD-RW, but DVD-R burned on a very slow speed will sometimes work.

[theterminator93]

I'd be suspicious of a drive going bad as well.

That said - I've had better luck with older drives being able to read DVD-R consistently compared to DVD+R.

[dr_st]

That said - I've had better luck with older drives being able to read DVD-R consistently compared to DVD+R.

That is true. DVD+R writes "deeper" (or so I'm told), which makes the data, in theory safer, but harder to read.

[Hans Gruber]

It could be a software issue as well. The T4x series of thinkpads are on the older side. I use a backup Samsung USB DVD/CD-RW drive as a testing drive to diagnose if I have a bad internal burner drive.