DVD drive not readind discs

So I purchased a DVD drive off Ebay. An NEC ND-1100A DVD+R. No box, manuals, software. yeah yeah, maybe I'm stupid, but it was cheap and "Hey, I know how computers work. How hard could installing a DVD drive be?" Apparently very much so.

The computer recognizes the drive just fine, but it doesn't read any discs that are put into it. Mechanically all the parts are fine, the discs are spinning and what not. But it doesn't read them. I've tried black DVs and DVDs, as well as legit CDs and DVDs. I contacted NEC tech support, but they said the same thing their website said, which was exceddinly unhelpful. I tried updating the firmware to the newest version, but the program wouldn't acknowledge the drive. So I ask here for help.

1. I read that you can update the firmware through DOS. Can anyone tell me how I go about doing that, step by step? Or if you think that would even help. I'm running Windows XP.

2. Any other ideas on what I could do to get it to work? The drive shouldn't be defective, as this is the second one that I've recieved from the guy, and he tested it personally before he sent it out and said it was working. So I'm getting the impression that I'm doing something wrong.

Any help would be appreciated.

updating the firmware is a risky process, tho its ok if you know what youre doing.

personally i dont know whats the problem, but my DVD-RW drive cant read DVDs but will burn them. WTF?

The obvious test is to try booting from a CD using the drive. Get one from www.ultimatebootcd.com, or a Linux live CD or something, or even just use your Windows installation disc. If it can read a disc to boot from, then at least you'll know the hardware is working.

If this proves the hardware is not working, try a different cable. I'm willing to bet that if the drive came without accessories you used the same ribbon cable on both drives you tried, and if there's a fault in the cable then both drives would appear to be broken. After that, try plugging the drive into the primary IDE connector on your motherboard (disconnect the hard drive(s) temporarily; it won't matter if you're using a bootable CD to test) - there could be a fault on your secondary controller.

Firmware flashing should be a last resort.

I'll take the oppurtunity to ask you guys since it's somewhat. My dvd writer (emprex combo drive) seems ok, it can run and read discs. But when i use it to burn it appears to be perfectly normal, but after burn process is complete i take a look at the disc to find that it's empty, it would go throught the entire process for nothing. Whats up with that?

>>4
Cheap combo drives have a habit of dying in a way that means it loses partial functionality (such as failing to read burned discs but reading pressed ones, for example). Yours died. Next please!

I had the same problem with my Samsung DVD player. It worked fine and one time it just stopped reading CDs. My PC detects it and everything and the mechanincs work too but if I try to play a CD in like Winamp for example, it's just not there. Same thing when I try to using another program, ect. I replace it with my old Compaq  CD drive and now everything works fine.

>>3

OP here. Duh, why didn't I think of trying to boot from CD? Well I tried it, and it did nothing. So I guess the drive is fubared then. Oh well, I'm getting my money back atleast. Thanks for the help.

Everyone, listen up.
Dont buy non-new tech off of ebay, its gonna break more likely than not.

>>8
QFT. I tried to buy a PDA there once that was advertised as "good condition, complete, working, with cradle, charger and all accessories as new". When it arrived it was just a Jiffy Bag containing the PDA with a broken speaker, loose faceplate and dented battery pack, and a generic mains adapter with the wrong sized connector. Had to threaten a fraud report before they paid me back for it.

>>1
Check the jumpers.