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My daughter was using this computer when I heard a loud bang , I went to investigate and she opened the disc drawer to find the disc had broken into a million pieces .
I cant understand what happened , if you have ever tried to break a disc by hand they are very hard to break.
The disc burner failed to close so my wife took it out of the computer to clean out the remaining fragments , when she opened the case she found the entire unit had totally blown to pieces .
has anyone ever heard of this sort of thing happening?
Though it isn't particularly common, Merinda, it isn't unheard of, either. Do an exact-phrase search in Google on "exploding cd", and you should find a fair number of links to accounts of this phenomenon. Opinion seems to be that it's some combination of increasingly powerful drives and damaged or defective media.
Haven't had it happen to me, but there is a show here called "Myth Busters" (where the test out urban legends to see if they are true) and they demonstrated how the faster speed drives can warp the CD enough to shatter it, but it was usually a damaged CD in the first place.
CD-ROM drives are getting faster, but CDs aren’t getting stronger.
Online 02/03
CONTENTS
» Exploding discs
» Makers’ responsibilities
What happens when an irresistable force meets an immovable object? At the increasingly high speeds achieved by many current CD drives (48x and higher), a flawed or unbalanced disc runs the risk of breaking into thousands of tiny pieces through nothing other than the extreme force of its own spinning.
Shards of broken disc can damage the laser and other internal drive components. But more importantly, there’s a real risk of sharp fragments escaping the drive, posing a danger to anyone using the computer.
Manufacturers claim that the likelihood of a disc shattering while inside a CD drive is very small — around one or two cases for every 10,000 discs. But keep in mind that the risk greatly increases with old or cracked CDs. While it’s rare enough that the NSW Department of Fair Trading hasn’t heard of any cases, we know of at least one Australian consumer who experienced an exploding CD. Even if the risk is small — you should know how to spot problem discs to avoid putting yourself and your family in danger.
What you should do
Discs are more likely to shatter if they’re unbalanced or flawed. The problem can be as small as a slightly off-centre label — something to keep in mind if you create CD labels yourself — or a small crack in the centre of a disc. CDs may develop cracks over time, so it pays to check regularly used CDs whenever you put them into your drive. Leaving CDs in your drive when they’re not in use isn’t a good idea either.
Keep in mind that both boxed software discs and homemade CDs are at risk — the quality of the disc, its condition and age are more important than the source. Properly caring for your CDs, whatever their origin, can reduce the incidence of flaws that can trigger an explosion. Our online article Long life CDs has detailed instructions on how to keep them in tip-top condition.
If you’re unlucky enough to have a CD shatter, contact the retailer who sold the drive (or system). It may be reluctant to give you a replacement, so you (or it) may need to contact the disc manufacturer as well.
An exploding CD is a sign that either your drive or the media was flawed in some way. If you maintain your CDs properly, you should be entitled to a replacement drive. Contact the Department of Fair Trading in your state if the retailer is uncooperative. Our subscriber, who wrote to us after his CD exploded while his son was at the computer, was able to obtain a replacement drive of a higher speed from the retailer he dealt with, but only after several months of haggling.
By the sound of Darlene's post , its lucky my daughter wasn't hurt
