I have a machine on my network that read cd's fine up
until last week. It has a Sony DVDROM and a Sony DVD-RW.
Niether drive will autorun or recognize media unless I
first update the driver. Then all is ok until the next
time the machine is booted. Any ideas on what could have
gone wrong? No new hardware or configuration changes have
been made on this machine recently.

Thanks

I fixed it using a repair function on the Windows XP disk. It seems like it's doing a reinstall but nothing else on the hard drive seems to have been affected

Make sure that your bios is set to boot from the CD drive. Boot from the disk and follow the prompts to repair the program files. When the prompt comes up to boot from the CD you need to press a key within a few seconds or it boots into normal Windows. The repair doesn't mess with any installed programs or desktop settings and the removeable drives come back to life. You'll need the original product ID tag and you'll need to register the software. The whole process takes less than 30 minutes. I found an instruction sheet if anyone wants the detailed steps. Just email me

I only hope that whatever happened doesn't come back. Good luck