did you try setting up auto run by right clicking on the cdrom icon in mycomputer go properties and autorun and set it to desired programs .
''also did you try going to start/run/regedit and do the following .

Possible Solution......

There are 2 reg keys that can screw the device......remove them both and reboot......

The keys are:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325 -11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} - "Upperfilters" and "Lowerfilters".

Pardon my ignorance, but you mean i should delete them both permanently?

yes just the upper and lower filters if they are there .,also before you do go to file and export regedit ,back up registry then make changes ,

FYI, That didnt work.

I reformatted and loaded XP back on and the problem was fixed (along with a few others).

I have a full copy of nero 6 and what i thought was a full copy of nero 7. I loaded nero 7 on and when i realised it was a trial version i removed it using nero cleaning tool.

The problem came back on reboot.

It might have something to do with nero 7?

Im getting pretty good at reformatting now though, so i'll probably just do it again to fix it and stay clear of Nero hoping for the best.

For anyone that has this problem, in my case it was a prgram called DVD43 that was the cause. Nothing wrong with Windows or the hardware. It's a region free/CSS free program.

Cheers

I have been experiencing the same problem as elunow describes, including some drive activity and Windows Explorer knowing that a disc is present (by displaying the proper icon) but not acknowledging it's presence. If I click on the drive I get a message "Insert a disc in drive X". If I left click to display properties it takes an eternitiy to display the menu, but when it finally does, if I click on Autoplay then I can display the disc contents and access it as normal.

I checked the suggested registry entries and found that my Autorun setting was already = 1. Also, there was no lowerfilter entry to delete but there was an upperfilter entry, so I deleted it and rebooted. My problem was not fixed.

I have 2 internal drives and one external (all different manufacturers). They all behave the same. So I think that eliminates any driver or firmware problem being the cause. It has to be registry or OS related, but I have not been able to isolate it.

I am not keen on reinstalling XP to fix the problem as it is a huge undertaking with no guarantee that the problem will not recur.

Has anyone had any luck figuring this out?

An additonal comment regarding PPLSPOET post: I also have Nero 6 installed but have not installed Nero 7. I am not sure exactly when my problem began and whether or not it coincided with installing Nero 6.

I have the EXACT PROBLEM....I installed Nero 7 and lost my CD ROM drive. I ficed that, I deleted my filters and my autorun is at 1. I am still not up and running. My CD ROM drive says "please insert disk into D drive" Can youplease tell me how you fixed this, or anyone can help?

I encountered this problem as well and replaced the drive, thinking the drive was shot. At that time I didn't have any specialized software for my disc drive, and the old disc drive was a read only. I installed a new drive and with the drive I installed the software that came with it, one application being Nero7. The drive worked beautifully the first couple times I used it, and now it is doing the same exact thing as the old drive! What everyone has described here is the exact problem I am having. I've eliminated it being related to hardware, eliminated the software issue (it did the same thing before Nero7 was installed), and from your posts assume it is not a registry error that anyone has discovered to be common with this problem. Has anyone ever gotten an answer on this short of reinstalling XP?

I never did fix it. We just got a new computer, but would like to fix it. I tried everything, new drives, filter adjustment, everything. I can't figure out how to reload XP with the disks because I can't put any disks in the computer to because it doesn't recognize it. How do you reload software if your disk doesn't work. I would have download it from a link.

Good point!!!