Both CD-ROM & DVD-ROM drives stopped working

V

varois83

Hi

I own an aging Dell dimension 8200. Pentium 4 at 1.8 ghz. Running
windows XP home edition. HD has 127 GB available. 768 MB RAM.
My brother printer recently died, I purchase a new HP printer to
replace it.
I uninstalled the brother printer using the control panel and when I
went to load the HP CD-ROM it wouldn't autostart.
I tried my DVD-ROM drive which usually plays CD-ROM as well to no
avail. I tried other CD-ROM's which worked in the past to no avail (My
camera software and turbotax for example) and they don't work either.
I went into "My computer" to double click both these drives manually
and get messages telling me "To insert disc in device" while the discs
are in there.
I also went into "File-->properties-->autoplay" of both these devices
to make sure they were set on "autoplay".
I disabled in control panel-->system-->hardware-->device manager my CD-
ROM drive and restarted windows, re enabled the CD-ROM drive to no
avail.
One funny thing I load some of my own made "CD-R's" with data and
pictures and they autoplay fine.
I have installed the HP printer by downloading the software from the
HP site and it runs fine.
I am just wondering what is wrong with both my CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
drives?

Thanks a lot

Patrick
 
T

Tim Meddick

You seem to know what steps to take to re-enable autoplay.

A direct registry 'hack' is provided below, just 'copy and paste' the
following into the Run"" box on your 'Start Menu' or into a 'Command
Prompt' (dos-box) window :


reg DELETE
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer /d
NoDriveTypeAutoRun /f


(The above command should be all on one line but may not appear so due
to line-wrap. Please ensure that the command begins with 'reg' and ends
with '/f')

*Note - Please exercise care when editing the registry, always create a
backup and / or create a 'System Restore' point first.


However, even if you cannot get 'Autoplay' to start (which you should be
able to do with this command) you can *always* start a cd-rom that is
designed to start automatically.

First, open a file always called "Autorun.inf " (if present) in the
root of the cd-rom by double-clicking on it.

It will open in Notepad.

Then read the line : open= it usually looks something like this :
open=Startdir\Autorun.exe

....which means that the program that 'Autorun' will start, had it been
enabled, is the file "Autorun.exe" in the folder "Startdir".

So with this knowledge, thus armed, you can find this file and execute
it by opening the "Run" box on the 'Start Menu' and 'browsing' to the
"Autorun.exe" file (in this example).

This is exactly the same as autorun would eventually do.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London. :)
 
S

Singapore Computer Service

Hello,

The KB article 314060 is only if your drive is missing or not recognized. It
does not apply in your case.

I suspect that either the laser is failing or it needs cleaning. As you
mention, you are able to load CD-Rs that you burnt previously. Do audio CDs
work? How about other DVDs? By 'work', we mean that you are able to view
files in the drive via Explorer or My Computer. If the CDs work in other
computers but not yours, it is very likely a laser or wear and tear problem.

If they are quite old, they may need to be replaced.

__
http://www.bootstrike.com/ComputerService/
Singapore Computer Home Remote On-Site Repair Service
http://www.bootstrike.com/VHSVideoConvert/
Video Conversion VHS Video8 Hi8 Digital8 MiniDv NTSC PAL
 
P

Peter Foldes

Did you read the OP's original post. BOTH his CD and DVD drives (2 different drives)
went south after the removal of his older Brother printer.
I think it is not a case of a laser wear and tear problem. Classic case of Upper
and Lower filter issue most likely

He should try the fix in the KB I posted and see if that will rectify it or if not
the issue needs another type of fix .
 
S

Singapore Computer Service

Hello,

It could be that he never used any of the drives for a long time and then
suddenly discovers this flaw when he starts using them.

I understand where you are going, but it doesn't fall under the 'more
information' or 'problem description' of the page. Also, CD-Rs are still
readable which makes it more likely that the laser may be failing. If the KB
article is to apply, the drive should not be recognized or detected in the
first place.

Deleting upperfilters and lowerfilters may also cause problems with other
software.
__
http://www.bootstrike.com/ComputerService/
Singapore Computer Home Remote On-Site Repair Service
http://www.bootstrike.com/VHSVideoConvert/
Video Conversion VHS Video8 Hi8 Digital8 MiniDv NTSC PAL
 
P

Peter Foldes

Possible. We will need to heart back from the OP to see and continue. Sometimes
(most of the time) they do not post back.
 
V

varois83

Peter, Tim & Singapore

I am still here. I posted before to leave for the week-end and I just
got back. I will try some of your fix and will post back the results
here (Might take a day or two, I got so much going on).
Singapore about me not using the drives, it does not apply. I use them
all the times. The CD-ROM drive has been giving me problems recently
with some music CD's also (Like every 1 out of 7 or 8 won't run.)

Thanks again

Patrick
 
V

varois83

Hi

This is the original poster and I tried the 2 fix provided above and
nothing good or bad happened, both drives are still running CD-R's
fine but not commercial CD-ROM's or CD's.

"Peter Foldes

Follow the fix for this issue in the below MS KB "

I did and I let MS do it's thing, restarted PC, nothing new happened.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Tim Meddick

A direct registry 'hack' is provided below"

I entered the line on one line and did it twice, restarted PC and
nothing happened.

Does someone have another idea?

Thanks a lot

Patrick
 

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