PC Game discs not playing/not registering on hardrive/monitor ?!

[katson77]

Hi everyone.
I'm a newbie here so HELLO to you all!!!! :D

Can some nice computer brainiac PLEASE help us with this question???

Hubby and I have been having a problem with playing our PC games (Medieval-TotalWar,Rome-TotalWar and Hearts of Iron) on our computer. The hardrive just won't get the discs to play......


For some time now, all or most of the CDs form the games, have not been able to get picked up/acknowledged by our hardrive/monitor. It does not register the disks at all and we cannot play the game.
The Rome-TotalWar has not been working since we bought it late last year (none of the CDs were working) but the Medieval-TotalWar has worked fairly well until recently. Some of the CDs pick up but not all and sometimes they don't pick up at all. That's the same with Hearts of Iron.

Has anyone come across this sort of problerm before? Is it our hardrive that is the problem and if it is, what is the problem,...... or is it the CDs??

I have recently downloaded a Spyware program "Spybot S&D" (which I have now again uninstalled) which picked up a program on our computer that was supposedly "infected", this was the 'Wild Tangent' program. So I have arttempted to unisntall the program. Could this have some way afected the recent disk problems???

Do you know what it could be?
Please help as we are tearing our brains out and can't figure out what the problem is and now my husband is angry with me cause he thinks I must have done it with all the downloading and uninstalling. We are not the world's most PC orientated people but we think we know the basics ) ????

I really look forward to hearing from someone very soon.
Please help!!!

Thankyou kindly

[IanS]

Hi everyone.
I'm a newbie here so HELLO to you all!!!! :D

Can some nice computer brainiac PLEASE help us with this question???

Hubby and I have been having a problem with playing our PC games (Medieval-TotalWar,Rome-TotalWar and Hearts of Iron) on our computer. The hardrive just won't get the discs to play......


For some time now, all or most of the CDs form the games, have not been able to get picked up/acknowledged by our hardrive/monitor. It does not register the disks at all and we cannot play the game.
The Rome-TotalWar has not been working since we bought it late last year (none of the CDs were working) but the Medieval-TotalWar has worked fairly well until recently. Some of the CDs pick up but not all and sometimes they don't pick up at all. That's the same with Hearts of Iron.

Has anyone come across this sort of problerm before? Is it our hardrive that is the problem and if it is, what is the problem,...... or is it the CDs??

I have recently downloaded a Spyware program "Spybot S&D" (which I have now again uninstalled) which picked up a program on our computer that was supposedly "infected", this was the 'Wild Tangent' program. So I have arttempted to unisntall the program. Could this have some way afected the recent disk problems???

Do you know what it could be?
Please help as we are tearing our brains out and can't figure out what the problem is and now my husband is angry with me cause he thinks I must have done it with all the downloading and uninstalling. We are not the world's most PC orientated people but we think we know the basics ) ????

I really look forward to hearing from someone very soon.
Please help!!!

Thankyou kindlyA large number of possibilities come to mind, so I'll not go into all of them - a lot of them are preceded by questions and your answers adjust the advice.

1) Which operating system are you using? (Windows98, Win2000, WinXP-Home, WinXP-Pro or some other?)

2) How full is your hard-disc? (Have you deleted your temporary Internet files, cookies etc? Have you emptied your trash can on the computer?) - Have you defragmented the hard-drive recently? - (If you're not sure how to do these we need to know the operating system to give you detailed instructions as each one is slightly different.)

3) As many CD's aren't working, have you cleaned the lens on the CD-drive using a 'cd-cleaner'? - obtainable from most good hi-fi stores world-wide.

I'll leave the questions - more questions and solutions until you answer.

[katson77]

Hi IanS.

Thanks for your reply.
Here are my answers;

I'm using Window XP (Home)

My hard-disc is less than a quarter full and I do the regular maintenance on it eg. disk clean-up, disk check, derfagmentation etc.

No, I haven't used a CD lens cleaner before. Did you mean to clean the lens in the hard-drive? I haven't done any of that before.
Sometimes when I'm trying to burn music CDs, some get picked up (by the drive) and some just sit in the drive and do nothing but I thought that was just because some CDs must have some sort of copy right protection on them, that stops people from burning/ripping them? I don't know ..... :confused: :confused:

Anyway, hope to hear from you soon!
Thanks again!! :o

[IanS]

Hi IanS.

Thanks for your reply.
Here are my answers;

I'm using Window XP (Home)

My hard-disc is less than a quarter full and I do the regular maintenance on it eg. disk clean-up, disk check, derfagmentation etc.

No, I haven't used a CD lens cleaner before. Did you mean to clean the lens in the hard-drive? I haven't done any of that before.
Sometimes when I'm trying to burn music CDs, some get picked up (by the drive) and some just sit in the drive and do nothing but I thought that was just because some CDs must have some sort of copy right protection on them, that stops people from burning/ripping them? I don't know ..... :confused: :confused:

Anyway, hope to hear from you soon!
Thanks again!! :oTime zone differences may make this a protracted discussion - anyone from nearer help out?

I don't have XP Home so can't help much on that.
A lens cleaner is for CD's not hard-drives. Hard drives are magnetic, CD's use laser light.

The problem burning music CD's may be to do with copy protection.

As you've introduced the topic of CD burning - are all the game disks you are trying to use the original ones from the manufacturers or from friends? Game disks invariably have copy protection on them and may appear to copy fine but then fail to work.

When you insert an original game CD can you do a directory listing of it from 'My Computer'?

I don't know the games that you're referring to so can only offer general advice - Try running XP in 'compatibilty' mode - (I don't know how you get to it on XP-Home) - this sometimes solves the problems of games not running.

[katson77]

Hi IanS.

How are you?

Yeah, the game CDs are original so I don't know what the problem could be but thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it !!!!!!!
:) :) :)

[IanS]

Hi IanS.

How are you?

Yeah, the game CDs are original so I don't know what the problem could be but thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it !!!!!!!
:) :) :)I'm fine thank you, you?

Can you do a file listing on the errant CD's?

[katson77]

Hi. I'm good too, thanks.

I'm not sure what you mean by the 'file listing' ?? :confused: :D