TSST CD/DVDW TS-H552L drivers needed, Windows installs CD only

I have a 2006 model HP Pavilion a1473w with a TSST CD/DVDW TS-H552L with LightScribe which came with my PC. I bought this computer brand new in box from a Walmart back in 2005. No one has ever opened it or replaced any parts.

The CD/DVD drive did not fully work upon opening when using DVD-R so I decided I would read up on what was missing. Many forums offered the idea that uninstalling the device, and uninstalling the drivers, clearing the Upper and Lower filters through RegEdit would do the trick.

I did uninstall each, without restart, using Run opened Command Prompt and found the correct Class entry and deleted the Upper and Lower filters, (not before making an export of the registry!). I restarted and tada! NOTHING!

I tried to reinstall the drivers, but HP and Windows can not find any drivers for this DVD driver both in the memory or at Windows Updates. I looked through the listings at TSST and Samsung, but their answer is that this is a joint Walmart/HP proprietary computer and parts. I went to HP and looked it up, but you will find NOTHING like this drive listed for this computer model, and if you look under the TSST CD/DVDW drive model it will take you to an HP monitor which a side note says "This product requires no drivers".

I'm completely at a loss here so with anyone's help and a bit of guidance, I welcome some new suggestions to what appears to be a old problem. Have you seen how many people are looking for this hardware's drivers and firmware?
Lots!

PS. The drivers and firmware for H552B and H552(enter any letter other than L) DO NOT work. I've tried. So before you think you made a 10 minute search in to a breakthrough, I have searched this for over a week now all day and night looking for answers. Lots of people were told other firmware and drivers and none have got any good results.

 

If this is a known issue with the PC or the DVD drive, it should be covered by a warranty. But from what I've read, you waited a while before even opening the box so your warranty has probably expired. If the drive is faulty (and it sounds like it is), simply remove it and install a new DVD burner. You can buy Lightscribe DVD burners at any PC store for under $60 these days; they are often on sale for around $45.... Alternatively, unplug the main power cord from the rear of the PC, open the case and disconnect both the data cable and power cable from the drive, then power up and boot into Windows with the drive completely disconnected. Use Windows as usual for a bit, run CCleaner on the hard drive and registry, install your chipset drivers and maybe even visit Windows Update. Reboot if needed but do not connect the drive yet. After you've installed the newest chipset drivers and rebooted once or twice as needed, power down, unplug the power cord, and reconnect the drive. Then power up and see what happens. If that doesn't work and if the motherboard has an available second header for the DVD drive data cable (either IDE or SATA), try connecting the drive to it and powering up again. If none of this works, you can try removing the drive and trying it in a different PC just to see if it is indeed a malfunctioning device... then buy a new one if it's no good. If it works on a different PC, post here and we'll see what else we can do for you....

Good luck!
[dlb]
:major

(you can download the free CCleaner from here: http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_Slim_No_Toolbar_d4191.html)