CD/DVD Drive has totally vanished

Hi Major Geeks! Sorry to say, I am back for another problem. But this time it is hardware-related.

About a week ago I wanted to watch a movie on my notebook's DVD player. The hardware seemed to work normally--I could hear the disk spinning and see the light on the hard drive flashing trying to read from the disk, but it would not initiate the normal auto-play procedure. I went into My Computer, thinking I could open it from there, and that is when I realized that the CD/DVD Drive was just not there anymore. IT HAD COMPLETELY VANISHED. There is also no reference to it in the Device Manager.

I have Googled this issue and gone through the often-mentioned regedit fix to delete the upper and lower filters, plus a reset of the BIOS to default settings, removal of a few Roxio programs, and a rollback of Windows Media Player, but nothing seems to fix the problem.

I recalled a few months ago I had a problem I could not fix (involving malware), you guys at Major Geeks came to the rescue, and I was hoping you might be able to help me now with this problem.

Please let me know if there is any way to fix this. Thank you so much.

BTW, I have a VAIO Notebook Model VGN-SZ240 running Windows XP Pro (32 bit ed.)

 

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=145532

 

Dear Adrynalane,

Thanks for the suggestions, but they did not work for me.

Last week I had tried the first method and deleted the upper and lower filters using regedit (with no change in the problem). Interestingly (perhaps), when I did that, the instructions I used said "Do not delete the UpperFiltersBak or LowerFiltersBak registry values" but I noticed that neither of these .bak files appeared in my Registry. Now in the Class folder, in the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} folder, I do not see any registry values for Upperfilters or Lowerfilters at all, or for the .bak values either.

Now I have just tried the second method, and I followed the instructions and wrote the new values into my Registry with out any problem, then rebooted. But there is still no sign of the CD/DVD drive in My Computer or in Device Manager.

I feel sure that the hardware itself is working because it behaves and sounds just like it did beforewhen I insert a disk into that drive. Only I can't find any reference to the drive being in existence. There are no conflicts in Device Manager either.

Do you have any other suggestions?

I appreciate your valuable assistance.

 

Is the DVD drive appearing in your BIOS?
If so try doing a system restore back to a time you know it was working properly.
If not try removing the drive and then put it back in.

 

The CD Drive is not appearing in the BIOS (it lists only the hard drive and under that it says "Optical Drive: None"). Nothing else listed.

This is just unbelievable! Where could it have gone? I have not added any hardware or software, other than the normal maintenance updates. I did reinstall IE7 because I was having trouble displaying certain web pages, and the issue was corrected after the reinstall. I did not drop my notebook on the floor, or spill anything on it. I did not even speak harshly to it (as I have heard some people do) or give it any dirty looks. And the drive does seem to function normally: It opens, spins the disk, and the light indicating that the hard drive is reading flashes.

Is there anything else I can do?

 

This sounds like a hardware issue.
The fact that the drive powers up indicates that it is receiving power; the fact that it is not being recognized by the BIOS indicates the data connection has become damaged.
That is why I thought that removing the drive from its bay and then replacing it might get your data connection back.
Of course it is possible that the data connection is being broken at the motherboard as opposed to at the drive.

 

Yes, that is a good idea. I misunderstood your first message and originally thought you meant to try removing the drive if it was listed in the BIOS, which it isn't, so I did not try to do it yet.

So, most people here seem to know how to remove their CD/DVD drives, but I am not one of them--yet!!! Shall I look on the manufacturer's website for instructions, or are there any easier ways you could suggest? I am handy with a screwdriver and not afraid to perform any type of hardware "surgery" that may be necessary--I just do not see any obvious connectors that might detach the drive from its bay.

Thank you so much for helping me--you all the THE BEST!!!!!!!!

 

I looked online and can only find user manuals (which don't show the removal process) for free download
Service manuals are available but they're not free ($4.49)
http://manual.mania.webhop.net/note.../VGN-SZ240/service-manual-download/1944224172

On most laptops it is a fairly easy job to remove the DVD.
Turn the laptop upside down.
Remove the battery (to make certain the computer is OFF not just in sleep mode)
Remove the restraining screw (usually only one but perhaps two or three)
Slide the DVD out of the laptop.