On Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:44:31 -0700 MJang <[email protected]> dijo: >On Wed, 2013-04-10 at 20:19 -0700, John Jason Jordan wrote: >> I think the DVD drive in my Thinkpad is kaput. Actually, not the >> drive. I think it is the connector in the back that the drive plugs >> into that is flaky. It has been temperamental for some time. I >> bought a refurbished drive that worked better at first, but now it >> won't work either. I can't get anything to mount - DVD, CD, new >> media, nada. The light flashes for a while, but then stops and >> nothing appears in /media.
Thanks to all who responded. I already tried a new drive, and it doesn't work any better. Hence my conclusion that it is the connector. A USB drive is a stopgap, but I usually need an optical drive when away from home, and having to schlep another piece of hardware around is something I'd prefer to avoid. I think the thing to do is wait until the Clinic on the 21st. With help from Keith (who has been inside many Thinkpads) and Wes, we will see if it is just dirt, or a broken connection. Keith's suggestion that is dirt has certainly already occurred to me. I used a can of compressed air on it without success. But I couldn't really get the air pointed directly where it needs to be without disassembling the shell, so it could still be dirt. I do lust for a faster computer. This one is five years old, the CPU cannot be upgraded enough to make much difference, I've already maxed out the RAM, and the hard disk is the fastest I can buy for it. Scribus can sometimes be glacial when I am working on large files. On the other hand, to get what I want, complete with dock and accessories, would cost over $2,000. Yet, if I get a new computer it will pretty much force a new installation, clearing out five years of accumulated junk from multiple dist-upgrades. That's good, even if it will take me a week to get all my stuff reinstalled. However, I don't want to embark on that enterprise until the middle of June when classes are over. Decisions, decisions. I'll wait and see what we find at the Clinic, then make a decision. _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
