How to get rid of a nonexistent CD-ROM drive

[peppermonkey]

Hi,
this ones strange and I believe the problem may have to do with the registry
but since I know nothing about that I really can't say.
In any case my computer has two hard drives, one DDS tape drive (SCSI), one
Jazz drive and one DVD-RW.
I have two problems that may or may not be related.

1) Explorer lists a CD-ROM drive in inclusion of the drives mentioned above.
Ie. a non-existent drive.
In Device Manager the only conflict it sees is for my game port for my old
Creative Labs Audigy LS. Under DVD/CD-ROM drive it correctly lists my DVD-RW.
I'm not sure how long it's been there but for a while anyhow. I didn't
bother with this because other than being annoying everything seemed to
work...till now...

2) My DVD-RW all of a sudden stopped working. I stick in a CD. Vista does
not see it. If I run something that expects a CD/DVD, it tells me nothings
has been put in even if I had. As mentioned not sure if these two are related
but it may be?
What I do know is that I was using the DVD-RW just a couple of hours before
playing a game. For no apparent reason (no errors etc.) it just stopped
working. Reboot does nothing.

point of note: I used to have a Netgear SC101 network (non NAS) storage
controller hooked up but this caused all sorts of problems including messing
up the drive letters so I just put that off line a few days a go.. Whether
that has anything to do with it, I haven't a clue.

And another point. Even if I physically disconnect all drives EXCEPT my hard
drives, the CD-ROM drive still gets listed under Explorer.

Anyone have any ideas on how to 1) get rid of the CD-ROM drive and 2) fix my
DVD-RW drive?

 

[Carlos]

Hi,
I think they are all unrelated.
1.- Gameport
Not supported officialy in both Vista x86 and x64.
There is a workaround for Vista x86 in Vista forums in www.creativelabs.com
or www.soundblaster.com (or both).

2.- Non-existent CD-ROM drive.
It may have been mounted by some CD emulation software you installed, like
Alcohol or something like that.
It ain't physically there, but it is logically.
Only the uninstallation of that software will remove the virtual drive.

3.- Non-working CD/DVD drive.
This is a known issue.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060
It is for XP but it also works for Vista.

Carlos

 

[peppermonkey]

Hi Carlos,
thanks for the reply.

1) Yup, I only mentioned the gameport to mention that there were no related
conflicts in the device manager when looking for it.

2) Lol, duh! I should have thought about that one. It's so obvious once you
mention it. Thanks. That problem is fixed.

3) strange. I did something similar to the manual removal part of it which
didn't do a thing before I ended up doing a system restore...well, I'll try
method 1 and see what happens.

Thanks again.

 

[peppermonkey]

Well, followed your advice for 3). The guide you can download and run did not
work but the link was for Windows XP. Found the Vista version
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929461 and followed that.
Deleted the upper and lower filters as it says and rebooted. Doesn't seem to
help. My DVD-RW still does not seem to read any CD/DVD I stick into it and
always tells to to put in a CD/DVD (which it already has).
Any ideas?

 

[Carlos]

Hi,
I once had that problem and my only solution was a System Restore to a date
when the DVD drive was working fine.
It is your last shot or, at least, my last bullet.

Carlos

 

[peppermonkey]

I sure hope it's not my last shot Unfortunately I have already tried
system restore but there was no restore points going back far enough to fix
this problem. I think with all the stuff I tried to get this done, it created
too many restore points recently. Is my only option to reinstall Vista? Or
can anyone think of a last, last bullet

 

[Carlos]

Hi again,
Ok, this one will require a screwdriver.
Go to Device Manager and remove/delete your non-working DVD/RW drive there.
Turn off your PC and unplug it from the wall socket.
Not it is time for the screwdriver.
Open the PC case and disconnect the DVD/RW drive data cable, either IDE or
SATA.
Plug the 110 volt power cable back in the wall socket and turn on your PC.
Let Vista "see" that there is no DVD/RW drive (check that in Device Manager).
Turn off your PC and unplug it again.
Reconnect the IDE or SATA cable back to the drive.
At this moment I would try to connect the other end of the data cable to
another spare SATA port or IDE port, if available.
Otherwise, leave it where it was already.
Close the PC case again (screwdriver time!), we won't be opening it again.
Turn on your PC. Crossing your fingers is allowed at this stage.
Once Vista has finished booting and the hard disk seems to have decided to
stop spinning, go to Windows Explorer and see if the drive is present.
Check if it is working with a known good CD-ROM or DVD.
Best of luck!
Carlos

 

[peppermonkey]

It's funny, I was just thinking about doing such. You seem to be always a
step in front of me
Anyhow, tried and didn't work.
..
..
..
but what did work was a slight variation.
I did the above but instead of pluging in the DVD-RW back into the
motherboard I instead put it into a USB enclosure. Did this to test it out on
another computer to make sure it actually does work. Of course it does work
so I attached it to my Vista machine as a USB device. Bingo. It detects
correctly and works. So power off again I go, then plug it back into the
motherboard. And there you have it. Vista finally accepted my DVD-RW. Can't
believe the hassle I had to go through in order to get something as simple
and common as a DVD-RW to work. Makes me wonder if the Vista I bought wasn't
such a smart idea. Oh well. In any case...

Just wanted to say thank you so very much for all the help you have
rendered. It was greatly appreciated and I wouldn't have gotten it to work
without it. Thanks!

Hubert