# Solved: Can't play CD's or DVD's on my Gateway laptop



## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

I have a Gateway laptop and I am running Windows XP, and I am unable to play DVD's or CD's on it. I recently hooked it up to my T.V using a SVGA cable and was wondering if maybe this could be the reason. I might have accidently changed something. 

When the disc is put it i can hear it start up and start to run but nothing happens. Could this have something to do with my ATI Catalyst (R) Control? Is this a driver? I believe it to be the cause, but really don't know.

Thank you


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

Can you go to "my computer" and double click the drive and get it to run.
If so,it is autostart that is probably disabled.


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## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

I'm not sure what you mean. I went to "my computer" and all i see is "shared documents", "owners documents", "local disk (c", and "local disk (d.

Where can i find this "autostart setting" which you speak? Would this be located in ATI Control panel? Or could this have to do with the 3rd one down from "my computer" called "set program access and defaults"?



Thanks


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

ATI software is for the video card.
If your CD/DVD drive is not showing in my computer,then
it has a problem and is not being detected for some reason.
Right click "my computer" and click properties.
Click the hardware tab then the device manager button.
There should be a listing for cdrom drives.
If it is there click the + to expand the listing.
If the drive shows there,right click on it and click uninstall.
Then restart the computer so it will be redected.
If the drive is not listed or does not work after
uninstall and redetection,there is a problem with the drive.


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## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

Okay i followed your steps and did find the drive. PHILIPS DVD+RW SDVD8820. Do i really want to Uninstall it? What programs or functions might this affect. Sorry i get a little nervous when performing tasks like this. My laptop is very precious to me lol. If you say it's okay i will proceed.

Thanks


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2007)

The uninstall will only be temporary.
Make sure there is no disk in the drive.
That's not critical,but sometimes a disk can hang the drive.
As soon as the computer is restarted,windows will redetect
it and reinstall the drivers.
Hopefully it will show up in my computer afterwards.
It is possible that what you were doing could have corrupted
or hung the driver.
If so this will correct that.


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## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

I uninstalled it. Didn't seem to do much as far as showing progress that it was being uninstalled, but it did seem to disappear from the list under "device manager". Anyway i turned off my computer by using the "restart" instead of the "turn off" not sure if that matters. 

It still is not showing up under "my computer" but does appear to be back in the "device manager". I did however have a disk in even tho you said not to. Ooops. Should i take the disk out and try again?

Also i right clicked on the drivr under "device manager" then properties and saw this message: Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)
Click Troubleshoot to start the troubleshooter for this device.


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

Remove the CD and try the uninstall again.
If it's still not detected, give us the full model number of your laptop, or go to the Gateway site and look for a driver, although it shouldn't really be necessary.


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## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

Okay i took the disk out and tryed again. Several times actually. Still not working. I did use the "Add Hardware Wizard" after uninstalling and down in the left hand corner got several messages: "New hardware found", and "A problem occurred during instillation the hardware may not work properly". Is it being detected, and if so is it corrupted?

Can i just uninstall it and get a new download. I looked on gateway but didn't see one. I believe i saw the same program PHILIPS DVD+RW SDVD8820 on a Google search Dell site i believe. Would this fix it?

Thank you


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

Can't help without the model number, which is why I asked for it.
Your drive may well be dead as it shouldn't need any drivers.


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## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

Sorry forgot. Model MX6447.

Model # MA3.....I hope that's right.


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## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

Thank you both for your help. You pointed me in the right direction. I would have never looked where you told me to. I searched for the error code and then found the following tool. It fixed it in 5 minutes. I put the link here for others with similar problems. There were several things wrong. 1) Class filter drivers corrupted. 2)Device wasnt working properly duh. 3) Media wasn't readable. So it was corrupted.

Thanks again were a big help. You got me where i was able to fix it. Thanks

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cd_dvd_drive_problems


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## lordsmurf (Apr 23, 2009)

If this was a blank CD or DVD, then maybe it was always bad.
Remember to only buy the best blanks: http://www.digitalFAQ.com/reviews/dvd-media.htm

Know that most "name brands" are not very good discs.


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## DANIELLEW (Aug 7, 2010)

Well everything is working fine now. The tool from Microsoft worked great. Now if i just knew how it became corrupted. I'm not sure, but i recently got a USB Flash Drive from Toshiba with an update for my T.V which i did plug in to my laptop. I didn't do any uploading or anything tho. I guess we'll never know what caused it. Thanks again.


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## Hughv (Jul 22, 2006)

This problem is often caused by having multiple burning programs.


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