So my CD/DVD drive keeps disappearing

[fishwax]

For the last month or so I have had a problem with my DVD-RW drive not being recognized.

The first time I noticed that the drive icon was not appearing in the "My Computer" file, I followed a troubleshooter on the HP site (link below). The first step was to restart the computer in the Setup mode to make sure that the device appeared there. It did.

The next step was to restart the computer in System Recovery mode and check for the drive at the command prompt. I did that, everything checked out, and when I restarted the computer again Windows now recognized my device. All things go.

But the next day, the drive had disappeared again. I have since repeated the steps several times, when I needed to run the drive for one reason or another. It always appears again upon startup, but after a little while it disappears again. I no longer go through the first step (the setup mode), but just skip right to the System Recovery mode.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? It would be quite convenient if I could use the CD drive without having to repeatedly restart my computer :)

Thanks in advance!

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=367282&dlc=en&docname=bph07146#bph07146_win

[Berserker]

1. What operating system are you using?

here is a fix for ME and 98se http://groups.google.com/group/alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit/browse_thread/thread/1e13dce373cf3a0b/af5fd59334d37ca3%23af5fd59334d37ca3

[fishwax]

4. Windows XP

[RoyGBiv]

2. Picky, picky, picky ...

What, you want your computer should actually work? No, no, no...we don't do that here. We just sell you a box.

Sorry ... I was channeling Dell tech support for a minute.

Anyway, seriously, in my experience this is usually caused by some sort of software problem, possibly a driver/device conflict between two different CD/DVD burning applications or a CD/DVD emulator or a "burn on demand" application. (I forget the name of the one I had on my Windows system, but it came bundled with Nero and caused all sorts of issues.)

Do you have Nero installed, and/or did you have some previous version of it installed at some point and then installed a new version or a different program?

If it is what I think it is, this is basically a registry issue. Nero has some tools to help you fix it, if that is the problem, but I wouldn't recommend doing that just yet until we've narrowed it down a bit.

[fishwax]

3. indeed, so hard to please :)

Dell :eyes::rofl:

I don't have Nero installed at the moment, though ... This issue did arise after I rebooted the system, and (if I remember correctly) the problem was popping up before I even re-installed any of my own software (with the possible exception of itunes).

[samdogmom]

6. Installation of some of the latest iTunes updates have caused CD/DVD

drives to disappear. You can read about this problem and suggested solutions in the Apple iTunes discussion forums. The fix usually involves editing the registry to remove or add upper and/or lower filters. Here's one relevant thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1455694? Use the search function to find more relevant threads. Good luck!

(I apologize, I can't get the whole message address to stay in my reply so the link works properly. The link will take you to the Apple discussion pages. Just type in "CD Drive Disappeared" in the search bar and in the "Restrict by Category or Forum" pull down menu scroll to "iTunes for Windows" hit search and then read some of the threads that come up.)

[Nomad559]

5. That happened to me once

I solved the problem by re-Installing the firmware for both of my DVD drives. Go to the manufactures website for your DVD drive (and any other CD drives you have) and download and Install the latest firmware for your drives.

:)