Sound problems and CDs.

[RangerWickett]

Whenever I play an audio CD, inevitably after a few songs my computer has some sort of hiccup. The sound stops, and my computer will not play any sounds until I restart it. Sometimes when this happens, if I quickly have the computer change the track it's playing, the computer will think for a while, then start playing the new track with no problem, but this doesn't always work.

I'm wondering if perhaps it's just that my CD drive is overheating or something, but I don't seem to have the problem when I play mp3s off the CD, or when I access any other sort of files. It's just when I try to listen to actual audio CDs.

Any ideas? It's an Iomega ZipCD drive, at least 3 or 4 years old.

 

[Ranger REG]

Assuming you clean your CDs regularly and update your CD-ROM drive driver software, you might want to use the CD lens cleaner (CD format) suitable for CD-ROM drives.

 

[RangerWickett]

I'll admit that I haven't cleaned out my CD drive in a while, but why would a dirty laser stop my entire computer's ability to play sounds?

 

[SubMensa]

...you might want to use the CD lens cleaner (CD format) suitable for CD-ROM drives.

Please disregard this comment. the CD Lens cleaners, while a decent idea are very bad for CD-Rom drives in reality.
The speeds that CD Roms can run at far exceed those in a standard CD player. With the formulae Force = Mass x Acceleration you can build up quite an impact on the lens in your CD Rom drive, potentially knocking the lens out of alignment or scratching it and rendering the drive completely inoperable.

That being said,

Before we go into troubleshooting the hardware aspect of your issue, I recommend uninstalling and then reinstalling the drivers for your soundcard. If that does not resolve the issue please answer the following:

• What operating system do you use.
• What is the hardware configuration of your CD Rom drive.
• Do you have an audio cable running from the back of the CD Rom drive to either your sound card or motherboard?

 

[Nareau]

When did this start happening?
Did anything at all change about your computer around the time this started happening?
What kind of audio equipment are you playing the music through?

Depending on your config, you could try this:
Right click on your CD-ROM
Click Properties
Click on the Hardware Tab
Select your CD-ROM
Click Properties
Select the Properties Tab
Click on the "Enable Digital CD Audio..." checkbox to change that setting

You may need to restart your computer.

Spider

 

[XCorvis]

I agree with SubMensa. It's either a driver issue or a hardware issue, and it's definately your sound card.

This is going to sound terrible, but the fastest, easiest way to update your sound card driver is to go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com and see if they have an updated driver for you to install. (You'll probably need to go to Custom Installation, then look on the left for updated device drivers.)

If that doesn't work, go to your sound card manufacturer's website (or motherboard manufacturer, if it's integrated) and download the latest drivers. Follow their instructions for doing an update.