Member Avatar for ms_kish

I have a HP Pavilion Desktop a1210n and use Windows XP.

In the last two months I have been unable to get Windows to recognize my CD/DVD drive. Previously I could do a system restore and it would work for a day or 2 but now my system restores are coming back saying "incomplete". The drive for my CD/DVD is not listed in My Computer and it is not listed in the Device Manager but the drive is listed next to Second Channel Device 0 in BIOS. I hae tried deleting the upperfiltters and lowerfilters in the registry editor.

I called tech support and the only thing they can suggest is a Windows reinstall and I don't want to loose all of my files if there is some other solution. Can anyone help?

Thanks

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Brief summary and a focused plan based on the thread: the BIOS seeing the drive while Windows does not makes a hardware failure less likely and points toward a Windows/driver/registry problem (the usual suspects are driver startup state, kernel filter drivers from burning/virtual-drive software, or corrupted device entries). already tried registry filter edits; other contributors (, , , , ) reported cables, updates and Microsoft FixIt behaving inconsistently — the next steps should isolate Windows from hardware and target device/driver state. (support.microsoft.com)

Targeted diagnostics (in this order):

  • Inspect System Event Log for CD/ATAPI/IDE errors and common device codes (Code 19/31/39) logged at boot — these point to driver/config problems rather than physical failure. (support.microsoft.com)
  • Show non-present devices in Device Manager (use set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 from a cmd window, then devmgmt.msc -> View -> Show hidden devices) and remove ghost CD/DVD entries; then scan for hardware changes. (support.microsoft.com)
  • Confirm the CD-ROM driver is enabled and started. Restore the driver startup to the Windows default with: sc config Cdrom start= system and sc start Cdrom (or verify the Same via the Services/registry). This restores the kernel driver loading behavior expected by XP. ()
  • Boot Safe Mode or perform a clean boot: if the drive appears there, third‑party filter drivers (burning suites, virtual drives, SPTD) are likely at fault.

Data-safety and next steps: before any in-place repair or reinstall, back up personal files by booting a Linux Live USB/WinPE or by attaching the drive to another PC. If all Windows-level fixes fail and multiple optical devices are affected, suspect power/IDE controller or motherboard failure; if only Windows is affected, a repair install after backup is the last practical step. The Microsoft support article linked above lists the tested fixes and cautions for registry edits. (support.microsoft.com)

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All 12 Replies

Member Avatar for caperjack

maybe the drive has stopped functioning ,they do give up the ghost and die you know .!! time for a new one maybe .

Member Avatar for dcc

Have you tried uninstalling the drive, cycling the computer on and off, and reinstalling the drive? Are you using the driver from XP or did your drive come with a CD with its own drivers?

Do you have another computer that you could try the drive in?

If your computer is still under warranty see if they will replace it.

Member Avatar for mwiggs

I have tried the CD DVD fix multiple times with no results, I have 2 drives, neither are working, in the Registry there is no upper or lower lifter entries at all.

Member Avatar for caperjack

I have tried the CD DVD fix multiple times with no results, I have 2 drives, neither are working, in the Registry there is no upper or lower lifter entries at all.

hi, inside the tower are they both hooked to the same ribbon cable ,if so maybe the cable is bad ,or just need to be removed from the board and plugged back in

Member Avatar for djhouston

yeah ive had this problem too... they might be right.. but where is there a store that sells them, in cas you have to replace them... but the drive might not be recognized, or maybe youve accidentally uninstalled it.

Member Avatar for caperjack

yeah ive had this problem too... they might be right.. but where is there a store that sells them, in cas you have to replace them... but the drive might not be recognized, or maybe youve accidentally uninstalled it.

any computer store will/should sell you a ribbon cable !

Member Avatar for lildog59

Have you tried uninstalling the drive, cycling the computer on and off, and reinstalling the drive? Are you using the driver from XP or did your drive come with a CD with its own drivers?

Do you have another computer that you could try the drive in?

If your computer is still under warranty see if they will replace it.

the problem has to do with updating your system. had to reformat twice,each time cd/dvd drives were recognized,then after a few updateds.they were not recognized. can't track down to see which one is doing it.

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

I called tech support and the only thing they can suggest is a Windows reinstall and I don't want to loose all of my files if there is some other solution. Can anyone help?

Thanks

If you do a repair/install you will only lose any service pack and all hotfixes and up dates since your OS CD was made. If you intend to do a repair/ install, look at making a slipstreamed OS CD with SP3, hotfixes, your PC drivers, your product key +++. It makes life a lot easier and safer if you have these updates before you go online..

This is a good site to learn about a repair/install.
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/How-to-repair-Windows-XP-t138.html

Member Avatar for caperjack

Dec 24th, 2006 date of original post ,i know you guys just leaving info in case someone comes along ,and thats good .

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Silly me, I read the date/time of the last post and did not look at any other date. Oh well some one may read it one day and get some info from it.

Member Avatar for Fix CD

OK, happened to me with my old XP system. Went to microsoft and their "fix it" option. It worked so was able to reload "Office 2003". Turned off the machine and it installed 23 updates. Turned in back on and the CD writer was not functioning again. Used the "fix it" option from Microsoft again for this problem but made the fixes but said it detected other problems. Could not get it resolved.

How do I check to see if I have SP3? Will this do the trick?

Thanks

Member Avatar for caperjack


How do I check to see if I have SP3? Will this do the trick?

Thanks

right click on mycomputer go to options it will show either windows sp2 or sp3

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