DVD/CD drive missing on re install.

My Dvd/Cd Rom was only displaying half the time in my computer (And there wasn't an entry in device manager).

When it worked, it worked perfectly. When it didn't work it was a ghost.

So I re-installed windows 7 (from a USB) and now it doesn't display at all. The drive door will open and a green power light will flash, but once inside it wont spin or register.

I have tried the upper and lower filters resolution (but there is no upper and lower filters listed in the registry for DVD/CD.

I want to try some other solutions before I open the case on it and replace it.

 

Hi my friend , welcome to MG's :major

You can try this tool :wave

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982116

 

Thanks. I should have mentioned that I have already tried this tool. It tells me to unplug and replug the optical drive. I would rather not do that simply because I know nothing of the inside of a computer. Not to mention the computer is a dell INspiron One 2305 (all in one PC)

A lot of forums say to delete upper and lower filters, however, I didn't see any of those. I was hoping you could navagate to the registry entry and take a screenshot of what a proper registry looks like for the cd/dvd entry.

Its local machine > system > current control set > control > Class > 4d36e965e32511cebfc108002be10318

just take a screenshot of that area please to make sure mine is correct, or I was hoping someone would have a screenshot, where the upper and lower filters are intact so I could add them back in.

 

btw, also can you take a snapshot of the 0000 folder under it so I can compare it to mine. The reason I ask this is because I think Itunes messed with the settings a long time ago. I tried to update the drivers with a generic driver too.

 

I'll upload win7 64bit of those keys but I don't have the upper/lower filters so they may not help.

Let me ask, did you have to use USB to install or was that by choice. If your CDROM wasn't working sufficiently for an install that would indicate a mechanical problem since it would not involve Windows drivers for that device.

 

I used a usb to reinstall because the cd rom was not working correctly, before It would come on and off occasionally and work flawlessly. I'm sure its not a mechanical problem since the door opens and closes.

I've tried the default firmware for it (TSSTcorp driver) and it says "drive not found"

Do you know of a generic cd rom driver perhaps?

 

The thing is a CDROM can have power to open and close the door but still not work correctly. If the CDROM won't work to boot up a disc when you first start your computer it is a mechanical problem because Windows isn't even loaded. It is your computer's BIOS that should be recognizing the drive. Perhaps you should check BIOS to see if the CDROM is listed there.

The firmware update is different it changes information on the circuit board within the CDROM itself. It probably couldn't find the drive to update because it wasn't being recognized by Windows properly at that time.

As far as I know Windows uses generic drivers for all CDROM devices. The manufacturer's don't write drivers for their specific drives.

 

I tried a few different bootable cds and I set the boot priority to cd/dvd drive first, but it skipped it.

I guess it could be a mechanical problem then.

 

You can also try F12 to manually pick DVD for a one time boot choice to try to force it.

I looked at a few threads and it seems that model inspiron may have a problem with DVD recognition. How old is yours? You might be better off getting an external DVD rather than replace the internal.

I'll just drop a link or two but they seem to duplicate your problem and indicate that it is a common problem with no definitive fix.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/disk-drives/f/3534/t/19453124.aspx

This one, third post from the last, shows you where to look to see if the DVD drive is shown in BIOS. It should have a model number next to SATA 1. If it doesn't show in BIOS then you know it is primarily an intermittent mechanical problem not necessarily a Windows problem.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/disk-drives/f/3534/p/19467916/20191894.aspx

 

how old it is I do not know, but Its at least one year old. Its a dell inspiron one 2305

weird how it just worked fine a couple of months ago. I will look into getting an external one, but can Cd's boot from an external optical drive?

 

I was just wondering if it was under warranty. The various threads I read were from people that had multiple DVDROM replaced and some even had more than one motherboard replaced but the problem recurred. I'm just thinking it may not be a problem with the DVDROM itself but with the motherboard. There didn't seem to be a definitive fix.

I'm fairly sure you should be able to boot from an external DVD. Almost positive especially with a new machine that supports booting from USB.

I know one of the regular posters on this board, plodr, has several externals. If you doesn't read this thread and comment, I'll PM her to take a look. She should know for sure.