CD-RW drive not detected

[JCGSTL]

My CD drive seems to have become invisible in certain situations.

When there is no CD in it, it appears as a CD-RW Drive. If I put a blank disk in changes to a CD Drive.

Right clicking and going to Properties does have a Recording tab, Enable CD Recoding is ticked and I can record using Windows CD writer but Roxio Easy CD does not detect that there is a recording device.

Similarly, when I plug in my Cruzer U3 drive Windows does not recognize its 'CD drive'. I have to open Computer Management, go to Disk Management, explore the drive and then run the launch file.

Any ideas? Many thanks

 

[BadBigBen]

possible corruption of the upper and or lower filters of the optical drive installed (registry)...

see: faq602-5328 for more info...



Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[JCGSTL]

Thanks for the link.
I tried the solution (I had to reset the values to 0 as I couldn't delete the key) but it doesn't seem to have made any difference.

 

[SimonDavies]

Perhaps have a look at

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts_desc/xp_cd_dvd_fix.htm

Doug has a number of useful utils on his site that do come in handy.

SimonD.

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[donb01]

Some thoughts... Disappearing CD drives have been known to be caused by virus/malware activity. When you have the problem (not recognized) if you go into System - Device Manager do you see any yellow caution flags on the device?

Have you scanned your system recently.

One of my last ditch efforts on occasion is to go into System - Device Manager and delete the drive. Reboot the computer and let windows find it and set it up again.

Do you have a full version of Easy CD Creator or one that was bundled with a drive? The ones that come bundled with a drive are sometimes hacked so they only work with that kind of drive and you can't hand it out to your friends.

 

[BadBigBen]

Forgot to mention that after the reseting of the value... you need to deinstall the drives from the device manager, and then reboot...

XP will reinstall them...

btw. now that I reread your Post, I believe it to be ROXIO that is causing this...

Drives are missing after install

http://kb.roxio.com/content/kb/Creator/EEZ000005

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[linney]

Did you try editing the Registry (deleting keys) from Safe Mode, or checking the Permissions, to see that your username has Full Control rather than just Modify Permissions?

 

[JCGSTL]

I logged on as the Administrator in Safe Mode and managed to delete the registry key. When I rebooted the CD-RW was shown under Unknown devices and appeared in My Computer as a Local Disk (which was running out of space )

Updating the driver, scanning for hardware changes and rebooting don't make any difference.

I guess I could reload the key that I backed up?

 

[BadBigBen]

I guess I could reload the key that I backed up?

no need, XP creates a new key, if there is none...

have you checked the ROXIO website (link I provided above) yet?

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[JCGSTL]

I tried the fix but it didn't seem to do anything - it executed very quickly, but maybe it would.

I'm going to try uninstalling the Roxio software and run their other patch and see what happens.

 

[linney]

CD Burner shows up as CD-ROM
thread779-1443088

 

[JCGSTL]

I now fell stuck somewhere in no-mans-land ...

I've tried several of the suggestions but the CD drive is recognised as a 'local drive' by My Computer, and Roxio still refuses to recognise it at all. Everytime I put a CDROM into the drive Windows helpfully announces that I'm running out of disk space!!

I can record using the Windows 'Copy to CD' option, and I do get a popup when a CD is put in the drive.

I appreciate all the help and suggestions you've all given me, but it looks as though I'm going to have to live with it.

 

[linney]

Your CD-RW drive is not recognized as a rewritable drive in Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=883523

Some general things to try.

Have you tried changing the drive letter allocated to the CD Drive to see if that stirs things up and gets it recognized?

Try setting the Bios to any Safe Defaults, or checking to see if any updates are available.

See if System Restore will get you back to a restore point before your problem with Explorer.

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Select both boxes.

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

If they don't work you could try repairing windows by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp

 

[BadBigBen]

The problem definitely lies with Roxio, as it is not recognizing the drives, this lets me believe that it does not have a correct driver for it...

you may need to update the software or ditch it completely and replace it with Nero or others...

Roxio supported CD and DVD drives

http://kb.roxio.com/content/kb/General Information/000044GN?set-locale=en

Blank Disc is not recognized

http://kb.roxio.com/content/kb/Creator/EE6000132

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[JCGSTL]

I'm afraid I've admitted defeat and will live with a CD drive that thinks it's a hard drive! Life's too short ...

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.