Optical Drive won't power on

Hi everyone,
I have a Lenovo Thinkpad W520, and my optical drive won't power on. The problem is that it is by default set on "safe to remove", and when I want to use it, I have to remove it first and then put it back. BUT that won't work unless I reboot the machine after removal. I searched on this forum, but I did not find the solution for so far.
I found some topics on the optical drive, which describe that one can toggle an option for activating the optical drive in Power Manager, which I can not find in my version (6.36).
Is there any solution for this? I would like the optical drive to be powered on by default, and not in the "safe to remove" mode, so I can use it any time without having to remove the optical drive and rebooting the system.
Thanks in advance,
Jeroen
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Well....it may be fine for you to accept an inferior item, not I. I paid for a unit that was supposed to be fully operational and work as designed. I will not accept having to reboot every time I want to put a CD or DVD into my computer! That's like having to restart your car so the headlights work. Even if one doesn't drive at night, you would still expect the headlights to work ANYTIME you want them without the extra steps. I know "where" the issue is and I know "why" the issue is BUT unfortunately, there is not a fix I can find. Between uninstalling and reinstalling drivers and applications and etc. I give up. They will replace my unit according to Lenovo, with a brand new laptop. Should this one have the same issue, I will be disputing my CC charge, and sending the unit back to them for a full and complete refund. I wish I had a copy of WIn8 or Win7 without Lenovo's proprietary software embedded. I bet the unit would work as designed then, but to have them rewrite or add software with hooks directly into the core system is a recipe for disaster. I encourage you to do something about yours also. The more people that ALLOW this "type" manufactured fleecing, the more it will occur.
I guess I will find out just how well this replacement process works.

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Well....it may be fine for you to accept an inferior item, not I. I paid for a unit that was supposed to be fully operational and work as designed. I will not accept having to reboot every time I want to put a CD or DVD into my computer! That's like having to restart your car so the headlights work. Even if one doesn't drive at night, you would still expect the headlights to work ANYTIME you want them without the extra steps. I know "where" the issue is and I know "why" the issue is BUT unfortunately, there is not a fix I can find. Between uninstalling and reinstalling drivers and applications and etc. I give up. They will replace my unit according to Lenovo, with a brand new laptop. Should this one have the same issue, I will be disputing my CC charge, and sending the unit back to them for a full and complete refund. I wish I had a copy of WIn8 or Win7 without Lenovo's proprietary software embedded. I bet the unit would work as designed then, but to have them rewrite or add software with hooks directly into the core system is a recipe for disaster. I encourage you to do something about yours also. The more people that ALLOW this "type" manufactured fleecing, the more it will occur.
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I have discovered, no thanks to Samsung techs, what the problem is, and it might be revealing for others, as well. It seems that DVD Player, which is the app Apple provides in OS x for (naturally) playing videos, doesn't work with external drives if the computer has an internal drive – even when, as in my case, the internal drive is dead.
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