Member Avatar for davthewave

hi everybody!
i'm really really looking for help for this problem i have.
it's to do with my D drive......i have a laptop so this drive is my cd/dvd.cd rom drive. i have a toshiba equium m40x running windows xp service pack 3. this morning i tried to install a new piece of software onto my laptop, while installing i got an error message telling me there was an......error at which point my laptop froze.
the only way to fix this problem was to take the battery pack out and then put it back in again, but since then my D drive doesn't recognize anything there just isn't any info in this drive/folder at all, no matter what kind of cd/disc i put in. i have tried clicking on properties/auto play and clicking on: prompt me each time to choose an action button. which results in a message coming up that says: D is not accessible...because of a I/O device error.
i've also tried uninstalling the device and restarting my laptop but nothing seems to work.
any help from anyone would really be helpful as i've been trying to fix this since this morning (uk time)
thanks

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Suspishio

Dani AI

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A concise diagnosis and practical next steps, tying together the earlier suggestions from and . The "I/O device error" on an internal optical drive usually means either a hardware failure (drive, connector, or power to the bezel) or Windows-side driver/registry corruption. Because Device Manager showed the drive and a driver reinstall plus DMA→PIO did not fix it, the most useful, low-risk checks now are (A) whether the machine firmware (BIOS) sees the drive and (B) the common Windows registry/driver-cleanup that can restore CD/DVD access.

Recommended checks and fixes (in order):

  • Firmware check: reboot and confirm the optical drive is listed in the BIOS/Setup device list. If the BIOS does not detect the drive, the problem is almost certainly hardware (failed drive or cable/mechanism) and replacement or service is required.
  • Windows logs: examine Event Viewer → System for entries mentioning Cdrom, Atapi, or I/O errors for clues whether Windows is failing to talk to the device or the device is failing to respond.
  • Registry filters (Windows XP): export the key below before changing anything, then delete any UpperFilters and LowerFilters values found and reboot.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
  • IDE/ATAPI channel refresh: in Device Manager, uninstall the IDE ATA/ATAPI channel entries (Primary/Secondary) so Windows redetects them at boot. Do not remove unknown critical devices; export registry or create a System Restore point first.
  • Physical checks: verify the drive spins and ejects (manual pin-eject) and test multiple, known-good discs. An external USB drive (the workaround already mentioned) is a reliable test: if the external reads the same discs, the internal drive is the likely culprit.

If the BIOS sees the device and the registry/driver steps do not restore function, the internal drive has likely failed. For an older laptop, an external USB DVD is a cost-effective and immediate workaround; internal drive replacement is the other option. Always back up the registry before edits and obtain OEM firmware/drivers only from the manufacturer if a firmware update is considered.

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Member Avatar for davthewave

thanks for your help.
but nothing seems to work.....i still get the error message.

i also tried to do a complete data recovery but even this didn't work, as i couldn't get it to start, couldn't seem to get anywhere with that, not really sure how to do that, but it might be because the D drive isn't working the way it should. any help on doing this would be appreciated.....but thanks for the help anyway.

dav

Member Avatar for Suspishio

As I understand you, the laptop boots OK but the CD/DVD drive is unusable.

I think it's therefore safe to say that something hardware broke during the install that failed - and it's still broken.

Hopefully a USB DVD drive will still work. I don't know if the drive comes out on the Equuim like on the old Tecra I've still got; if so, replacing it is an option in the hope that nothing's wrong behind the drive.

That sort of thing.

Member Avatar for cguan_77

hi, can you check your device manager..check the dvd/cd rom drives option..verify if its working properly..maybe just a software issue..

Member Avatar for davthewave

hi, can you check your device manager..check the dvd/cd rom drives option..verify if its working properly..maybe just a software issue..

yeah done all that........... it says everything is working fine.
i've uninstalled all the drivers and turned the laptop on/off and after it's reloaded windows has re-installed the drivers but it still doesn't work, still getting the error messages.
i've also heard that if you change the DMA to PIO that sometimes helps....but tried that and that also didn't help.
thanks anyway.

Member Avatar for Suspishio

er ... and what about my suggestions?

Member Avatar for davthewave

er ... and what about my suggestions?

sorry about that....
you actually gave me an idea
but first, i don't think you can put a new cd drive into the laptop.
so i just went out this morning to the local computer store( pc world) and for them to have a look at it, i would have to pay £69.
so i just went and bought myself a new external super multi dvd rewriter for £34.....so hope that should help me work around that problem.
thanks for your time anyway.

Member Avatar for Suspishio

If my remote diagnosis is correct, it should work.

I'm gonna set up a PC store I think. So many people with problems!

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