Previously working drive no longer recognized

[karaluxh]

Hi there. Long time lurker, first time poster. I'm tearing my hair out over a previously working drive and I've done everything I can think of besides ask for help, so here goes. (Also, I apologize if this isn't the place for this sort of post, please let me know if I need to post it elsewhere on the forum.)

I own a Verbatim blu ray drive, inside is a Pioneer BDR-UD03. I have never attempted to update firmware or anything like that, so as far as I am aware, it should be stock as of the manufacturer date (July 2022). Don't remember when I purchased it originally, sometime in early 2023. Did some research on the forums here before buying, confirmed the Verbatim model should work, came home and checked it and was happy to find that it had no issues whatsoever.

I had no trouble ripping music CDs, both commercial and burned DVDs, and BluRay movies for a few months. I used the drive on both Mac and Windows, using MakeMKV, VLC, Handbrake. MacOS and Windows recognized the drive in their respective file explorers. It worked under Windows 10 and 11, MacOS Yosemite, Monterey, and Ventura, and on old Intel Macs and the newest M2 MacBook Air. I used it directly with the device as well as through various hubs/USB-C adapters.

Sometime after that, and for no apparent reason, the drive simply stopped being recognized entirely. I've used every combination of cable/dock/external power supply/adapter that I own, and multiple computers that it worked with before, but it just doesn't appear anywhere. Not in file explorers, not in disk utilities. The drive spins up with BluRay disks and appears to behave as normal (no clicking/whirring stutters), but nothing changes on the PC side.

There's no sign of physical damage that I can find, I upgraded to 1.17.5, downgraded to 1.17.3 (which worked before), checked it with VLC, Handbrake, etc., and no joy. I am still able to use a USB DVD drive with both systems with no issue, so I don't think it's a driver issue or an OS issue. The only conclusion I can come to is that the drive itself may have simply died. I'm just baffled that it worked perfectly for so long and then just didn't.

TL;DR: Drive worked on multiple systems for multiple disk types without issue for months, then stopped with no warning. Haven't been able to troubleshoot it in any way that narrows it down aside from the drive itself. Do I just have a dead drive? Or is there something that I might not be aware of that changed on the software side? Really don't want to have to buy a new drive but I'm starting to think that might be my only option.

[dcoke22]

You said it doesn't work for blu-rays. Have you tried a CD or DVD? Those discs use a different laser than a blu-ray.

[karaluxh]

The drive used to work for BluRays, CDs, and DVDs. Now it doesn't work for any of them. I can tell it's reading them, because it spins them up as if it were connected to a computer, but none of the systems I connect it to show a drive connected, either in the OS or through MakeMKV.

[Coopervid]

The Verbatim electronics is quite shaky. The drive needs a lot of power if the electronics is still good. Try a USB-C port or a powered hub. If it still fails, take the drive out of the enclosure and connect it via a SATA->USB connector to your computer.

[karaluxh]

I've tried multiple powered hubs/docks, both over usb A and C, and while it seems to be receiving enough power to spin up like normal, there just isn't a response on the PC side. Unfortunately I don't have a separate Sata>USB adapter on hand, so I wasn't able to test out that. I did however have a DVD>SSD converter kit, and tried adapting a known good SATA SSD with the electronics from inside the Verbatim drive. Still no response.

At this point, I think it's just the powered SATA>USB board inside the drive. I don't see any shorts/capacitor failure/issues with the board, but that's the furthest point of failure I can find. Guess I'll just have to find a new SATA>USB connector to see if the drive itself has failed, but hopefully that'll get me back up and running again.

Thank you for the suggestions!