CD/DVD-R Drive does a disappearing act

September 12, 2008 2:52 PM

MY CD+-RW/DVD+-R drive has been acting funky for a few months. When I put a CD/DVD in it, the drive itself functions, opening, closing, lighting up, etc. Unfortunately, it doesn't do anything from there. The drive isn't shown in My Computer, but it's there in Device Manager. I can't get anything from my DVDs or CDs, burn any CDs or DVDs. It's extremely frustrating and I am at my wit's end. What happened? Did the drive die? Here's a picture of the device manager with the pertinent info and iTunes saying that no burner is found. I start a radio show on Monday and I need to burn mp3 cds!

Computer Specs: Dell Dimension C521 running Vista 32x

if any other specs/clarification are needed for a diagnosis, let me know and I'll post them

I have no clue why my DVD/CD drive shows up as two seperate things, I only have one physical drive.

posted by alcopop to computers & internet (13 comments total)

I apologize, I messed up on formatting this question.
posted by alcopop at 2:54 PM on September 12, 2008

If the device isn't properly showing up in the Device Manager, iTunes or other software won't pick it up. That's normal. But when the DM starts reporting hardware incorrectly, or a previously-functional device drops off, you've likely got one of two problems, the latter of which is unfortunately more likely than the former.

1) Windows is screwed. This just happens. Try reformatting or doing a system restore to before you started having problems.

2) Your drive is malfunctioning on a hardware level. It's not totally dead, or the BIOS wouldn't pass on the existence of the drive to Windows at all, but it's still bad.

The reason I say that the latter is more likely than the former is that you aren't reporting general system instability. If your system were also running incredibly slowly or crashing all the time, you might have a corrupted system file. But since you appear to be otherwise stable, it's probably your drive.

Have Dell fix it. Give 'em a call.
posted by valkyryn at 3:00 PM on September 12, 2008

There something wrong with it under Windows, hence the Warning icon showing up on device manager. DVD burners are cheap, toss it and get a new one.
posted by wongcorgi at 3:01 PM on September 12, 2008

My Dell warranty expired in May. Is there a way to extend the hardware warranty? Is "limited warranty reinstatement" the hardware warranty?
posted by alcopop at 3:12 PM on September 12, 2008

AHA! The device driver couldn't be loaded.. experimenting with it now.
posted by alcopop at 3:34 PM on September 12, 2008

I wouldn't bother with a warranty. DVD burners are around $25 now.
posted by wongcorgi at 3:40 PM on September 12, 2008

I'd really rather not have to purchase/manually install anything.. The problem has changed. The device drivers are missing/corrupt (according to "device status"). When I try to run the one from Dell Support, it tells me I have no drive. How can I install new drivers without using the drivers? Device manager says I have the most current drivers. This is driving me insane.
posted by alcopop at 3:47 PM on September 12, 2008

In Device Manager, right-click on the flaky drive and select Uninstall. Restart the computer. Windows will prompt you to install the "new" hardware and will offer to find drivers for it. Let it find the drivers and install them. Restart and see if there is any change in how the drive appears in the Device Manager and if it works.
posted by bonobo at 4:24 PM on September 12, 2008

I uninstalled the drive and restarted the computer, but I never got a prompt. Opened up device manager, and it's the same as before I uninstalled the drive.
posted by alcopop at 4:47 PM on September 12, 2008

Yeah, your drive is definitely hosed. You don't have to do it yourself. Take the thing to Best Buy or something. Or find a local repair place. It's really simple. It isn't under warranty, so you'll have to pay for it, but wongcorgi is right: optical drives are ridiculously cheap. A branded Dell part will run you $30, but you can stick pretty much any part in there you want. With labor you're still looking at $50 or less.

I'd go with either Sony or Pioneer. Reputable manufacturers, reliable, parts. TomsHardware has an article supporting that conclusion. You can even get a color that will match, if you care about that.
posted by valkyryn at 4:59 PM on September 12, 2008

for anyone else with a dead drive who needs installation, firedog ($30 circuit city) is cheaper than geek squad ($50 best buy). I think I'm going to go with this drive. Thank you all for your help!
posted by alcopop at 9:29 PM on September 12, 2008

I've had this exact problem intermittently for the past year or so. It's something related to XP and particular models of DVD-RW drives (that are common to lots of different brands of computers). Even though you're running Vista, it might be the same problem. In any case, try the following before replacing the whole drive outright.
NOTE: the instructions are for XP, I have no idea what the equivalent terms/menus/etc. are for Vista.

1. Click on START button, the click on RUN
2. Enter REGEDIT and press enter
3. When REGEDIT starts, open up the following folders
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
SYSTEM
CurrentControlSet
Control
Class
{4D36E965-E325 -11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
4. After clicking on {4D36E965-E325 -11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} you should see two settings on the right-hand side:
"Upperfilters"
"Lowerfilters"
Click on each of them, press DELETE and click YES.

Then close REGEDIT, shutdown & restart your PC

I just fixed the same problem on my laptop earlier tonight; it's the second time I've had to do so in the last year. Also, try Googling "disappearing CD drive Vista" and variations. Good luck.
posted by seldom seen cid at 10:50 PM on September 12, 2008

This made a mounted virtual drive show up (which I had previously disabled, but eh) but no dice on the optical drive. I remember seeing these instructions with more steps elsewhere so I'll check that out and then buy a new drive if nothing works.
posted by alcopop at 8:12 AM on September 15, 2008