[SOLVED] stop dvd spin at windows startup

.valkyrie.

Honorable
Nov 29, 2018
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hi
for some reason my drive wont open if there is no dvd inside that's why i can't leave it empty....
and everytime i boot my pc it spins loudly and its really annoying....

any way beside disabling dvd drive to stop it from doing so?

p.s: current dvd is not bootable. and i mean inside Windows not in BIOS time
 
Solution
Windows spins disc drives during boot because it needs to find out whether there is anything in it and read the info so it can be displayed in Explorer or anything else that has a drive list. That is the only way that Windows can determine that the drive has something in it.

As for why the drive may not be able to open when there is nothing in it, most drives use a rubber belt or two and when those don't move for several months at a time, they can take the shape of the belt's circuit around pulleys and cause them to have a hard time getting moving because of it. So, even if you don't use the drive, you should open and close it once every few months just to make sure belts don't take too much of a bend.

It sounds like the drive is...

JWNoctis

Respectable
Jun 9, 2021
443
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2,090
Do you still use it often?

I remember retaining a straightened paperclip for opening those stubborn drives - There was even a tiny hole on the front panel of the drive, precisely for that purpose.

Remove the disk and use that to open the drive when you do use it.

Or get a replacement rubber belt for the drive bay motor inside, if you felt handy.

Or a replacement drive, if needed.
 

.valkyrie.

Honorable
Nov 29, 2018
421
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Do you still use it often?

I remember retaining a straightened paperclip for opening those stubborn drives - There was even a tiny hole on the front panel of the drive, precisely for that purpose.

Remove the disk and use that to open the drive when you do use it.

Or get a replacement rubber belt for the drive bay motor inside, if you felt handy.

Or a replacement drive, if needed.
i dont but my father does...
yea there is a hole and thats how i opend it 1st time but problem is my case have a cover in front of dvd and that hole is not accessible that easy...



So there is No way to disable windows auto spin disk at start up?
 
Jun 16, 2021
9
0
10
You could try checking the boot order in the BIOS, the disk drive may be first. Ensure your hdd is first and the computer will stop checking if there is a bootable disk in the drive after POST.

You could also try disabling autoplay in the control panel, although you'll have to manually open disks from then on.
 
It sounds like the drive is at least partially defective. If you wouldn't mind throwing a few bucks at it you could get a cheap replacement drive that still opens when empty.
Otherwise you'll have to teach your dad how to use the paperclip opener or deal with the spin up noise. There is no way to prevent that spin up, that I am aware of.
 

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator
Windows spins disc drives during boot because it needs to find out whether there is anything in it and read the info so it can be displayed in Explorer or anything else that has a drive list. That is the only way that Windows can determine that the drive has something in it.

As for why the drive may not be able to open when there is nothing in it, most drives use a rubber belt or two and when those don't move for several months at a time, they can take the shape of the belt's circuit around pulleys and cause them to have a hard time getting moving because of it. So, even if you don't use the drive, you should open and close it once every few months just to make sure belts don't take too much of a bend.

It sounds like the drive is at least partially defective.
If it is rubber belts like I suspect, then the new drive would likely fail from under-use too.
 
Solution

InvalidError

Titan
Moderator
Agreed, but they'll at least get another 5 years use out of a new drive/belt.
Belts go bad much faster than that: I bought a new drive because I needed to burn an Ubuntu DVD to update an old PC two years ago, didn't use it again until I wanted to update it again this year and the belt that drives the tray had already taken a bend. I dismantled the drive, flipped the square belt inside-out to make the inward bends face outward and that has fixed it at least for now.

So, the time for belts to go bad can be less than 24 months when the drive gets no use at all in-between.
 
Belts go bad much faster than that: I bought a new drive because I needed to burn an Ubuntu DVD to update an old PC two years ago, didn't use it again until I wanted to update it again this year and the belt that drives the tray had already taken a bend. I dismantled the drive, flipped the square belt inside-out to make the inward bends face outward and that has fixed it at least for now.

So, the time for belts to go bad can be less than 24 months when the drive gets no use at all in-between.
I have an everything burner drive in my current system. It's at least 7 years old. The drive has gone over 1 year (maybe over 2) without opening.
I recently had a run of nostalgia and played a few older CD/DVD games and it performed like a champ. It sounds like the OPs father uses the drive semi-regularly so they should be fine.
 

.valkyrie.

Honorable
Nov 29, 2018
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You could try checking the boot order in the BIOS, the disk drive may be first. Ensure your hdd is first and the computer will stop checking if there is a bootable disk in the drive after POST.

You could also try disabling autoplay in the control panel, although you'll have to manually open disks from then on.
how to do so? disable auto play? i couldn't find it in settings....
win 10 - 21h1


and about repairing or replacement, it doesn't worth it! both money and time....
it can read disk
it can open with a disk inside!
I Know its not ideal but i don't have time to fix such a useless hardware ;)
 

.valkyrie.

Honorable
Nov 29, 2018
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Disabling autoplay won't stop Windows from spinning the drive to check up on what (if anything) is in it at boot.

The next best thing you may be able to do is find a better-balanced disc to put in as a dummy or use a half-diameter disc if you have any.
problem solved....

for some reason, (boot only hdd at POST) in bios setting solved the mystery