Okay, my problem is one that I've been reading about a few times through these threads but I get lost in all the posts and conversations. Some people are talking about BSOS and CMOS, and... er, I just don't understand any of it.

My cd drive won't read cds. It can open and close, but when I put the cd in absolutely nothing happens. It's as if I never put in anything at all. In MyComputer, I don't really have a CD Drive icon, there's just a DVD Drive (D:) icon, though I think they're supposed to be the same. The DVD-Drive icon doesn't change to match the CD icon, it just remains the same, ignoreing any CD I put in.

I've tried deleting and rebooting the drives, but nothing changes.

When I right click on the DVD drive, and go to hardware, this is what I see:

Maxtor 6Y080L0 - Disk drives
SAMSUNG DVD-ROM SD-616E - DVD/CD-ROM

When I right click and stay at the General tab, the circle chart is full blue:
Used Space: 0 Bytes 0 Bytes
Free Space: 0 Bytes 0 Bytes
--------------------------------
Capacity: 0 Bytes 0 Bytes

This makes me think that the computer isn't even acknowledging the drives existence.

I posted this problem on another forum, and by the end of it, they came to the conclusion that I needed to buy another drive. I'm asking for a second opinion, because I can't understand why a drive would burn out so quickly. I think this computer is relatively new, maybe three years old tops. I guess that is considered 'old' but if that's the case, then why hasn't my entire computer broken down by now, rather then just the drive.

Oh and there's also this strange buzzing noise my computer sometimes makes, and just by lightly touching or tapping the top of the tower silences it. This is just about where my cd-drive is located, do you think that is linked to my problem?

My virus-protection software is completely out-dated, and no longer functions (meaning, I have to buy a new one but what's the point considering that I can't install it even if I wanted to... ). I mention this because I was wondering if there was some kind of virus that could disable a cd-drive from a computer?

Please help. Thanks.

I've seen this problem before especially after people uninstall CD burning software. Go here: http://www.aumha.org/regfiles.php, scroll down to the file for "Restore missing CD drive". If you need help to do the fix get your local family computer geez to help you out.

Good luck!

First, it looks like you have a combo drive that reads DVDs AND CDs. Most DVD drives are backward compatible. So the drive IS being recognized by your system. Otherwise you wouldn't see anything listed.

Second, you don't say what OS you have, but Win XP includes drivers for all optical (DVD/CD) drives.

So if you remove the drive from My Computer and reboot, it should detect the drive and install the drivers for it.

Whether the drive detects a CD, depends on the type of CD. But if it's a commercial CD then it should recognize it.

Finally, you don't say how old the machine is or whether the drive ever worked. If its old enough, you might consider replacing it with a DVD burner.

First, it looks like you have a combo drive that reads DVDs AND CDs. Most DVD drives are backward compatible. So the drive IS being recognized by your system. Otherwise you wouldn't see anything listed.

Second, you don't say what OS you have, but Win XP includes drivers for all optical (DVD/CD) drives.

So if you remove the drive from My Computer and reboot, it should detect the drive and install the drivers for it.

Whether the drive detects a CD, depends on the type of CD. But if its a commercial CD then it should recognize it.

Finally, you don't say how old the machine is or whether the drive ever worked. If its old enough, you might consider replacing it with a DVD burner.

I said the computer was about three years old, and I've never changed the drive, so the drive must be three years old. The system is Windows XP.

Now by delete from My Computer, do you mean right clicking and uninstalling the drives? There's no delete option for the DVD Icon, and I've already said that deleting the drives from the control panel does nothing.

Edit: Oh, and the drive always worked before -- one day, it just stopped.

I had a problem with my cd rom. Would not work for the life of me. I tried everything. Then I bought a new cd rom. Hooked it up and had the same problem. Mine was a different problem then yours it kept reading not working properly. Code19. I kept going into my registry to try to erase certain keys and would not allow me to do it. Finally I went into the subtitles erased those keys. Rebooted the computer and sure enough everything started working.

I've seen this problem before especially after people uninstall CD burning software. Go here: http://www.aumha.org/regfiles.php, scroll down to the file for "Restore missing CD drive". If you need help to do the fix get your local family computer geez to help you out.

Good luck!

I tried a CD Gone file, and it said it was put into the registry. Nothing happened. Perhaps I didn't install it correctly, or it's just another theory to add to my list of 'crap that doesn't effect demon cd-drive'. I don't know what a family computer geez is, and as for asking people for help; well that's what I thought this thread was for. If screenshots are needed I can take them.


I had a problem with my cd rom. Would not work for the life of me. I tried everything. Then I bought a new cd rom. Hooked it up and had the same problem. Mine was a different problem then yours it kept reading not working properly. Code19. I kept going into my registry to try to erase certain keys and would not allow me to do it. Finally I went into the subtitles erased those keys. Rebooted the computer and sure enough everything started working.

I'd try that, but I don't know if it would be wise to go destroying files in my registry based on a problem slightly different then mine. I don't get error messages, I just get nothing.

I tried a CD Gone file, and it said it was put into the registry. Nothing happened. Perhaps I didn't install it correctly, or it's just another theory to add to my list of 'crap that doesn't effect demon cd-drive'. I don't know what a family computer geez is, and as for asking people for help; well thats what I thought this thread was for. If screenshots are needed I can take them.Did you reboot afterwards?
And sorry about the typo, I meant "geek" - a computer wizard of sorts.

Did you reboot afterwards?
And sorry about the typo, I meant "geek" - a computer wizard of sorts.

Oh, of course.

Hm, I tired to uninstall the drives, and rebooted, but that didn't help either. It seems like the drives are being read, but it's ignoreing any cd I put in. And I know it can't be the cd, since I've played them many times before this crap even started. I am frustrated.

So anyone else got any ideas?

Maybe this will help, I don't know if it has any significance or info explaining my problem?

Click Me (http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/1452/tenalyd7.jpg)

Click on hardware resources. Go down the least see if there are any yellow! If you do and it is a drive click on that to get info on it. If you do this, you might actually find the problem. IF you find any code19, or whatever. You might actually have the same problem but from what you showed me it does not look like your looking in the right area.

Could be the drive has just gone bad. Since its not a burner, I would replace it with a burner.

Click on hardware resources. Go down the least see if there are any yellow !. If you do and it is a drive click on that to get info on it. If you do this, you might actually find the problem. IF you find any code19, or whatever. You might actually have the same problem but from what you showed me it does not look like your looking in the right area.
Well none are yellow, and I can't click on any of them anyway. x.x


Could be the drive has just gone bad. Since its not a burner, I would replace it with a burner.

Okay, but one hypothetical question: If I were to get a replacement drive, and it still didn't work, what would I do then?

Sound like ScottGem's answer is what I would try. If you right click on My Computer a drop down menu. Click on System properties. From there you can click on the tab called Hardware. Click on device manager. Locate DVD/CD drives and click on the plus sign next to it. This will show the drives installed on your PC. Right click on your drive and uninstall it. At that point you can reboot your PC and when it starts back up, your PC should automatically detect the drive and install fresh drivers.

If that doesn't work, then I would seriously consider replacing the drive. While the PC is only 3 years old CD/DVD drives are known to go bad anywhere from a few months after purchase and often after a year.

If you do purchase a new drive, I would remove the old drive, reboot your PC with a drive so the PC registers that the old one is gone, shut it back down and then install the new drive.

Hope that helps.
Marburg

Right, but then what do I do if the new drive fails.

If your new drive fails, I would try replacing the cables connecting your drive to the mother board.

How do you have it configured? In most cases the CD Drive is on the same cable as your main hard drive. I would try connecting it directly to the motherboard using a new cable. You would need to make sure the jumpers are in the correct position. Drives are usually jumpered using Cable Select for all drives regardless if they are on the same cable or not, or master for all drives if they are on separate cables, or master and slave if they are on the same cable.

Beyond that you will need to have someone look at your PC to see if there is a conflict somewhere or hardware failure such as your motherboard going bad.

Personally, I think the drive has gone bad.

Marburg

Okay, thanks again.

Would anyone be willing to help me track down a new drive then? Maxtor 6Y080L0 and SAMSUNG DVD-ROM SD-616E are the ones I have, and I don't want to screw up and buy the wrong thing. Actually, I don't even know where to start looking.

Any Internal DVD burner will work. If you don't want to open the box (or have someone do it for you) you can just get an external drive and plug it into a USB port.

Got me an external drive now, works like a beauty. Thanks for putting up with me! ><