Member Avatar for samueloryem

I run Windows 98 on Compaq Deskpro Computer.
My Cd Drive is connected to a primary IDE Controller. Now the problem is that everytime i want to read any information from any CD i my systems tels me that access denied the disc is not accessible.
I went to Device Manager and i found that the Device is not working properly either there is no Disc or the drivers are not allunfortunatly i failed to download any driver beause am not sure which driver it uses please if there is any alternative which is much quicker than the approach i took that failed me then somebody please help i appreciate.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

Dani AI

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A compact troubleshooting plan that builds on the ideas already posted by , and and focuses on isolating hardware vs. Windows problems.

Start with quick hardware checks (fast, low-risk)

  • Try a few known-good discs (an audio CD and a data CD). Listen: does the drive spin and the tray lock when a disc is inserted?
  • With the PC powered off, verify the 4-pin Molex power plug is seated and the IDE ribbon is plugged straight (red stripe = pin 1 toward the motherboard). Swap the ribbon for a known-good one if available. Ground yourself before touching inside the case.
  • If possible, move the drive to another PC or try a different optical drive in this machine. If the drive cannot boot a known-good bootable CD from BIOS, the drive or its power/cable is failing.

If the drive looks OK at BIOS level but Windows still says the volume is inaccessible

  • Boot to Safe Mode (disables many third-party drivers). If the drive works there, suspect packet-writing or burning software (Nero/InCD/DirectCD) or a conflicting VxD/driver; uninstall any CD-writing utilities and reboot.
  • In Device Manager remove the CD-ROM entry (right-click -> uninstall) and reboot so Windows redetects it. If the Update/Upgrade path flags certificate issues, use the “Select from a list” or manual install option and choose the generic/standard CD-ROM driver from the Windows CD rather than an OEM-signed driver.

When to replace the unit

  • If the drive fails to read discs in BIOS, fails in another machine, or still reports “device not ready” after the above steps, the drive is likely failing and replacement is the fastest fix. Replacements for IDE CD-ROMs are inexpensive and straightforward to install.

Safety note: always power down and unplug before moving cables or swapping drives.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for DaveSW

so which controller is your hard drive on?
windows should have the drivers it needs for a cd driver. are you sure the cables are in the right way?

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

You should not need any driver for the CD in Windows...

Does the BIOS recognise th CD on bootup?

I would move the CD to the secondary IDE..
Master or slave depending on other drives on the secondary IDE

Some hard drives require a jumper change (removal) if there is no slave
So be sure to check your Primary Hard Drive...

Member Avatar for caperjack

I run Windows 98 on Compaq Deskpro Computer.
My Cd Drive is connected to a primary IDE Controller. Now the problem is that everytime i want to read any information from any CD i my systems tels me that access denied the disc is not accessible.
I went to Device Manager and i found that the Device is not working properly either there is no Disc or the drivers are not allunfortunatly i failed to download any driver beause am not sure which driver it uses please if there is any alternative which is much quicker than the approach i took that failed me then somebody please help i appreciate.

In device manager ,remove the cdrom and reboot to reload drivers .

Member Avatar for samueloryem

You should not need any driver for the CD in Windows...

Does the BIOS recognise th CD on bootup?

I would move the CD to the secondary IDE..
Master or slave depending on other drives on the secondary IDE

Some hard drives require a jumper change (removal) if there is no slave
So be sure to check your Primary Hard Drive...

Yes BIOS does recognise the CD on bootup.
I moved the CD to secondary IDE and Hard Disc to primary and the jumper is set to Drive select for the Hard Disc and master for the CD ROM Drive which is on Secondary IDE. But still there is no change. What i get is E IS NOT ACCESSIBLE THE DEVICE IS NOT READY. i tried it many times.
I went to Device manager but found that the Device is working properly however, on the Driver Tab. No Driver files are required or have been loaded for this device.
Here is the details for my device.
Model Compaq CD_ROM CR-594
I tried to upgrade through the Upgrade on the Device Manager but there was this issue of Certificates which actually stop me.

Please help.

Otherwise thanks for the contributions made that brought with it some good ideas.

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

To help decide if Hardware or Windows is the problem...

Set BIOS to boot to CD First

Try to boot to 98 Disc...?

Member Avatar for caperjack

What i get is E IS NOT ACCESSIBLE THE DEVICE IS NOT READY. i tried it many times..

As a neighbourhood computer repair guy I have throw out a lot of cd drives ,they do break!!

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