I know how you feel, my new dvd/cd drive works fine, but my original cd/dvd
combo drive has the same issues> autoplay not working, won't read cd's/dvd's
untill reboot etc. etc.. I think xp is overwhelmed by all the different
brands of cd/dvd drives, each problem becomes too unique to sort out, easy
for some, not so for others. sorry for not being of much help.......sk810 4
s8tan
"Nico Smith" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:A7754F6F-6F74-4C55-A2AF-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I apologise for posting this problem again, but surely someone should be
able to bring me closer to the answer. Please!
>
> Thanks
> Nico Smith
>
> Both my Samsung CD-RW and my Sony DVD Drives worked perfectly for a while
after I first installed Win XP (first without S/P 1). Then suddenly both
mysteriously developed the following quirk:
>
> If I boot up normally, with no media present in the drives, both the CD-RW
and the DVD Drive refuse to read the data on any CD (music or data). XP does
see the drives, as they are indicated in Explorer as a CD-RW and DVD drive
respectively. However, the moment I put a CD in either one, the designation
in Explorer changes to "CD Drive" instead of CD-RW or DVD Drive, and they
refuse to read any data. They would now refuse to auto play also. When I
click on either one in explorer, they do not spin up at all, and no data is
displayed. If Nero is opened, the CD-RW sees the CD as empty, as it requests
whether or not the user wishes to save data to it. (Both are set to auto
play in My Computer and the designation in the registry
(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom) is set to (1).
>
> If, I boot up to SAFE MODE however, both would read any CD. Obviously
music CD's then don't play, as the correct sound card driver has not been
loaded.
>
> If I place CD's in the drives FIRST, and then boot up, both read data on
the CD's as normal. They also continue as normal when I swap CD's, no
problem.
>
> Obviously this is a very perplexing and frustrating problem, and I found
it very difficult to isolate either the cause of this problem or the fix.
Although there are scores of users with related problems, as can be found on
this forum, none of the proposed solutions that I came across worked. I
found many identical responses to this problem from Rich Barry. He actually
seems to be physically connected to his PC, just monotonously pasting the
same answer over and over. I did uninstall the drivers and allowed XP to
detect the drives again after rebooting, but it makes no difference however.
Rich would leave us all much richer if he would rather refrain from posting
this solution.
>
> So I took a day off from work and decided to format partition 1 and
reinstall Windows and all my software systematically for the FOURTH time in
an attempt to try and isolate the cause of this problem.
>
> After formatting and reinstalling XP (S/P1 this time), I rebooted and
tested both drives. They both worked perfectly. I then started installing
all required drivers one by one, after each installation rebooting and
testing the drives. Everything still fine. Then I installed Nero Burn 6.0
before any other software, because I reasoned that it might possibly
interfere with Windows. However, still no problem. Then I installed all
other software, after each installation rebooting and testing (took me all
day!) Still no problem. Then I installed a UFDS utility that is used to
split my 128 Mb USB 2, SAHARA flash drive into a private and public
partition. Again I tested, still no problem.
>
> Then I found the cause! I disconnected the flash drive and booted up. THE
PROBLEM REAPPEARED. I've now tested this several times. If I connect the
flash drive BEFORE I boot up, both the CD-RW and DVD drives read the
inserted media fine. If I boot up without connecting the flash drive first,
they do not read the media at all after a CD is inserted.
>
> NOTE 1:
> If I insert CD's in the drives BEFORE booting up, but not the flash drive,
the drives also read the CD's fine.
>
> NOTE 2:
> I have two flash drives - an older 16MB USB 1 drive and a 128 MB USB 2
drive. If I connect the USB 1 drive before booting up, it makes no
difference, the problem is still in evidence. It is only when I connect the
USB 2 drive before booting up or place CD's in the trays before booting up
that the CD's work properly.
>
> Now I believe I am a step closer to the problems of probably most people
with related CD problems on this forum. However, I still do not have the
final fix, just a 16th century getting around the problem solution. Most
probably this has to do with the way in which XP allocates drive letters to
the different drives, I don't know, but since I am just an average user, not
an expert, it would take me some more time off from work to figure this out.
>
> I would now really appreciate it if Microsoft would apply their minds to
this problem and come up with a solution. I've read a reply on this forum
from presumably a Microsoft engineer (so assumed because he responds very
regularly, and seemingly with authority, to queries on this forum) wherein
he came across quite patronizing and sarcastic in his response to a
frustrated user. I my opinion he (they) (Microsoft) should maybe maintain a
lower profile on this matter, and rather be sympathetic towards people who
did pay (in my opinion) an exorbitant price for an operating system that is
not working properly. (This problem does not occur in Win 98 as far as I'm
aware).
>
> If someone could please propose a solution to this matter, other than
suggesting that I should uninstall the drivers and allow XP to detect the
drives again after rebooting, I would really appreciate it.
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