# Solved: DVD/CD Drive not recognized



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

I've done all the usual things, uninstalled it, deleted upper and lower registry entries, updated drivers, and bios, even deleted Itunes. Still nothing. It shows up in the device manager with no errors, couldn't find it in BIOS, and it is not in My Computer. It lights up, spins, then does nothing.

I did notice that when I was editing the registry, AFTER deleting the upper and lower entries, I have 3 sub entries under that main one. Here is a screen shot










I don't know if that has anything to do with it...Also I doubt it is the drive as I have two and they both do it on this computer. Any help would be appreciated.


----------



## Goku (May 17, 2007)

Hello Tattoo. Let us give this another try.

Please download the attached archive and extract it. If you are unsure on how to open the archive, use the instructions from *here* and continue. After you have extracted the archive, you should obtain a file labeled *Fix CD Drive.reg*. Double-click on the file and you will be asked whether you want to import the information into the registry or not. Answer *Yes* to the prompt and sometime later another dialog box will pop up informing you that the operation was successful. After you have done the above, reboot your computer. You should now be able to access and use your CD drive.

*Note:* Please *backup your registry* before you apply any of the above changes so that we can revert back your system to working condition if something goes awry.

*Note:* Using the above registry fix might cause some programs to dysfunction or work incorrectly. In that case, please reinstall the affected programs to resolve their respective errors.

Hope that helps. 

-- Goku


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Downloaded and tried...no luck...Still nothing...Driving me insane...


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

How about creating the restore point, then deleting those registry items? Would I be able to restore the registry with the restore point if something goes wrong?


----------



## Goku (May 17, 2007)

> How about creating the restore point, then deleting those registry items? Would I be able to restore the registry with the restore point if something goes wrong?


Yes Tattoo. I will meanwhile search for an alternate fix. 

-- Goku


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Thank you for your time...


----------



## anafam (Nov 25, 2008)

A) did you check to see if the gray data cable (the one you use to connect the dvd/cd to the motherboard) is connected firmly to your cd/dvd drive 

B) Maybe you set Dvd/cd drive interface to "off" or "disabled" in the bios.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Sorry I never mentioned it is a Toshiba Laptop. And no, I had it working once by updating the driver, but it stopped after a few hours and hasn't come back yet.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Deleted those registry items, did nothing...Restored back....Deleted SP3 thought there may have been a conflict.....did nothing...

Gonna double check the Bios and see if there is something I'm missing, but this is crazy...I know it's a software issue probably something stupid not checked off....


----------



## Goku (May 17, 2007)

OK, its time we delve deeper into the registry.

Please download the attached archive and extract it. If you are unsure on how to open the archive, use the instructions from *here* and continue. After you have extracted the archive, you should obtain a file labeled *Fix CD Drive.reg*. Double-click on the file and you will be asked whether you want to import the information into the registry or not. Answer *Yes* to the prompt and sometime later another dialog box will pop up informing you that the operation was successful. After you have done the above, reboot your computer.

*Note:* Please *backup your registry* before you apply any of the above changes so that we can revert back your system to working condition if something goes awry.

*Note:* Using the above registry fix might cause some programs to dysfunction or work incorrectly. In that case, please reinstall the affected programs to resolve their respective errors.

Mind you, I have changed the base code, so it might be well worth the try. Let us know if it helps or not. Good Luck. 

-- Goku


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Cannot import. Not all data written to the registry. Some keys are open by the system or other processes. 

Got the above error message when attempting to add to the registry.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Also caused my mouse and keyboard to stop working. Restoring it back now.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Well this is a pain now.....Now I can't use the mouse and keyboard, and can't use system restore to fix it.......Hmmmmmm Effectively I have a dead computer....I can't do anything with it nowbecause the cd player doesn't work either....I need help fast.. I just want to get it back to where it was with a functioning keyboard and mouse...


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Will I be able to remove this hard drive and install it into another computer and access the registry or system restore? I need to know as now I have a useless laptop sitting here, and it will be hard to explain to my friend how I ruined his computer. 

If I install it as a slave, can I change the registry to the good registry?

Please help.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Anyone want to take a stab at this, or am I all alone on this one?


----------



## Goku (May 17, 2007)

Hello Tattoo. My most sincere apologies for the trouble. I myself was left locked out of the computer after I tested the fix. Seems something went wrong with the base code. Please use the instructions from here to revert the changes and see if it helps or not.

*How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting*

Once again, my most sincere apologies for causing the harm. I didn't intend it. Also, if you have backed up your registry, then slaving the drive and accessing the backup should restore your registry to working condition.

Please let me know if it helps or not. 

-- Goku


----------



## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

I've removed the attachment, registry fix, per request.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Yes no problem...It gave me an excuse to buy a 2.5 sata to usb docking station. The Microsoft fix requires a CD drive to run the repair, I'm assuming I need to do something different since the harddrive will be running as a slave in a seperate computer. Do you have a link to a site that would show me how to do it this way?

Thanks.


----------



## Goku (May 17, 2007)

> Yes no problem...It gave me an excuse to buy a 2.5 sata to usb docking station. The Microsoft fix requires a CD drive to run the repair, I'm assuming I need to do something different since the harddrive will be running as a slave in a seperate computer. Do you have a link to a site that would show me how to do it this way?


Thank you for forgiving me Tattoo; I really appreciate it. And sorry to sound stupid but what do you want the instructions for? A very good article that tells you how to slave your drive is located *here*. Please let me know if you were looking for something else; I will try my best to search it for you.

Hope _that_ helps. 

-- Goku


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

When I slave the drive, I'm going to have to change the registry on the slaved drive. How do I do that.


----------



## Goku (May 17, 2007)

Hello Tattoo. Are you able to boot into the computer and operate it in *Safe Mode* or not? Also, do you have your Windows XP disc?

-- Goku


----------



## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

If the CD/DVD appears in Device Manager with an error code associated with it, try the following solution.

Download  CDgone, right click on the downloaded file and choose Extract All, then double-click on *cdgone.reg* Say "Yes" to the merge question and then reboot. See if the drives have returned. You may have to re-install CD burning applications, since they're the ones that tinker with the filter setting in the registry that caused the drives to disappear.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

I cannot run any cd's in this laptop which is the original problem, but I do have a Windows Xp CD. I have at least 5 different computers in my house that I can use to assist, but I can't get into Safe mode, can't type anything, and can't click anything. I've tried using different keyboards and mice, but nothing works. 

I would imagine I'd have to wait until the 2.5 SATA to USB dock comes in. Then I could hook it up and be able to edit things again. But I don't know how to get the good registry into the place where the bad registry is.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

There are no error codes associated with it. It looks fine in there. Ive tried uninstalling it, and reinstalling it, but nothing works. At this point, I just want to get it back to working order and be done with it. I'm just trying to get my keyboard and mouse back.


----------



## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Can you boot off the CD? It doesn't rely on Windows or any drivers so it should work unless the drive itself is faulty - and that be a good test if you boot off it.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

No, the CD drive isn't even recognized in the BIOS, but it is under Device Manager. I've tried putting in the windows cd, but it just goes to the harddrive. I've tried two seperate drives, both do the same thing. The drive spins up and opens etc...I had the drive working fine at one point, but then aftera day, it went right back to being gone.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Is system restore something that could be edited in Linux? I mean could I change the files around, so it uses the original good restore point?


----------



## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Its a problem if it isn't recognised in the BIOS. Have you checked all the BIOS settings? Does it appear in the Boot order in the BIOS? If its attached to a 3rd party IDE controller then it would appear in a separate BIOS for that controller.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Triple6 said:


> Its a problem if it isn't recognised in the BIOS. Have you checked all the BIOS settings? Does it appear in the Boot order in the BIOS? If its attached to a 3rd party IDE controller then it would appear in a separate BIOS for that controller.


I'll post up a picture of it when I get home from work, but it does show up in the Boot Sequence order, but not in the first page where it lists the hard drive and cd. It says none where the CD drive should be listed. I'll throw up some pictures after.


----------



## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Yup, so it would be on an additional controller on the board that has its own BIOS. Just make sure that the drive or that controller are set first in the boot order to have the system boot from it.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

When I set the cd drive first, after a few seconds, it skips and goes right back to the hard drive. It tries the cd, then floppy then to harddrive.

Anyone got any idea on how to fix it once I slave the drive? What files to edit or change?


----------



## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

These instructions from above: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545 can be used by attaching the drive to another computer, its just that the drive letter will no longer be drive C.

Or you can use this method: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Ok, thank you very much...I used those Microsoft articles, and restored the drive using the SATA dock that I bought...Nice $41 toy that will come in handy in the future. But I got it back, and am still at square one. I WILL NOT make any registry changes anymore...Lesson learned. Any other ideas though on getting this drive to work? I'm gonna try all the BIOS updates and controller updates from the Toshiba website, but I don't know what else to do...


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

OK, I tried all the Bios updates, and driver updates....But still nothing. It does not show up under the BIOS or the Device Manager....I'm just about done.


----------



## tattoo3852 (Nov 30, 2006)

Well, I don't quite know what it was....I tried a couple of little things, reseating the drive, deleted upper and lower in registry again (since I did the restore) and it is working...

Thank you to all who tried to help me. Even though I had to spend $41 dollars out of my own pocket, it taught me the lesson I should have already known about messing around with the registry...Thank you all again..


----------

