Lost ALL CD\DVD Drives

[Sam]

Hi

I was tinkering in Virtualdub to capture video from a VHS tape. There was a
setting that I was curious about and when I clicked on it, the screen went
black and then it rebooted a few seconds later. When it came back into
windows, I noticed that all my CD\DVD drives (hardware & emulation) were
missing from windows explorer. Vdub doesn't install so I cleaned out the
registry, hoping that whatever setting I changed would be deleted. Checked
it after a reboot but it didn't work. I went into the device manager and
uninstalled all the drives and shut down. Physically disconnected all the
drives and powered up. Waited a minute or two and shut down again to
reconnect everything. When I got back into windows, my SCSI CD burner showed
that it was re-installed and everything was working ok. The emulation drive
had an explanation point on it and the DVD-Rom as well as the DVD-burner
doesn't show up at all. Even though the SCSI drive installed and the 'Device
Status' says that everything is working properly, it doesn't show up in
windows explorer (none do). I tried using the Hardware Wizard but it didn't
detect it and when I tried to manually set it up, CD\DVD were not an option
to install. I can't do a roll back because I have system restore disabled
(had to temporarily for something else I'm working on). I'm stumped. Does
any one know what else I could try beside reformatting? Thanks.

 

[Sam]

Oops! I got a little trigger-finger there. I didn't even see the other post
with the same problem, a few down - sorry. Thanks Claggy for the pointing to
the handy util, it worked great for me.

 

[Guest]

Hi Sam, before you ran the fix utility, can you remember if there was any
sign of life in your cd/dvd drive? did the eject button work, could you find
any connection to the cd/dvd drive at all? I explained my proble (Chloe, a
feww posts down) to someone today and they told me that it was most likely my
CD/DVD drive had died and would need to be replaced.

I'm a bit scared to run a program on my computer in case I make matters
worse so any info would be very much appreciated.

Thanks
Chloe

 

[Sam]

I had some major issues with adobe also and just got it straightened out
last night. As far as your CD\DVD drive question - yes, mine were
operational. If you have more than 1 drive installed and they all 'appear'
dead, it's likely that they are ok and just need to be reset. If you only
have 1 drive, that's another story. There isn't a need to be concern about
running the utility that Claggy suggested, it's perfectly safe. Sometimes
the registry can become corrupted and the information is therefore
incomplete. All this utility does is delete information related to the
drives, (nothing else) so XP can re-identify the hardware and set it up
again. However, being that your drive appears to have no power, it's likely
that XP won't see it. I have had drives in the past that looked dead but
were not. So, the first thing you could try is installing the drive in
another computer. Feel free to ask if you don't know how to do this, it's
not difficult. I'll check back often today.

If you don't have access to another computer or you found out that the drive
did work in another computer, you could try these steps. Go into the Device
Manager (Control Panel-System-Hardware tab) and uninstall the drive. (Second
button from the right in the toolbar - computer with an 'X' on it) Then run
the "XP_CD-DVD-fix.exe" and power down the computer. Open the case and
disconnect the 2 cables (Interface and power) from the drive. Power up and
let it sit for a minute and then shut it down again. Re-connect the cables
and power up. If the drive is ok, you should see the power light come on
when it boots. If not, then your drive is probably dead. If you do have
power, XP will re-install the hardware and you should be good to go. Good
luck.

"Chloe"
| Hi Sam, before you ran the fix utility, can you remember if there was any
| sign of life in your cd/dvd drive? did the eject button work, could you
find
| any connection to the cd/dvd drive at all? I explained my proble (Chloe, a
| feww posts down) to someone today and they told me that it was most likely
my
| CD/DVD drive had died and would need to be replaced.
|
| I'm a bit scared to run a program on my computer in case I make matters
| worse so any info would be very much appreciated.
|
| Thanks
| Chloe
| --
| Your help is very much appreciated, thank you
|
|
| "Sam" wrote:
|
| > Oops! I got a little trigger-finger there. I didn't even see the other
post
| > with the same problem, a few down - sorry. Thanks Claggy for the
pointing to
| > the handy util, it worked great for me.
| >
| >
| >

 

[Guest]

Wow, thank you. I have never really messed with the insides of my computer,
other than adding a couple of RAM chips so if you can help me by explaining
how to test or replace this cd/dvd drive that would be great. I am about
ready to buy a new one, they're not that expensive I just need to be sure I
get one that will fit and work in my PC. I have a Dell Dimension 8300 and I
think the CD/DVD Drive is SAMSUNG CDRW/DVD SM-352F. I'm not bothered about
getting the same drive just one that will work and will fit.

Many Thanks
Chloe

 

[Sam]

OK. You might want to print this out. Please read everything first and grab
a med-size Phillips screwdriver. (a flash light is handy too if working in a
dim room)

Unplug the power cable going into the case. You probably already know this
but just in case. whenever you are working with electronic parts, you want
to make sure that you discharge yourself from static-electricity by touching
anything metal on the case. It's better to work at a table rather than
sitting on the carpet and wear something rubber on your feet like sneakers.

Open the case like you did when you upgraded the ram. You should find your
drive near the top right of the case with 2 cables connected to it. The
cable closest to you with the 4 different colored wires is your power cable.
The other (wide) one is your interface cable. (Or if it's a SATA burner then
it's usually a small red cable with black connectors) Starting with the
power cable using your left hand, put your middle finger and thumb on the
sides of the white connector (plastic piece that is inserted into the drive)
with the index finger on top. Usually they are in real tight, so wiggle
slightly left to right as you pull the connector out. Make sure that you are
not pulling on any of the wires, this is important. Also, do not pull up or
down, pull directly left - away from the drive.

IDE interface cable: If you see a flexible tag connected to the plastic (the
part that is inserted into the drive), use this to disconnect the cable.
Otherwise, pull the cable out the same way as you did with the power cable,
while wrapping your other fingers (ring & pinky) around the cable. Again, be
careful not to pull up or down, pull directly left and wiggle slightly if
you need to. You can pull somewhat with the cable itself but most of the
pulling should be from the plastic connector. For the SATA cable, just pull
from the black connector piece and not the cable itself. It comes out easy
most of the time.

If you can test the drive in another computer or you tested it and it's
dead, all that's left to do is take out the 2 sets of screws on each side of
the drive and then slide it towards the front (right) to get it out. Some
cases will have a plastic covering in front that prevents taking out the
drive. If this is your situation: with some, all you need to do is pull
while others require that you lift up a tab and then pull. Otherwise, it's
connected by a couple of screws.

To re-connect the drive in another computer or replacing it, the steps are
in reverse order. Add the drive from the front and put the screws back in.
Next interface cable. It can only go in 1 way and the little plastic bump on
the cable should be facing up or north. If you look at your drive, you'll
see where it fits into. When you connect this, it's important that it goes
in evenly. Meaning, don't push one side in first and then the other - both
sides should go in evenly at the same time. Just like when you added ram -
you pushed on both ends evenly to snap it in. Line the cable up with the
drive and slightly push using 3 fingers (placed one on each end with one in
the middle) to get it started. When you know that it is 'evenly' on all the
pins, then apply additional pressure till the cable is flush (flat) against
the drive. Sometimes you have to push hard but don't do this until you know
that everything is lined up first. For SATA, look at the end. Notice that
the conncetor is kind of shaped like a 'L'? Use that to line it up. The
power cable only goes in 1 way too. Match up the round corners of the
connector with the round corners on the drive. You're good to go. If I was
unclear about something, let me know.