The BD-ROM drive on my HP Pavilion dv7-1014ca notebook will not recognize certain Blu-Ray discs.

[Skinkybob]

I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the "Hardware" or "Display and video" forums, so here goes:

I purchased an HP Pavilion dv7-1014ca entertainment notebook this past August and was excited at the prospect of being able to play Blu-Ray's in my BD-ROM drive.  I purchased The Nightmare Before Christmas, Iron Man, Hellboy II, and WALL-E and everything appeared to be fine.  It took a little while for HP Quickplay to start playing a few of them, but I assumed that that was to be expected.  There were a few times when the drive would not recognize a disc, but I usually tried it a few times until it worked.  It wasn't until I purchased The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray that I started experiencing difficulties.  The drive simply would not recognize the disc. I restarted the computer, I tried numerous times - When I went to "Computer" (I'm running Windows Vista Home Premium-64 bit) it said that there was no disc in the drive and would eject it.  I can always hear the disc spinning furiously in the drive for a few minutes, then it usually stops.  HP Quickplay just displays the "Insert a DVD or select the Media button" message.  I tried out the rest of my Blu-Rays and found that the only other one that wouldn't work is the Hellboy II disc.  I had begun to think that there was maybe a problem with the disc itself... but I had watched Hellboy II all the way through without a problem.  To make matters more confusing, The Dark Knight began playing once I left it alone for a few minutes.  I figured that the problem had fixed itself.  Then I tried playing The Dark Knight again to no avail.  I tried for hours.  I updated HP Quickplay (I'm running version 3.7 (5822)), I downloaded some new drivers, I updated my BIOS (F.23), and I tried everything I could think of to make it work.  Eventually The Dark Knight started to work again, but that's so off-and-on that I can never rely upon it.  The notebook still refuses to recognize Hellboy II.  It can't be the discs that are the problem, as they've both worked in the past.

I e-mailed HP's tech support about the problem, and thus far, I've gotten 3 responses and written 3 replies.  They've started repeating themselves.  I've been told to unintall and re-install Quickplay, which I did.  I've been told to follow the steps detailed on various links on the HP website, none of which deal with my problem.  I've been told to try alternative playback programs that either cost money or don't play Blu-Ray discs.  I've tried everything HP has told me to do and none of it has made any kind of difference.  Considering "Computer" doesn't even register that there is a disc in the drive, I'm thinking that it has to be a hardware issue.  In the past I've also had problems with music CD's being recognized, and HP Quickplay telling me that certain discs are not formatted for my region (when I know for a fact they are).

I'll probably call HP on Monday, but I was just wondering if this had happened to anybody else, or if anyone can think of a different solution to this problem.  Thanks a lot.

[peterNguyen]

I purchased hdx9000T laptop and chose the Blu-Ray ROM specifically just so that I can play Blu-Ray movies.  Well, it turned out that I cannot play any Blu-Ray movie.  I spoke to 3 or 4 technical support engineers at HP and the last one offered to have my laptop turn in so that HP can fix this.  I sent my laptop in before Christmas and got it back on 01/02/2009 thinking that the HP support people have fixed this issue.

It turned out that the HP support person REPLACED my Blu-Ray ROM with the HD-ROM and then ship it back to me.  It also seems that this person never did try to test it out before shipping the lap top back to me because I put in the HD DVD and it does not play.

I want to have my Blu-Ray ROM because that is what I paid for and it never works.

Now, 01/03/2009, I'm on the phone with another HP support engineer. I hope that thing will be straightened.  I have been on the phone for several hours and I don't want to waste my time and the technical support people's time either.  The service is good, but the product is NOT reliable. I spent more than $3000 for this laptop and it is really a bad choice.

For your reference, my order info/spec are:

We have built your order number H103869784 to the following specifications:
- HP Pavilion HDX Entertainment Series CTO
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz)
- 20.1" diagonal WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen (1920x1200)-"True HD" 1080p res
- 50% OFF 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
- FREE Upgrade to 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
- HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Microphone + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth(TM)
- 240GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (120GB x 2)
- Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
- Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers +the HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
- Extra 9 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- Power Pack software - muvee autoProducer Premium, Cyberlink DVD Suite Premium and Serif Web Plus
- Roxio Backup MyPC(TM)
- System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)
- Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
- Adobe Premiere Elements 4
- Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones (1 pair)
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

I wouldn't want to recommend to order Blu-Ray ROM.

[BamaBubblehead]

I have experienced similar "Disc read" problems over various machines. Sorry to say, yes, it can be a "Disc problem". Have noted various media -CD's and DVD's - have developed slight discolorations in stripes and or sections of the reading side. This results in corruption of disc and it won't read. Have had new disc do this in short time intermittently. Have yet to ascribe a specific cause for such failures. Look at disc an angle from light source and you might be able to see slight differences. If one is at the leading edge you have lost that disk. If disk will load and not complete you might notice sections at different areas of the reading surface which appear to have slight changes compared to surrounding area, if so, Disk is corrupted. I know this does not offer a solution but might explain some disconcerting occurrences.

Respectfully,

BamaBubblehead.

"Submariners do it Deeper."

[dinorx7]

I've got the exact same problem with dv7-1014ca as Skinkybob.  Right down to the Dark Knight movie title.  I've worked with HP online support chat, over the phone a couple of times, and have performed all of their fix ideas.  All resulting with no luck, including a system restore.  Drive works occasionally with Pan's Labyrinth but 98% of the time no blu-ray disc will work.  I'm now waiting for my replacement disc drive in the mail to swap it out myself.  Although, just read on another forum that someone else tried this and had no luck.  THe person said they had HP replace the computer.  If this drive replacement doesn't work for me, I'm going to fight for a new one as well.  I spent over a $1000 on this laptop and specifically picked this one for the blu-ray playing capabilities.  Now, I can't even use it for that and HP doesn't seem to really know what is going on.  Come on HP!

I'm going to keep checking this thread for new updates and will post if I have any myself.  

[Skinkybob]

Yeah, I never got around to phoning them, but to my knowledge, the problem hasn't been fixed.  I kind of gave up trying.  Nothing they told me to do worked.  I will probably wait until the summer now before doing anything else.  I can't send my laptop in, because I need it for school.  Unless they are going to send me a replacement drive to do it myself, I'm out of luck until then.  Luckily the warranty won't run out until August.

[Dukz07]

I hope this kind of post help plp chose wisely when it comes to buying a notebook, I'm frustraded ,too.

 I bought  a dv71170us last monday, and the fact to know that this laptop plays blu-ray disc, was the main reason I bought it, just to find out blu-ray can only be barely played with quick play only. and not only that ,but i was hoping to solve this with an  upgrade till' I decided  to read the forums first, should have done this first, I certainly wouldn't have bought hp notebook with blu-ray capability. Don't take me wrong, Hp are realiable, but, i take they these are some of the first notebooks with blu-ray drives, they aknowledge these problems. I wish hope they stand behind they're products and provide us with upgrades that work to fix these problems...otherwise it'll show lack of respect to customers like myself spending hundred of dollars on something that do not meet my expectations.

Meanwhile I'll keep browsing for an upgrade to my " blu-ray drive " if anyone have a sugestion, it'll be gladly appreciatted.

I will be specific with my problem, when I insert a blu-ray disc, it opens with quick play, but it only plays the main menu, I am unable to select anything from it, and the logo is on the side of  the disc tray of the laptop, but, oddly, the quickplay menu shows dvd icon.

And, now touchpad  scroller stop working, i know it isn't locked.

[new04quest]

Sorry to read all the troubles with blu-ray playback. I purchased the refurbished HP DV2700TSE VERVE 2.5GHz 250GB 14.1" LAPTOP NOTEBOOK for my wife this New Year. It plays all the blu-ray's on my 56" Toshiba HDTV via HDMI through a Pioneer Elite receiver without a glitch so far. Have you guys update the blu-ray playback software on CyberLink?

I never like to pay full price. It seems that I am always having very good luck with the refurbished models. I had three 42" LCDs and two of them are refurbished. The new one broke after a 1 1/2 years. The refurbished models still work great. I believe that they had more tests done on the refurbished model than the new model...!

Good luck!

[Dukz07]

Well , i have to admit it, that you can be wrong sometimes. my problem has been solved,  I updated the quickplay software before i could play any blu-  ,but i had to use curiosity and intuition, costumer service is good but sometimes is confusing , but, thanks god!  the issue has been ressolved. and my notebook is working fine.

[Chewie25]

I have had the same problem with my dv-7 entertainment pc. It used to play my Resident Evil discs and now I cant get anything to play. I was told I needed a firmware update but none has been available. I spent over two hours with Hp support on the phone and they made my computer worse than ever!!!! I have since had to restore my system to factory settings and I still have no Blue-Ray capabillities. Excuse my french but this is bull**bleep**!!!!!!! We payed $400 dollars for a Blue-Ray driver and no one at Hp has any idea of it or what they can do to fix it. They need to figure this out or refund all of our money so we can go by a Dell or something else comparable. I have always had faith in Hp but it is lost now! And if they don't figure out a way to make it right soon they are gonna lose a lot of loyale customers. $1400 dolars down the drain as far as I'm concerned!!!!

[kindheart]

The solution is simple: open drive tray, locate the two lenses and with a lint-free cloth gently tap on them (they are like on a spring with some vertical movement and can attract dust and/or change position; by tapping them gently with the cloth you help reposition them/free them and clean them, as needed). You may also try blowing clean air onto them. Also make sure the tray moves freely in and out and the laptop is put on a proper solid surface with even level all around.

Message Edited by kindheart on 02-01-2009 09:57 PM