Windows xp won't read cd - please help!!

My beautiful, crisply new Football Manager 2010 arrived in the post today but my laptop, which runs in XP, won't read the CD!!!

I have tried it on my housemates' laptops (who run Vista) and it can read it without problem.

It is not a problem with my disc drive as it can read all other cds/dvds that I've tried.

Can someone please help???

have you tried exploring the cd/dvd. i.e right click on the drive letter of the disc drive then click explore. if that works run the setup.exe.

Yes, that was the first thing I tried but nada.... :-(

Thanks though

My beautiful, crisply new Football Manager 2010 arrived in the post today but my laptop, which runs in XP, won't read the CD!!!

I have tried it on my housemates' laptops (who run Vista) and it can read it without problem.

It is not a problem with my disc drive as it can read all other cds/dvds that I've tried.

Can someone please help???

I've had same problem with other DVDs/CDs on Vista (My Computer or Explorer). But a program like Total Commander reads the discs without any problem, might be a solution for you?

Could you see the files in explore?

Copy the setup.exe file to your desktop and run i from there. Also make sure your java is fully up to date... www.java.com

I often had frustrations with this on my old laptop. It was just a shoddy drive that caused it.

Just to put this into some perspective, my laptop is a very powerful Alienware gaming laptop, so it's nothing to do with spec.

Gungnir, thanks, what file from Total Commander should I download Gungnir?? There are many

bell, it can't even see it in explorer no, and my java is fully up to date.

And Neil, yes, I am sure my laptop can plays DVD :-/

Try doing a copy via a DVD burner on another PC, see if your Laptop reads that for the installation.

Then put your official disk back in, hopefully it might recognise the part that it needs for copy protection. Or use the code to activate via steam

It is very odd, do you have access to another machine to test the disc.

You may have to wait for Steam as Neil said.

Are you sure your drive runs DVDs? If it still doesn't read you'll have to wait until the game is released via Steam - then you'll be able to activate it. Thanks.

Neil, I find myself in the same situation so will be now using Steam to activate. However will this prevent me from pre-loading? Or should I be able to pre-load?

Same problem here, my laptop can read/burn DVD's (even double layer)...but he can not read Football Manager 2010.

Explorer can't recognice that a DVD it's inside:

- With XP the DVD appears as it has nothing inside.

- With 7 the DVD is ejected after try to read.

I don't know what is happening.

I am also having the same problem, have tried disc on other computers and it reads fine, except on mine which is XP.

Won't detect that a disc is even in the drive? Tried Total Comander as suggested above and Java is up to date, nothing.

What do I do to get the disc to read ?

...Bump

...Would just like confirmation if those of who us having problems with the discs can use our boxed version codes and download via Steam?

I as wondering while readin this whether mine would have any problems as it's an XP netbook. Though I'd completely forgotten that it doesn't have a CD/DVD drive. I'm going to have to get it from Steam now, right?

kopite1990, It's a good question, but, by the way...it's not a total solution even if we can do it via Steam

I bought a DVD, that HAS to work fine, it doesn't matter that I can use Steam or not.

I suppose that the Steam question is not going to be answered until Steam releases the game :\

This seems to be a major issue with the discs this year. I had the same problems last night trying to install the game. I took the disk out and tried again and this seemed to work. When the installation started I choose the advanced option it took ages(probably longer than 20 minutes) and my drive was so noisy I actually thought something would blow up. When it finished it said that the game had installed but with errors and to look in the install log(which I couldn't find but that was probably just me being stupid). I was unhappy with this so deleted everything and tried again. I choose the express option for installation the second time and although I was just as long and noisy it did work and FM is now installed and loading fine. I haven't actually started a new game yet because I've been occupied with other things and decided to wait for the patch anyway so if there is any further problems after installing this then I will let you all know.

I as wondering while readin this whether mine would have any problems as it's an XP netbook. Though I'd completely forgotten that it doesn't have a CD/DVD drive. I'm going to have to get it from Steam now, right?

I dont think the fact that your using xp matters. I am using windows 7 and still had problems. This appears to me to be some sort of problem with the game being copied on the disks at the manufacturer. So perhaps this is something that sega should look into for next year.

This seems to be a major issue with the discs this year. I had the same problems last night trying to install the game. I took the disk out and tried again and this seemed to work. When the installation started I choose the advanced option it took ages(probably longer than 20 minutes) and my drive was so noisy I actually thought something would blow up. When it finished it said that the game had installed but with errors and to look in the install log(which I couldn't find but that was probably just me being stupid). I was unhappy with this so deleted everything and tried again. I choose the express option for installation the second time and although I was just as long and noisy it did work and FM is now installed and loading fine. I haven't actually started a new game yet because I've been occupied with other things and decided to wait for the patch anyway so if there is any further problems after installing this then I will let you all know.

^^ the issue here, is that we can't get the disc to even read

It might sound like a daft question but you do know that the game is on a dvd and not a regular cd? If you dont have a dvd drive then it wont read it. If you do have a dvd drive then I am going to stick by my original remarks and say it must be an issue with the actual disk itself.

I can assure one thing, trekman is right, the Operating System is not the cause. I tried it with Windows XP & Windows 7 with the same result: no DVD read.

Sounds to me like a copy protection problem.

There have been numerous games released in the past where certain drives would not read the disc due to the protection used.

Sounds to me like a copy protection problem.

There have been numerous games released in the past where certain drives would not read the disc due to the protection used.

Hi,

There's no copy protection on the disc so it won't be that. I'm afriad I can't say at this stage what it is though. I have heard some people say that their disk works in one machine but not another, which suggests a hardware or firmware issue maybe?

Thanks

ben

Sounds to me like a copy protection problem.

There have been numerous games released in the past where certain drives would not read the disc due to the protection used.

The copy protection is not at fault here - that only kicks in once the game is launching...

It seems that some of the drives have a less than favourable tolerance to the 'pressed' media - this can happen occasionally.

You have a few options:

1) Try to lightly clean the surface of the disc with a soft cloth using a circular motion (from the centre to the edge) - the release agents in the pressing process can sometimes leave a residue that stops the disc being read correctly.

2) Look for an updated 'firmware' for your drive - regardless of the 'my machine is xyz and is only abc months old' - the chances are the drives you have were purchased in bulk a long while before manufacture of the final machine and the 'firmware' could easily be out of date.

3) Last but not least, return the disc to the store and demand a replacement (if a laptop and if possible, take it in with you so they can see it - I know the returns policies on opened games are horrendous).

Good luck.

Cheers,

Murray

Hi,

There's no copy protection on the disc so it won't be that. I'm afriad I can't say at this stage what it is though. I have heard some people say that their disk works in one machine but not another, which suggests a hardware or firmware issue maybe?

Thanks

ben

Hi Ben,

By copy protection, I mean the form of protection which requires having the CD in the drive to play if the users are not activating online. Sorry, I'm a little tired and didn't explain myself very well.

In the past, certain protections of this kind have been very fickle about the drives that can read them. My memory is very hazy at the moment but I remember having a problem with a previous version of SecureROM that showed these very symptoms.

Updating the firmware for the drive (as you suggested above) was the solution to that problem for me in the past. I'm probably wrong on this occasion but thought it worth mentioning.

All the best,

Mark.

Edit: Cheers to both yourself and Murray for your speedy replies. I don't actually own the game at the moment and was just hypothesising and trying to help. I hope the guys who have this problem find a solution though.

Right then..

I've managed to get it working, BUT.. had to copy the disc on another computer that WOULD read the disc. I then inserted the copy into my XP computer and it read the disc straight away.

I then Installed> Ejected the copy > Re inserted the original then it read.

any ideas as to why I had to do this ? Could it be the copy protection thing, Have I bypassed it by making a copy of the disc?

^^ sorry hadn't read the previous posts about copy protection, they were posted while i was writing mine

The copy protection is not at fault here - that only kicks in once the game is launching...

It seems that some of the drives have a less than favourable tolerance to the 'pressed' media - this can happen occasionally.

You have a few options:

1) Try to lightly clean the surface of the disc with a soft cloth using a circular motion (from the centre to the edge) - the release agents in the pressing process can sometimes leave a residue that stops the disc being read correctly.

2) Look for an updated 'firmware' for your drive - regardless of the 'my machine is xyz and is only abc months old' - the chances are the drives you have were purchased in bulk a long while before manufacture of the final machine and the 'firmware' could easily be out of date.

3) Last but not least, return the disc to the store and demand a replacement (if a laptop and if possible, take it in with you so they can see it - I know the returns policies on opened games are horrendous).

Good luck.

Cheers,

Murray

About this:

1) I cleaned the DVD, but this doesn't work. Same problem.

2) My NEC Nd-6750A has not any firmware update in the Nec webpage.

3) The replacement of the DVD did not solve the problem in my case, and I think that the store is not going to replace the game a second time.

The 'solution' that fresh08 is saying is not possible for me either, and I can not even figure out why this solution is working.

I have no other computer with DVD burner.

All this is making my excitement for tomorrow when i purchase the game dissapear just got load of worries its not going to work now! Game hardly ever will replace a PC Game if the case i do expect some sort of refund from SI.

Fingers crossed it works!!

mcmaster, Although i got my computer to recognise the disc i got as far as installing and then running the game, but once it had loaded i got 'please insert FM disc' grrrrr.

Im still in the same boat, not being able to read the disc

Sorry to hear it fresh08, at least one of us seemed to beat the problem...but the problem beat us again :\

Should have used Steam (Y)

Steam is not active yet...but, the DVD must work, with Steam or without it.

Steam is not active yet...but, the DVD must work, with Steam or without it.

After midnight you will be able to use your boxed code and download the game, whether the disc works or not.

Well, can you access the other computer with your laptop? If you do you can try and share the CD/DVD drive and try to install the game with the it. If that doesn't work try doing a disk image of the FM2010 and transfer it with a flash drive to your laptop, then try to emulate it with some emulation software like daemon tools. I don't know if that will work, but it doesn't hurt try it.

This is very worrying that so many people are having a problem with the disk reading, maybe and email should be sent to every shop selling the game about the problem. I am really worried im going to have the same the same problem fingers crossed. i hope something can be sorted out

After midnight you will be able to use your boxed code and download the game, whether the disc works or not.

As I've said before, and as I see it, I've paid for a DVD that must work despite I have another 'non-conventional' options. By the way, I expect the 'Steam method' to work fine.

fresh08, let's see If any of the workaround that BurnCm4X proposes can work for you. I don't have other computer to test it.

But, that's not the way that an original game has to work...even if it works.

Wow, I'm glad it turns out I'm not going crazy and the disc actually can't be read by some others too.

So with Steam, I could download the game and use the code in my box, then never ever need the disc ever again!?!?