Resolved DVD Drive has disappeared

HP Pavilion Entertainment Laptop PC running Win 7 Home premium 64 bit. My DVD drive used to work fine but stopped playing DVDs and does not show up in the BIOS listings and not even as a Boot Device. The drive does not show up in Device Manager either. I have recently installed VLC Media Player.

When I insert a DVD it spins up but then just stops and does not call up any software. VLC and Windows Media player are up to date and selected to play CDs and DVDs. Neither program recognises the CD/DVD when one is inserted.

Thanks for any ideas from you techies?

 

Thanks for your suggestion, Arie. I have looked at the system information and under Software Environment, System Drivers, I see that the CD/DVD File System Reader cdfs.sys is Disabled and Stopped and the CD-ROM Driver, cdrom.sys is stopped.

Could these be the cause or are they the result of the DVD drive not being detected?

 

The drive must be recognized in the BIOS first.

 

You could try removing it. Probably just a couple of screws and then boot up. Then shut down and put it back in and see if it finds it again. It should.

 

Thank you SpywareDR and MrBill for the suggestions. I have removed the drive, (1 screw), and rebooted, shutdown, replaced the drive and it did appear as an option in the boot order, but then I am running Win 7 and the BIOS still thinks I have Vista, that is the original software it came with.

However, it still won't show up in Device Manager, Win Explorer or as a device in Devices and Printers. It won't play a DVD.

I think Arie is right and I shall seek a new drive. It is a 12.7mm Model UJ-861 manufactured in 2007. It is the first drive that has failed on me in more than 15 years. No idea who made it. HP no longer support this model so I may have a problem. Might have to go to an external drive.

 

Is there like a model number on the drive itself? If so, google it and you may get some hits on it. Bet that you can find one on E-Bay.

 

I googled the HP part/spares number and found lots, but they were in China or the USA. So I have bought a second hand one from Bullock Bros, UK firm. Quite reasonable and they seem to have a good reputation.

Thanks for all your help guys.

 

Glad you got it fixed. Don't have any idea where you live as you don't have it listed in your profile. Most on here are from the USA.

 

I used thread tools and mark as resolved so why it does not show up I do not know. Anyway I have yet to receive the replacement drive, so in theory the problem is not yet sorted. Please make sure that it is marked resolved for me Arie?
MrBill I live in Chatham,Kent,UK.

 

Most on here in their profile post where they live. Nice to know that you are helping somebody half way around the world.
But it is your choice.

 

Sorry to be a wet blanket but the replacement DVD drive did not solve my problem. I assume therefore that I have a motherboard fault. No DVD drive in Device Manager and a driver updater program did not install any new driver.

The replacement is an IDE drive with an identical HP spare part number so it should have worked. Perhaps I need an external caddie. Any other suggestions gratefully received.

 

Before condemning the motherboard, you might want to consider that the "second hand one" you "bought from Bullock Bros" may well be a bad drive as well.

 

DVD drive has disappeared

No! I thought of that and emailed the supplier who assured me that the drive was working perfectly. It came very well packed and I am sure that it is most probably serviceable. When I put a DVD into it, it runs up and tries to start, but after a few seconds it stops. The HP part number is the same 448005-001, it is a perfect fit and I am sure it is a standard 12.7mm IDE drive with the miniature IDE connector. The IDE caddies I have seen are compatible with this drive configuration. The 'genuine' HP spares are a truly ridiculous price.

Perhaps the answer is to just buy an external new one. There is a vast choice from Amazon. Or I may buy an adapter and check the drives on my desktop. If the replacement is no good I will send it back.

 

As spyware said. It maybe a bad part. Do you have a working computer that you could test the cd/dvd drive on? Did it (the replacement) show up in your bios?

 

I have not been able to test the drives in another computer. I have a VAIO laptop but this has a different drive. I will eventually get round to testing the drives or have the local repair shop test them. After all I think it is only necessary to get an adapter from the micro connector to a normal 40 pin IDE. Then I can test it myself.

The drive is not detected in the BIOS and although CD/DVD shows up as a BOOT option, the laptop will not boot from it.The BIOS is a cut down version of Phoenix BIOS so is not widely informative! Gone are the days when you had lots of info and lots of tweaks in the BIOS setup - at least not with this HP Laptop.

Thanks for your suggestion flyboy1565. I was hoping that someone could help out with some checkout software so I can check the motherboard for faults.

 

My caddie arrived this morning. I now have TWO serviceable DVD drives and a problem on the motherboard which will not recognise the SERVICEABLE DVD drives.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I may open the Laptop and see if perhaps there is a lot of dust causing the problem. After all it is 5 years old!