Extreme noob, WH14NS40 reading/ripping Blu Rays, but not reading DVD's at all

[soonerblake007]

Hello,

So this is my first post here. Even though I consider myself a "tech nerd" (and even majored in comp sci for a year before switching majors), I feel like I am in way over my head with all of the info on here (not a bad thing, but maybe I should check myself and my prior knowledge confidence at the door). There are so many terms/phrases on here that the more I read, the more I feel lost and like don't know what I'm doing. Please go easy on me! I feel like a helpless, tech-illiterate grandma sometimes trying to fully grasp and understand the info on this forum.

Long story short: I got a new WH14NS40 drive/external SATA to USB cord to connect to my old, entry-level Surface Pro 4 as a Christmas gift from my wife. Wanting to take my existing DVD/Blu Ray collection and put it on my external HD, so that I can use that on my new Nvidia Shield Pro to run Plex for my wife and I.

All the Plex stuff and external HD storage stuff is figured out, but I am having trouble on the disc ripping part. I am starting on my collection, and I am noticing some disc on my MakeMKV are not showing as inserted. Here is what I see:

Code: Select all

Drive Information
OS device name: D:
Current profile: BD-ROM
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BD-RE WH14NS40
Revision: 1.05
Serial number: *hidden*
Firmware date: 2120-05-06 14:44
Bus encryption flags: 17
Highest AACS version: 56

LibreDrive Information
Status: Possible (with patched firmware)
Drive platform: MT1959
Hardware support: Yes
Firmware support: No
Firmware type: Original (patched version available)
Firmware version: 1.05
DVD all regions: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw data read: Possible (with patched firmware)
BD raw metadata read: Possible (with patched firmware)
Unrestricted read speed: Possible (with patched firmware)

No disc inserted

When I insert a Blu Ray, it works fine. But with a DVD, it will sound like it wants to spin up a few times, but after about 5-10 seconds, the drive will stop, and tell me nothing is inserted. I would assume that this optical drive should play DVDs, but from what is happening to me, it won't. I have tried about 10 different DVDs, and several Blu Rays (all of those BR's work).

Am I doing something wrong? Do I need to "flash it" (I am still confused as to what that means or how to do it, even after reading guides and watching videos)? If I do need to flash it, is it as simple as entering some CMD commands, or do I need to pay someone like Billy to remote flash it for me? Or do I have a defective unit?

Sorry for not understanding, maybe some parts of tech just will never be my forte

[Billycar11]

you dont need to flash it if you are only doing regular bluray and dvd. only needs to be flashed for UHD bluray
the drive stock should see dvds no problem try cleaning them and try again same goes for anything really

[st4evr]

In addition to Billy’s advise, what is discussed here:

https://www.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic ... 19&t=24276

May *possibly* also apply to your case if after properly cleaning nothing changes. Just slightly in reverse. Where in your case the laser that reads DVDs may be defective in some way.

You could also try other ripping software to see if it behaves the same with DVDs to possibly rule out some variables on the software side if at all possible.

[soonerblake007]

you dont need to flash it if you are only doing regular bluray and dvd. only needs to be flashed for UHD bluray
the drive stock should see dvds no problem try cleaning them and try again same goes for anything really

Tried cleaning several DVDs. Still no dice. Still shows up as "No Disc". But several more Blu-Rays work just fine.

At this point, should I initiate a return to Amazon? Or should I do a warranty swap with LG? My wife purchased the disc reader from Amazon on Christmas day, and it says it's returnable up to January 31st. We don't have the money right now to get a more expensive/better disc drive like the ASUS ones, or anything else (we are currently saving up for a new bed). Wasn't sure which company to swap one out with. It's so frustrating that a brand new drive can play blu rays disc, but not DVDs

[dcoke22]

If you can return it to Amazon, that's probably the fastest and easiest.

[Billycar11]

you dont need to flash it if you are only doing regular bluray and dvd. only needs to be flashed for UHD bluray
the drive stock should see dvds no problem try cleaning them and try again same goes for anything really

Tried cleaning several DVDs. Still no dice. Still shows up as "No Disc". But several more Blu-Rays work just fine.

At this point, should I initiate a return to Amazon? Or should I do a warranty swap with LG? My wife purchased the disc reader from Amazon on Christmas day, and it says it's returnable up to January 31st. We don't have the money right now to get a more expensive/better disc drive like the ASUS ones, or anything else (we are currently saving up for a new bed). Wasn't sure which company to swap one out with. It's so frustrating that a brand new drive can play blu rays disc, but not DVDs

The asus one is the same as the lg just rebranded go for the amazon exchange