Windows XP Home not recognizing Optical Drives

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Guest

Suddenly, my Dell Desktop running Windows XP Home Edition does not recognize
the two hard drives which were originally installed on this system since new
(over 2 years ago) and which have been running fine...until just recently.

I have one CD RW and one DVD drive. Both have power indicators which still
illuminate on start up. And both will open and close their respective drawers
when the open/close button is pressed. Yet, when I go to Windows Explorer,
neither drive is indicated in the hierarchy.

Any advice, input, comments would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark D.
 
Mark D. said:
Suddenly, my Dell Desktop running Windows XP Home Edition does not
recognize
the two hard drives which were originally installed on this system since
new
(over 2 years ago) and which have been running fine...until just recently.

I have one CD RW and one DVD drive. Both have power indicators which still
illuminate on start up. And both will open and close their respective
drawers
when the open/close button is pressed. Yet, when I go to Windows Explorer,
neither drive is indicated in the hierarchy.

Any advice, input, comments would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark D.
Click to expand...

Mark,

I had the exact same symptoms a few months ago. I eventually tracked down a
VB script that solved the problem (code posted below). The script makes
changes to your registry - make sure you take a backup of your registry
before running it.

It may not solve your problem, but it can't hurt to give it a try.

Ed Metcalfe

Option Explicit
On Error Resume Next

Dim WshShell, Message

Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

WshShell.RegDelete
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\UpperFilters"
WshShell.RegDelete
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\LowerFilters"
WshShell.RegDelete
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdr4_2K\"
WshShell.RegDelete
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdralw2k\"
WshShell.RegDelete
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdudf\"
WshShell.RegDelete
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UdfReadr\"
Set WshShell = Nothing

Message = "Your CD/DVD-Rom drives should now appear in Windows Explorer." &
vbCR
Message = Message & "You may need to reboot your computer to see the
change."

MsgBox Message, 4096,"Finished!"
 
Ed,

I hate to have to ask this but how do I run this script? I am a pretty adept
pc user and once ran a script that I had to first create a wordpad file
for....then named the file and then ran that file from a dos window. Is this
the same situation?

If so, could you please give me a brief explanation of the instructions on
how to do this as the last and only time I did something like this was quite
some time ago and, frankly, my memory is a bit fuzzy. All I'd need to know is
exactly what part of the script do I copy and paste to the wordpad file? Do I
need to name this file anything in particular/use a particular file extension
during the naming process? What command do I use in the DOS window to run the
file?

Sorry to ask so many questions, I just don't want to screw up the registry.
BTW, I do know how to back up the registry and understand the importance and
value in doing so before editing it.

Thanks again for your time, effort and input.

Regards,
Mark
 
Mark D. said:
Ed,

I hate to have to ask this but how do I run this script? I am a pretty
adept
pc user and once ran a script that I had to first create a wordpad file
for....then named the file and then ran that file from a dos window. Is
this
the same situation?
Click to expand...

Mark,

Run the script by following these steps:

1. Open up notepad (or any other text editor).
2. Paste the code from my first post (line 1 is "Option Explicit", last line
is "MsgBox Message, 4096,"Finished!" ".
3. Save the file as fix.vbs. The .vbs file extension is the important bit.
4. Locate the saved file in Windows Explorer and double-click to run. You
will probably need to be in an account with Admin rights to do this.
5. Reboot PC.

Let me know how you get on.

Ed Metcalfe.
 
Ed,

You're not gonna believe this...

I opened the tower and found the IDE ribbon cable unplugged. I recently
upgraded the RAM memory and forgot to plug the IDE ribbon back in...

In the words of the immortal Homer Simpson... "DOH!"

Really sorry that I put you through your paces. But, if it's any
consolation, I created the file and put it on a floppy drive for future use
(hey, you never know...).

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,
Mark
 
Mark D. said:
Ed,

You're not gonna believe this...

I opened the tower and found the IDE ribbon cable unplugged. I recently
upgraded the RAM memory and forgot to plug the IDE ribbon back in...

In the words of the immortal Homer Simpson... "DOH!"

Really sorry that I put you through your paces. But, if it's any
consolation, I created the file and put it on a floppy drive for future
use
(hey, you never know...).

Thanks again for your help.

Regards,
Mark
Click to expand...

lol! Nevermind Mark, I've done similar things on more than one occasion
myself! I'm glad you got it sorted anyway.

Ed Metcalfe.
 
I'm having the same problem. I installed a DVD/CD burner from another tower,
but my system will not recognize the drive. Does not show anywhere?
 
Master/slave setup?
Power plug (4 pin) plugged in?
Data cable inserted incorrectly?
Drive disabled in BIOS?

Good luck,
Engin
 
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