System recognizes CD Drive but won't allow it to operate or update

I inherited a Systemax PC with XP Home edition. The system wasn't allowing me to update drivers for the existing CD Burner so I purchased a new one (thiking the old one had been fried)... Upon installation of the new unit the system briefly recognized NEW Hardware but failed to read the installation disk from the drive. I checked the ribbon and the power lines. The unit is setup as a Master on the Secondary Line and is being recognized in the BIOS (The Hard drive is recognized as the Master on the Primary Line). I tried uninstalling and reinstalling multiple times. All to no avail. I recieve a yellow caution symbol in the Device Manager List. I also installed a functioning floppy drive (as this machine had none) and it is not being ID'd either when I go to My Computer or in the Device Mgr. Any suggestions ???? I appreciate any help at this point. Thank you in advance...ckl

Note: I changed both ribbons. The A Drive is now recognized and fully functional but the CD Drive remains inop......ckl

Add Note: I attempted to download a Flash update from the manufacturer. I followed all of the instructions and immediately recieved a "Target not found" Error... I was also perusing the Registry Keys and see an entry for Veritas CD record Now that should no longer be on the system (as it didnt' load either) is is safe to delete that folder ?????

One Step Further: Thinking it might be a pin problem I connected an external CD Writer (albeit and older one) via my USB Hub. I went to the manufacturer website and downloaded the drivers for XP. When I attempted to have the system accept them from the folder, I received the same error message as before. I am thinking this is a Software issue not a hardware one ...any ideas out there.?????

 

Hi and welcome to the BBS,

I was hoping someone else might jump in on this one. Stuck optical drives are a PITA

Modern optical drives should not need "drivers ", as such. They run off a Windows driver "layer" called the ASPI layer.

First try booting to a bootable CD, like the Windows CD (you may need to set the CD to boot before the HDD in the BIOS settings). If the boot CD works then the problem is in Windows.

You have uninstalled burning software before (Veritas CD Record Now), the trouble is that burning software modifies the ASPI layer. Try looking through Add/Remove Programs and if you see any programs related to burning software, uninstall it. If the drive starts to read CDs, install the burning software that came with the new drive.

Let us know those results. There are ways of resetting the ASPI drivers and a registry reset of the drive's "filters ".

Matt

 

Matt

Thanks so much for the input ... I will pursue your Plan of Attack and let you know what turns out ...This one was getting the best of me ...grazie....ckl

On your advice I went to the Adaptec website and purportedly downloaded the ultimate ASPI fix for XP but still no joy.....Will try again tomorrow......Carl

 

Need to change my classification..

After reading extensive Q's and the replies I am ready to revert to Neophyte status with regard to my computer expertise.... As I inherited this machine and unfortunately don't have a reboot disk, I realize many of my options become much more limited. I also realize how much I don't know about the formats and configurations and how they affect peripherals and the like. As I am running XP should my hard drive be formatted FAT32 or NTFS ??? Suddenly sounding like a dummy doesn't feel so bad anymore.... ckl

Note: Acting on the ASPI tip, I did some research and downloaded an XP compatable ASPI update and a check tool. The check tool confirmed the latest version present but the system still has no response other than showing new malfunctioning hardware and the inability to access the drive for driver updates or operability......ckl

 

Success !!!!!!

Matt

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction ... Your suspicions were correct ..it was indeed a registry problem... I found in my research that the problem I was experiencing is common for anyone who had versions 5.0 or earlier of the Easy CD Creator... Apparently the previous owner of this machine did.. Well when it is removed it corrupts the upper and lower values in the below listed registry and they need to be removed using regedit... the procedure is as follows :

1. Run > regedit >
2. Locate the UPPER FILTERS value under the following key registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

3. Highlight in right panel > on the EDIT menu , click DELETE, and then OK

4. Locate the LOWER FILTERS value on the same menu

5. On the EDIT menu, click DELETE and then OK

6. Exit Registry Editor and restart the computer


Again ...Thank you for putting me on the right track . I have full control of my system and the new DVD Burner is 100% as advertised ....It was indeed a SOFTWARE issue afterall......Carl

 

FAT 32 or NTFS probably depends on the level of security you want. In NTFS you can administer different levels of security and use file encryption. DOS based systems cannot read NTFS systems. I don't have a need for high security, I don't keep any sensitive data on the system and I want to be able to use DOS based utilities on it, so I choose FAT32. If you going to store anything sensitive use NTFS. [Further] If I was going to use NTFS (say, with file encryption) I would use a "disk imaging" type of backup or RAID 1, otherwise if you had to recover your data at some stage you could be locked out. I can't relate the details about hacking and it's relation to NTFS, but a good firewall is required (for details ask or search in the Security forum).

The ASPI seems OK, but if you end up still stuck, think about using the 4.6 version here:
http://radified.com/ASPI/forceaspi.htm

The method for resetting the upper and lower filters:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320553/en-us

You should try booting to a boot CD, you may do these (not insignificant) changes only to find there is a problem with the system (BIOS) communicating with the drive. Windows disks are bootable, from at least Win 98SE onward.

You can go to Device Manager and uninstall the IDE Controller, it will be automatically reinstalled when you reboot. Look for updated drivers for the IDE Controllers, these will be an update for the chipset/motherboard drivers.
Everest in my signature should give you details about the system.

A "manual" reset. Go to Device Manager and uninstall the IDE Controller. Go to CD/DVD drives and uninstall that/those. Shutdown and disconnect the cables to the drive. Boot into Windows, check the IDE controllers have been reinstalled and there is no listing for the burner (also check for any other drive controllers, if the system, say, has a SCSI controller installed, this could block the ASPI drivers from resetting, I am not sure about SATA controllers). Shutdown and reconnect the cables to the drive.

Matt

 

Matt

I am up and running and installed a second CD Drive since I had the room and the system is running smoothly...I could never have done this alone ..and will be hanging around this website for a long long time ....again your help and advice was invaluable .....all the best ...we can consider this thread successfully closed......Carl

 

You posted while I was making up that last reply. That's great. I've seen that work several times now.

I won't change the last post, maybe it could prove useful for someone else.

Well done

Matt