CD/DVD drive no longer works.

[Flarecobra]

Ok, for some reason, my computer no longer recongizes my CD drive... any tips/advice for fixing it?

And any more info needed?

[Bells]

How old it is, Brand and recent Hardware/Software changes are all good clues to solve stuff like this

[Flarecobra]

Less then a year... Not sure as to brand... and no known changes.

No, I did not install this, it was the one that came with the computer. I'm trying to find out the brand though.

[Bells]

You see, the thing is, if it was just not working that would be a problem. But not Windows not recognizing the device is another set of problems alltogether. So what you have here is either a Cable related problem (dust, bad cable or even just the cable being loose) or a Drive problem (to which, if you could know the Model of your Reader, would make a breeze to check and see if it solves the problem.

The most basic thing you can do is just try re-installing the device and see if Windows see it that way.

[Flarecobra]

And how does one do that? It did not come with an install disk or anything.

[Bells]

It should be automatic, if you try via the Control Panel in the Hardware Section, add a new Hardware and let the PC id the device, if it Id by itself, just re-install it. If it doesn't, it means the PC is not "seeing" the device, so it just might be the cable itself.

If Windows see the device and still can't install it, then it's a driver you're lacking. Very rare for such a common Hardware piece, but in that case, you would have to go to the Manufacturer website.

[akaSM]

Can you see it in the bios?

Does the tray open when you press the eject button?

If it does open, can it make a CD spin?

[Flarecobra]

It does open. And maybe I need to open it up and reconnect the cable then... I'll try it tomarrow.

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Less then a year... Not sure as to brand... and no known changes.

No, I did not install this, it was the one that came with the computer. I'm trying to find out the brand though.

I had a similar issue, turned out I failed to set the interupt on the drive. Why it worked then stopped until I fixed it, is beyond me.

What your looking for is usually a small circuit breaker type thing on your drive. iRQ if I recall. As for where it needs to be, I had to consult my manual. However in my case I just removed mine & the drive was always secondary after that.

[synkr0nized]

Can you see it in the bios?

This would help to know, as well.

[Flarecobra]

I posted that at midnight, and I was starting to get tired. And I couldn't see the bios. They flash by too fast.

EDIT: Discovered why. Laser reader isn't working. I'm gonna need to replace it. >_<

[akaSM]

You can get to the bios almost as soon as you turn your PC on. Just turn it on and you should see something like "Press F2 to enter setup"

The key can be anything other than F2.

[synkr0nized]

Right -- the thing that "flashes by" is actually just the POST before the BIOS hands off control to the bootable disk/partition. Getting into the BIOS setup program itself should net you the means to look at the detected drives as well as information about your processor and memory among other tools. It's a good way to make sure your hardware is connected and detecting correctly/playing with each other correctly. If it is, troubleshooting efforts can likely focus on issues within the OS environment.


You can get similar information within the OS, too, however. Programs like CPU-Z and coretemp can make use of the same sensors and data on your motherboard and hardware that BIOS reports to provide you with the technical information you may be looking for; however in this case if BIOS isn't having trouble seeing your drive and the OS is any program run in Windows will have the same problem of not seeing it (at least I think this should be true).


Another thing you can do to check is put a bootable CD-ROM or DVD in the optical drive. If your BIOS is set to boot from the CD/DVD drive before trying hard drives, you will be able to see if it detects the disk and boots whatever it is you put in there. You can adjust the boot priority in BIOS to do this if needed without harming your computer's normal functionality.

Along the same path, you could use a live CD (e.g. Knoppix) to boot an OS from the optical drive and make sure things are working, but that's overkill in this situation.