Member Avatar for Khren

for some reason XP has suddenly decided it doesnt know where the CD-ROM and CD-RW drives are. it says "the drives are installed but windows failed to locate the hardware devices" plz help o_o

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Summary of the problem reported by : Device Manager shows the driver present but the drive itself is not being found (Code 41). That symptom can come from either a hardware-detection problem (cabling, power, master/slave jumper or a failed drive/motherboard channel) or from Windows still referencing a non-present device or corrupt CD/DVD driver entries. 's suggestion to isolate hardware is on the right track; below are concrete, ordered checks and safe steps to try.

Hardware checklist (power off and unplug before opening the case): reseat the 40/80-pin ribbon and Molex power connector; verify the ribbon is oriented so pin 1 matches the motherboard and drive headers; confirm drive jumper settings (Master/Slave/Cable Select) and that master is on the cable end. Try a different IDE cable or a different power connector. If possible, move the drive to another IDE channel or test the drive in another PC to rule out a failed drive or motherboard port. Grounding/ESD precautions are recommended.

Windows/driver cleanup (no case opening needed): in a command prompt run

set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
start devmgmt.msc

then in Device Manager choose View -> Show hidden devices and uninstall any greyed-out CD/DVD entries. Also uninstall the IDE/ATAPI controllers (they will be rediscovered at reboot). Reboot after removals so Windows redetects hardware.

Registry fix (backup first / create a restore point): for persistent CD problems remove UpperFilters and LowerFilters from

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

only after exporting that key as a backup. If the drive fails to appear in the motherboard BIOS the issue is almost certainly hardware (cable/power/drive/motherboard). If BIOS sees it but Windows does not, the Device Manager/registry steps above commonly resolve the situation.

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Member Avatar for nanosani

Does your bios detect the cd rom ?? on startup I mean.

Member Avatar for Khren

bios? o_o i have not idea what happened but all i know is that the computer realizes there IS a CD-ROM and CD-RW drive but it cant do anything with it cause it apparently doesnt know WHERE the drives are. it says in the device manager "Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device. (Code 41)" and i have no idea what to do o_x

Member Avatar for nanosani

do you have cd rom and cd-r drives simultaneously installed .... install only one of them and then try again.

Member Avatar for Khren

i dont know how to install them o_x they worked before they just suddenly stopped for some reason. and im trying to figure out what to do to fix it. if i have to reinstall the drives then explain what i have to do plz x_x

Member Avatar for nanosani

Plug out one of them and start windows ... n see what happens. ..

Member Avatar for Khren

but they are built into the tower O_o;

Member Avatar for nanosani

Cant you open your tower's cover and unplug one of the drives. ??

Member Avatar for Khren

i suppose o_o; but what if that doesnt work?

Member Avatar for nanosani

and what if it works ... most probably you'll have a hardware conflict between the two devices ... see if it works.

Member Avatar for JANINE

and what if it works ... most probably you'll have a hardware conflict between the two devices ... see if it works.

no doubt it will:cool:

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