audio CDs no longer play. Tried 2 different drives.

garbageman8976

Reputable
May 10, 2014
3
0
4,510
So I recently started having this problem with my old Dell Inspiron 531s. If I try to play an audio CD it will play only for a second, then stop. It will then skip through all the rest of the tracks, but not play any of them. I've tried playing them in Winamp, VLC, and Windows Media Player-- none of them will play audio CDs. The drive reads data tracks (software, or "enhanced CD" extras like videos) just fine. It also reads DVDs with no problem.

I updated the drivers on the original drive, but that didn't fix anything, so I assumed the drive itself was bad. I bought a new optical drive and installed it, but I'm still getting the exact same problem. I guess that means the issue is either with Windows or the motherboard, but I really have no idea what to try next. Has anyone else had this problem?
 
I didn't see anything to do with standard redbook CD audio in the installer for that codec pack. I installed it anyway. It didn't fix my problem. Cds will still only play for a second or two, then stop. I'm not having problems with any other audio format.