[Unable to locate DVD drive in Windows 7]

I am fairly certain if its listing Atapi devices that should include the CD drive. I have been trying to get more info and found the user manual but that was a waste of time, no info about bios settings other than changing boot order and some other minor settings.
I suspect the drive is faulty or has a bad connection. With power off and the battery removed take out the CD drive (examine the connections for any damage) and then reinsert it. It will probably only be held in with one or more screws from the underside of the case. Once reinserted re-boot and see if a found new hardware box appears on the desktop.

It may be necesary to install new drivers for the drive but with most drives windows automatically installs generic drivers, Ill investigate the drive as soon as I have time.

 

i appreciate all your help

 

As far as I have been able to establish Windows has generic drivers that should be adequate for this drive. The worrying thing is I haven't found a single forum thread relating to this drive that is much less than 6 years old. And this thread below includes a list of many CD/DVD discs that are not compatible with the drive. I have also read that it is not comatible with most high speed discs (and that was 6 years ago).

http://club.myce.com/f61/problems-qsi-sbw-241-please-help-am-tearing-my-hair-out-85280/

If my suggestions above don't get this drive to function I would advise you to replace it with a drive that is more up to date.

I never did ask, does the draw open and close? If so, when you insert a disk, can you hear the disc spin up? If it doesn't even open I would say it is dead.

 

the draw does open and close. LED light works, and it spins. i dloaded the driver and it said device not recognized. so im guessing its some kind of bad wiring connection??

 

That shows it has a power supply.

Have you tried removing and refitting the drive as I suggested in post 22.

 

yes, i tried that a couple times, same result.

 

Do you have another drive on any type you could stick in there temp to make sure that the connector and power is good?

 

no spare one lying around. i guess i got to buy a new one and see what happens.

 

Hope a replacement cures the problem, best of luck. I am out of ideas now. The only things not tried is to reset the bios to its defaults or to flash it with an update.

I suspect the drive is faulty, there is a connection problem or maybe a fault on the mother board.

Let us know how you get on.

 

ok i will let you know. no matter what i do with bios, reset, move cd drive, it always says usb cd drive. cd drive gets power, so what if it is motherboard? i gotta buy a new board?

 

ok i will let you know. no matter what i do in bios, reset defaults, move cd drive up, it always says usb cd drive. which i was told shouldnt be. what if it is motherboard? can an issue like this be repaired, or do i buy new board?

 

I did find this post that was from a thread about your model of laptop. Obviously this is only a shot in the dark but may be worth a try.

If it turns out to be the motherboard the board can be replaced but unless you do this yourself it may be cheaper to buy a new PC. I hope it just turns out to be the CD drive. If I had the laptop in my hands I could be more certain so I'll just keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

Aspire 5100-3019 optical drive

what was the oe optical drive that came with an acer aspire 5100-3019?

 

Why the new thread

Unless someone here has personal knowledge of this particular model of laptop you are not likely to get an answer. As with hard drives the manufacturer will often use more than one make of device in the same model.

The new drive you have does not work so it is likely that another new drive will not work either. Unless someone knows of a specific reason why the new drive might be incompatible with your laptop it is likely that there is a fault on the motherboard that is causing the problem or the connector is faulty. You might be better off trying out a USB device and seeing if that will function, that will at least save you from expensive repairs.

You might even be able to get a kit to convert the new drive to an external USB drive.

 

I had a similar problem when I had Vista (shame) and I installed iTunes, instantly (after a reboot) windows did not recognize ANY of my DVD drives, I had to, in the end reinstall windows.