Is there a utility (or method) for evaluating the health of motherboard controller components? I have a Toshiba Laptop (A215-7422) which I believe has a bad DVD controller. Replacement drives are quite expensive and before I replace the drive I need to know why it doesn't show in the BIOS. Any guidance???

-Chris

hi corbin

if you have another laptop, see if you can swap the dvd drives. if we're lucky, the dvd drive of the laptops would fit. most times, its just the shape of the external face of the drive slot that's different/customized for a specific laptop brand and model. as long as it fits the internal connectors, it should work.

or the best solution is really to send the laptop for repair to an authorized service center. one thing theyd surely do is replace it with the same custome dvd drive and do read and possibly write tests.

good luck

if you're looking for dvd info tools you can give this a try "Nero Info Tools"
|MG| Nero InfoTool 5.3.3.0 Download

it should detect the dvd drive information. its not a guarantee though that the actual dvd reading and burning activities would be correct.