WinXP no longer recognizes CD-ROM and DVD-ROM - HELP PLEASE

[asher67]

I'm running WinXP Home Edition on a Dell Dimension 4400 (Pentium 4). About
2 weeks ago, shortly after installing the Windows update for WMDRM-enabled
media players, both my CD writer drive and DVD-Rom drive disappeared from my
configuration. In the Device Manager, both appear, but with Error Code 41
and the tell-tale yellow error marker. I've followed the instructions in
the Windows XP Inside Out book, which tells you to uninstall the drivers and
then reinstall the hardware, to no avail.

I've tried a few other things, as well. I've uninstalled the devices
through Device Manager, then shut down the computer, then physically
uninstalled the two devices by disconnecting the physical connections, then
restarting, then shutting down, then reconnecting the devices. This did
nothing. I also tried installing another CD drive I had sitting around,
only to get the same error code. I've replaced the internal cable, as well.

I also tried to do a Restore, but none of the Checkpoints work. I've
uninstalled the update, rolled back Windows MediaPlayer (which apparently is
affected by the WMDRM update), then re-updated MediaPlayer to Version 10,
without the WMDRM update.

Can anyone suggest what the problem might be? Does it have anything to do
with installing the update, and, if so, what are my options?

 

[Guest]

CD-R Drive or CD-RW Drive Is Not Recognized As a Recordable Device
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q316529

 

[Guest]

The below requires editing the Registry.
CD-R Drive or CD-RW Drive Is Not Recognized As a Recordable Device
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q316529

 

[asher67]

Thanks for the suggestion. I checked out the article, and it appears to be
limited to recordable drives. My DVD drive is not recordable, so I checked
some related articles. I found this one, which corrected the problem
immediately:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314060

It is interesting in that it links the removal of CD recording software from
the computer, which results in the inability of Windows XP to recognize CD
or DVD drives. I still question whether the installation of the WMDRM
update, which I was told limits or restricts the ability to copy certain
media files, is seen by Windows XP as the removal of CD recording software.
Whatever the cause, the deletion of the UpperFilters value and the
LowerFilters value in the designated key corrected the problem.

Thanks again for your help.