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Dell Latitude D630 DVD drive missing in Windows

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by skaler2k, 2008/12/14.

  1. 2008/12/14
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    It worked fine before. I bought this laptop secondhand, and began "cleaning" it up by deleting programs I didn't need, as well as using Windows update to get at least 10 security updates plus Service pack 3. I don't know if it was something I did, but the DVD burner acquired a yellow ball with the black exclamation mark. Before buying the laptop, I did stick a music CD in, and it played fine. Now, under My Computer, all I see is the C: drive and the shared folder-no DVD drive. It is there in BIOS, and under the Device Manager. I've been in contact with Dell tech support through email, but so far, no luck. The Device Manager also has a yellow question mark under Other Devices, with a "USB Device" that has a yellow ball/black exclamation mark. I can't help but think that the USB device is the key, since the dvd drive shows up as a removable drive when you stick in a USB thumb drive and then click the taskbar icon to safely remove the hardware. This laptop has two locations of two USB ports each, plus the DVD drive, yet under device manager, I see 7 USB controllers, and 7 USB root hubs. Are there other internal USB devices that I am missing? The laptop has a bluetooth adapter-on the motherboard, I'm guessing. There is nothing in the PCMCIA slot.
    The folks at Dell wanted me to uninstall both IDE channels. I couldn't get it accomplished because I was prompted to reboot after each attempt. If I reboot, Windows just reinstalls the channel. If I don't reboot, and uninstall the second channel and then reboot, they both return. The confounding thing is, I now have Primary IDE Channel listed twice, and no Secondary. Additionally, under the IDE device heading there are two Intel IDE ATA/SATA controllers-one a 3 device controller, the other an ULTRA. The most recent email from Dell had me go into manage my computer and see if both IDE channels were operating in DMA mode. They are-one in mode 5, the other in mode 2-but, as I mentioned, they are now both called Primary.
    Any ideas?
     
  2. 2008/12/16
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

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    The DVD drive probably is jumpered the wrong way. On the back of DVD drive there is a jumper to change it's IDE allocation. The settings are M (Master), S (Slave) and CS (Cable Select). Cable Select works on the location of drive on the cable. You might need to physically take the DVD out to see the jumper settings or read the model number (see below).

    If you would like to investigate the jumper settings, go to the drive manufacturer of the drive and look up the manual/user guide for your model (the model is printed on the label of drive, although sometimes, they make it hard to see).

    Don't be afraid of uninstalling the wrong drivers (yellow exclamation marks or red X's in Device Manager listings...they don't work now, they can't get any worse :rolleyes:). For those, find the hardware manufacturer's website and look up the drivers they recommend for the model of your hardware. Your DVD drive should not need any drivers, but it may need a Firmware Update.

    It seems to think the drive is USB, more importantly, there are two primary IDE controllers listed. Look at updating the chipset drivers for your motherboard (in the Dell driver updates for your system model). Check the jumper settings on the drive.

    It might be a Dell thing. Dell have a "Community Forum ", try searching or asking there if you are stuck.

    Matt
     

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  4. 2008/12/16
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    AFAIK the DVD in the d630 is a USB drive, same as the d830 that I have.
    Try uninstalling the DVD drive via Device Manager, reboot and let Windows auto-detect & install it.
     
  5. 2008/12/16
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks for the replies... Mattman, I may have been unclear, but this is indeed a USB drive in a laptop, and doesn't have any jumpers to set. I did uninstall the drive, rebooted, and it was identified correctly by Windows during the reboot, but it still comes up with the yellow ball/black exclamation. Clicking on the properties and then general tab, the status shows that "Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing(Code 39) ". Clicking troubleshooting merely takes me down the path of uninstall-reinstall. I wonder if running system file check would help, though I forget how to do that and which extension to use to ask the checker to repair or correct the corrupted or missing files.
    Also, TonyT, I'm hoping that your D830 is similar enough to my D630. Can you tell me how many USB controllers show up under your device manager? I have, in addition to the problem with the DVD drive, a yellow question mark in a category titled "Other Devices ". The sub category under this is "USB DEVICE" also with a yellow question mark and a yellow ball/black exclamation over it.
    I can't help but feel that this malfunctioning USB device is somehow the key to fixing the DVD drive.
    Under the last category "USB Controllers" I have 7 controllers-5 of them are Universal and two more are Enhanced USB2. Also, there are 7 USB Root Hubs.
    Yet, looking at the laptop, I see two pairs of two USB ports plus the DVD drive. That's 5. What are the spare 2 controllers controlling?
    Thus, I have 7 controllers and hubs, plus an 8th one under the other devices category. It's properties tab says "the drivers for this device are not installed "
    Code 28. Uninstalling and reinstalling, whether by means of a reboot or by using the "add Hardware" method, brings both back with the same malfunction/error.
    I'm hoping that system file check won't ask for a Win XP pro CD to locate repair files. That would be just peachy, if that is indeed a reasonable thing to do here.
    BTW-the DVD drive in my D630 is a HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GSA-T21N
     
  6. 2008/12/16
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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  7. 2008/12/16
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks Tony. I already tried that. They advertise a "driver" for my DVD player, but, when you execute it, it turns out to be a firmware update, and the first response from it states that the target drive cannot be found. I have, in the interim, done a system restore to a couple of weeks ago, and the drive is back!
    I'll be more careful in what I delete. There are still two yellow balls under Other device category: SM bus device, and the good old USB device. Oh well.
     
  8. 2008/12/16
    Rockster2U

    Rockster2U Geek Member

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    skaler,

    You shouldn't be "deleting " anything. Use Add or Remove Programs in your control panel. Willy nilly "deleting" is going to bring your machine right back down on its knees. If you run into programs that are not listed on that add or remove menu, post back and we'll provide specific instruction.

    ;)
     
  9. 2008/12/16
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks Rockster. I meant using the add/remove procedure. I never just delete anything other than just the remnants of a program that it's native uninstall program or add/remove leave behind.
     
  10. 2008/12/16
    Rockster2U

    Rockster2U Geek Member

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    skaler2k.

    Glad to hear that - you had me scared. I would also suggest that you remove those "other" devices from within Device Manager and you may need to open up "show hidden devices" from the view menu in device manager to see if there are duplicates in there as well. Upon a reboot, Windows should redetect these devices. You may need to reinstall drivers if they come back as "other" with the yellow marks.

    I'll shut up now as Tony is going to be able to give you much better guidance on this laptop.

    Good Luck
    ;)
     
  11. 2008/12/17
    mattman

    mattman Inactive Alumni

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  12. 2008/12/17
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    I'd also suggest vreating a new restore point of this "setup" that is now working, and name it uniquely so can easily find it if needed in the future.
     
  13. 2008/12/17
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    The SM Bus Controller is a device that is used to monitor/communicate with the on-board sensors for CPU, fans, etc. Have you re-installed the chipset drivers?
     
  14. 2008/12/17
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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  15. 2008/12/17
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Just got home from work, Tony. I do have the driver for the SM Bus controller. It was sent to me via email from Dell's tech support. I did so much removing of programs and data all at once that it wasn't until later that I had occasion to look at the device manager, and notice the trouble.
    I will reinstall the chipset driver this afternoon. I see that your USB controllers are the same as mine-7 of them, and 7 root hubs. Also, I notice that under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, you too have two primaries and no secondary. The Intel storage controllers are also identical to mine. I guess I'll stop fretting about that.
    This laptop, when I tested it(briefly, obviously) did play a music CD. When I stuck a movie DVD into it, it attempted to take me to the web and access a DIVx site-I'm guessing. At this point, I think it was the uninstallation of that DIVx program that caused my DVD drive to stop functioning. I do have a WinDVD CD that came with another computer.
    I'll install that and see if I can play a DVD movie. If I can, I'll just let the Divx program be, and hope it causes no problems.
    Still have the unknown USB device. Leaving that alone is probably ok too.
    What do you think?
     
  16. 2008/12/17
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I did the chipset install and it got rid of the SM Bus controller question mark.
    Started using add/remove to remove some programs I was sure wouldn't cause any problems. It turns out that the ones related to iTunes and Apple Update were the culprit(s), because when I uninstalled them, I got the yellow ball on the DVD drive again. I managed to restore to a point earlier in the day, and am starting to rebuild again. At this point, the dvd drive works, is firmware updated. I installed Power DVD XP and it works. The only problem left is the question mark next to Other Devices identifying a USB device.
    Guess I'll have to live with that.
    The laptop is presently downloading Service Pack 3.
    Thanks to one and all who responded.
    I also have a post under Win XP in hopes of getting rid of the password interruption, so that I can let the laptop boot all the way to the desktop and not have to type in the password each time. It was easy under Win XP home and under Media Edition. I don't know what to do under this XP pro.
     
  17. 2008/12/17
    Rockster2U

    Rockster2U Geek Member

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    Control Panel > User Accounts > Your Account Name Here > Change Password.

    ;)
     
  18. 2008/12/17
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks Rockster. I have several computers in my home. Two are running XP pro, one runs XP Home and one XP Media Edition 2002. This Latitude(XP Pro) that I'm trying to get rid of or disable the password on is different from the others. The XP Media, Home, and my wife's XP pro all look alike, and changing the password is as easy and straightforward as you suggested.
    The Latitude, however, only lets you change the password, not eliminate it.
    On it, you have to press ctrl-alt-del, and that takes you to an expanded logon screen. One of the options there is "change password ". When you type in the old password and leave the next two fields blank, you are told that the new password does not meet the correct criteria. In media or home editions, it accepts the blanks and in fact lets you proceed without a password from there on.
    I'll try and take some screen shots of the latitude and post them here, as soon as I learn how to do that. PeteC gave me a link to a neat program, but I haven't yet tried anything beyond a practice take or two.
     
  19. 2008/12/18
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    The DVD prompt to download codecs from a Web site are likely the resuly of code on the dvd itself IF the needed codecs don't exist on the computer. Installing Win dvd should fix that.

    Some dvds requires certan codecs and most have the codec installler on the dvd if needed. Win dvd handles almost all dvds.
     
  20. 2008/12/18
    skaler2k

    skaler2k Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Hi Tony. The program that I thought was the original culprit that caused the yellow ball to appear is listed as DIVX Web Player in the Add or Remove Programs listing. I was sure that my removing it was the cause of the DVD becoming unavailable. After restoring the computer and getting the DVD drive back, I left it strictly alone, and uninstalled Apple Mobile Device Support, Apple Software Update, and iTunes. Lo and behold, the yellow ball reappeared over the DVD drive again. So, I restored the laptop yet again to a time earlier that day, and the DVD is once again fine. As I mentioned, I still have a USB device listed under Other Devices. I will attempt to upload some pictures of what my logon screen looks like and what I see under User Accounts.
     

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