A few months back, I bought a new DVD-RW drive. Everything seemed to work fine, until it just started refusing to read certain DVDs. At first it was just a couple, but now it won't read most video DVDs (for example, I just got Red Dwarf series 8 brand new which works on other computers but not on mine). When I put the DVD in, the light simply stays on and any program I run that tries to access it freezes. Other ones like games and data discs I've burned myself work fine. I've tried using a DVD lens cleaner, but it doesn't seem to have had any effect. Are there any possible solutions for this problem, or is it most likely that I have a faulty drive that I should send back on warranty?

I would send it back. Sorry, I do not check for private messages

In the following cd's refers to both cd's and dvd's (they are both cd's - compact disks). If it works fine with cd's burned on the same drive, and "pressed" (non-burned)cd's other than some video cd's, there's not much you can do. Video cd's (especially dvd's) may require that your drive supports the region code embedded on it - if you got the video cd's off the web, the region code may not be the same as the region code where you live, or not the same as the region code accepted by the drive - you can often change the region code in the drive's configuration, but often only a small number of times. You could check the manufacturer's web site for firmware updates for your model, but if there is no specific mention of the problems you are having it probably won't help to flash to a newer version. Whether your burner can read cd's made in another burner is, unfortunately, quite variable - some models can read more of those, some less. Media compatibility (brands, types of burnable cd's or dvd's)is also quite variable - some models are not too picky, some are (e.g. some Pioneer models). You can find information about that to some extent by reading reviews for the model you have, or by reading reviews beforehand for models you are considering buying.

This looks like a faulty drive. Bear in mind that DVD's and CD's are read by different lasers - so a drive can read one but not the other. Also if there is a fault in the alignment of the laser, it may be able to read what it has written, but not others. Take it back.