Vanishing CD/DVD drives

Hi,

I'm having problems loosing my drives. Periodically my CD/DVD drives stop working. To get them to work again I have to remove my CD/DVD drives from Hardware Setup, and then reboot. The reboot finds new hardware and installs the drivers. That makes them work for awhile, until I have to repeat the process. I use XP and I have installed all current patches.

Anybody have any idea why this happens and what to do to correct?

Thanks.

 

Hi Lbaisden and welcome to the BBS.

Why? Windows has missed something when they are supposed to be loaded (they may not be being seen by your BIOS).

Fix. I would change the IDE configuration. My configuration would be:
HDD's on IDE 1 (primary channel). CDrom as master on IDE 2 with DVD as slave on IDE 2 (secondary channel). (Also reseat the connections of the cables to the motherboard). This may require changing drive jumpers and cables.

If this may be out of your experience, see if you could get someone to help (IT people at work maybe?).

Matt

 

Thanks, Mattman,

That's the way they are configured now. Only difference is a second hard drive on IDE1 secondary. I've checked the connections. It seems as if either the drivers aren't loading when I boot, or after loading they are getting overwritten.

Next time it happens I'll just reboot rather than removing them and see if that cures the problem. Won't be any closer to the answer but ...

Thanks again,

Lbaisden

 

Drat...

A change in configuration may still do the trick. Try swapping the CDrom and DVD as master/slave. That may let the BIOS/Windows see them better. It is probably in their firmware, but some opticals "like" to be set one way or the other and will stop other drives being recognised.

Apart from that your Windows may need some repairs (not running the correct startup files?)

Matt

PS: Speaking of firmware. Check the manufacturers websites for firmware updates. If you find them, check they are the correct one for your model, then follow the instructions carefully. (A bad firmware update can render the drive unworkable.) They are easy to do though.