Blu-ray disks not recognized by external USB 2.0 BD-ROM

[Geoffery]

My Win 10 PC recognizes my brand new external USB 2.0 BD-ROM drive and will play DVDs, but will not recognize or play Blu-ray disks using three different software, including MakeMKV. I read discussions about other software like VLC needing Windows system tweaks in addition to the software. Is this the case with MakeMKV, or do I expect it should work stand alone? I am using beta MakeMKV 1.14.2, which has been activated, system rebooted. It tries to spin up a Blu-ray but then states no disk. Maybe the drive is at fault but the whole topic seems problematic. Thanks!

[Woodstock]

Are you running MakeMKV as an admin? Are you trying to run Windows remotely when you run MakeMKV?

[Geoffery]

Not running as Admin or Remotely. I saw your link about log file so enabled that and restated. When it does not recognized disk it does not send error report to log file, just a simple 'No disc inserted' after about 10 seconds of spin-up activity. Note I am trying two different mint condition disks from different box sets, so sure the disks are good. Info below, thanks!

Drive Information
OS device name: I:
Manufacturer: HL-DT-ST
Product: BDDVDRW CT21N
Revision: 1.00
Serial number: K0VA41C4835

No disc inserted

[Woodstock]

If you are not running as an admin, Windows will not allow certain things to happen, like proper key exchanges. Most of those same things are blocked if you are running remotely.

But the "No disk" error comes from the operating system, before MakeMKV can make an attempt to talk to it. MakeMKV makes a request to load the disk, and either the drive or the operating system said there were no structures that match an optical disk. I see this when I put a UHD disk in a drive that doesn't understand them, as well as when a BD is inserted into a DVD-only drive.

Is it just with this computer? That is, if you plug this drive into a different computer, does it still show "no disk" with a disk inserted?

[Geoffery]

I did try as admin just to see but same result. Great tip to bench test on another machine. I think my wife is still on WIN 7, that will be a good test. Appreciate your timely feedback.

[Andyky]

Hi, I'm having the same thing happen but on my Mac. Has anyone encountered this issue on a Mac? DVDs load just fine, but MakeMKV, nor the computer itself will recognize a Blu-Ray disc at all. It churns on it for a bout a minute and then the drive ejects it.

What makes this most troubling, other than not being able to figure out why it's happening at all, is that I've been using the drive for a few months without any problems recognizing or mounting Blu-Rays.

I've tried both the version of MakeMKV I had been using previously and the new version and it's happening with both. I don't know what else to try from a software standpoint. I'm wondering if something wrong with the drive itself.

I did follow the previous suggestion and tried it in another computer, but it's a much older Mac and MakeMKV isn't compatible on it. That said, the DVD again loaded using Mac's DVD player software but no dice with mounting the Blu-Ray.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you for your time. And good luck, Geoff, i don't mean to hi-jack your thread, but since I was having the same issue, just on a Mac, I figured better to post here so it's all in one place for folks searching later who run into the same thing.

[Geoffery]

Andyky, I ended up trying four software (MakeMKV, Handbrake, VLC, Leawo) on two different PCs (Win 8 & Win 10), with two different mint box set test disks. No luck. So I returned the drive, assuming it was the problem, but still not confident enough to just buy another or more expensive drive.

Always frustrating when you want to do something fun and hit all these roadblocks. I'm almost resigned to wait until my next PC upgrade with either internal Blu-Ray drive or USB 3.0 before I try again. The drive I bought was one of the few 2.0 available and most are 3.0 at this point, so I don't know if the legacy hardware / new software versionsing is part of the problem.

[Andyky]

Thanks, Geoffery,

I appreciate the update from you. Yes, it is frustrating indeed. Especially since I bought this thing specifically for Blu-Ray discs. I already had a drive that would play DVDs just fine.... so now I have two drives that handle DVDs and no drives that handle Blu-Rays...

I'll see if anyone else comes along with any other thoughts, but I might be in the same boat as you for the time being...

Thanks again.

[Andyky]

Well, my issue seems to have resolved itself. I wish I knew how or why in case it happens again. But decided to give it a try this morning before settling into work, and the blu-ray mounted right away. Like I said, I don't think I did anything. Think my drive might be a little bit buggy, but at least for now it's working...

Thanks for anyone who read my issue and gave it some thought or responded. I hope you get yours working again, Geoffery.