DVD drive stopped working

[tviman]

We have a PC in our office that has a DVD RW drive that stopped working. It's been working flawlessly for several months. Device manager sees the drive, there are no conflicts that I can see, but when you place ANY disc (DVD or CD) in the drive and try to read it or write to it, a messages appears telling you to insert a disc.

The drivers are current and there is no 3rd party burning software. I've removed the UpperFilters and LowerFilters from the Registry but they are not replaced after restart. If I place them in manually then the drive is not recognized.

If I place the drive in another machine, it works!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated - I'm running out of hair to pull!

Thanks...

 

[BadBigBen]

I've removed the UpperFilters and LowerFilters from the Registry but they are not replaced after restart

they will not if you do not deinstall the DVD drive after that from the device manager and do a reboot then...



Ben

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

 

[vacunita]

Since you mention t works on another PC, it might be the IDE cable its connected to on that PC, have you tried using another one see if it works?

Also Try using a Linux Live Cd, and see if it can be used from inside Linux, if it can, then its a Windows Problem.

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[linney]

Are you saying that removing the Upper and Lower Filters causes the drive to work correctly on the above mentioned original machine?

If so, why replace them (Filters) at all?

DVD devices not seen in my computer
thread779-1481404

 

[tviman]

Thanks for the responses - below are comments/answers...

BadBigBen - DVD was uninstalled after removing the filters.

Vacunita - that was my first thought - didn't make any difference. I have no doubt it's a Windows issue.

Linney - Removing the filters causes the PC to not see the drive on reboot. If replaced manually, the drive is seen by the PC but has conflicts in Device Manager. Trying to resolve the conflict runs you in a circle... perform the first "fix" causes another conflict that, when resolved, causes a second conflict that, when reolved, causes the first conflict to return.

As it stands now, I can take the drive (as is) and install it it another XP machine and it works flawlessly.

Considering drinking heavily.....

Thanks for any additional ideas.

 

[BadBigBen]

As it stands now, I can take the drive (as is) and install it it another XP machine and it works flawlessly.

have you considered, to just go ahead and switch the drives from one PC to another (provided they are different types/make)...

other suggestion would be, to dissect the registry for any entry relating to the drive (helpful here would be the VEN&DEV numbers, aswell as the ident string that windows generates (both can be found under the device description in the device manager))...

another suggestion, place drive on another IDE channel or set it to slave with a Master if it is set as Master, vice versa if it is a Slave drive... this causes Windows to rerecognize the drive and thinks it is a new one...

Ben

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

 

[linney]

Is there any firmware update for your DVD drive? Is it seen in the Bios? Talking of which, perhaps setting the Bios to Safe Defaults might help? Can you boot from any XP CD ,or similar booting media, just to eliminate hardware as a cause?

Can you see it in Safe Mode?

 

[tviman]

Thanks for all your suggestions - which I have tried (most of them, anyway), but I am no closer to a solution than when I started. Let me give a little history about this particular machine and it might trigger something in someones mind...
This is a W2K machine upgraded to XP Pro SP2, then to SP3. 2 physical hard drives - 160GB and 250GB set as master and slave; Floppy disc; DVD burner; 1gb of memory; Creative sound card; voice modem; scsi adapter for an Epson scanner.

All devices were working fine until last week when the DVD stopped working. Windows sees the drive in any state, the drive is in Device Manager as it should be (even says it's working properly), but when you place a disc in the drive, nothing!!! In My Computer, the drive is there but whn you try to open the drive (double-click on t), it asks to insert a disc, even though one is already there.

I've replaced the drive with a BRAND NEW drive and the same thing happens. If I take the "non-working" drive and put it in another PC, it works fine - no issues at all.

I'm stumped...

 

[tviman]

Thanks for all your suggestions - which I have tried (most of them, anyway), but I am no closer to a solution than when I started. Let me give a little history about this particular machine and it might trigger something in someones mind...

This is a W2K machine upgraded to XP Pro SP2, then to SP3. 2 physical hard drives - 160GB and 250GB set as master and slave; Floppy disc; DVD burner; 1gb of memory; Creative sound card; voice modem; scsi adapter for an Epson scanner.

All devices were working fine until last week when the DVD stopped working. Windows sees the drive in any state, the drive is in Device Manager as it should be (even says it's working properly), but when you place a disc in the drive, nothing!!! In My Computer, the drive is there but when you try to open the drive (double-click on it), it says to insert a disc, even though one is already there.

I've replaced the drive with a BRAND NEW drive and the same thing happens. If I take the "non-working" drive and put it in another PC, it works fine - no issues at all.

I'm stumped...

 

[linney]

I admire your persistence, I would stop the hair pulling after getting one of the alternate drives to work and find a good home for the nasty drive.

If I knew anything about "jumpers" I'd tell you to look at those settings.

Installing a DVD drive...

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread8292.html

 

[BadBigBen]

I tend to agree with Linney, I would have gotten a replacement DVD drive by now (they are cheap these days)...

have you installed any software before this happened with the drive, e.g. Roxio, or other DVD burn software?

Ben

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

 

[wahnula]

Sounds like an oldish PC with lots of hardware and an "upgrade" history, good candidate for resource conflicts. I'm with the crew, get a DVD drive that's new...and save what's left of your...

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[tviman]

All -

I agree with all of you - and that's what the plan is now. However, the logical part of me can't seem to let this go.

The drive IS BRAND NEW! In fact, it's the second "brand new" drive I've tried. I can take any "unnew", "known working" drive I own and it still doesn't work in the PC in question but I can take any drive that doens't work in the "PC" and it'll work in any of the other 15 PC's I maintain.

I do a lot of this kind of thing for a living (along with a lot of other computer related chores) so it's not like this is new to me. I learned a long time ago that when it comes to problems like this it doesn't necessarily hurt to have a bunch of chefs in the kitchen.

So, if you happen to suddenly wake up one night with an "aha!", you know where to find me.

Thanks for all your collective help and ideas!

 

[wahnula]

Take a look at this: thread602-1356640

It might have already been covered, but maybe a light will go on...

Tony

Users helping Users...

 

[cckens]

My piece of advice...
Have you replaced the IDE cable? Judging the age I assume it's IDE. Since IDE cables are as thin as they are it could have a minor nick or crimp in one line... try to replace the cable if you're unsure. Happened to me, and it was the last thing I tried because I just couldn't think that it would be that. We tend to just swap the device in the box and ignore the cable itsef...
If you have swapped it, please disregard...

cckens

"Not always my best shot, but I hit the target now and then"
-me

 

[BadBigBen]

cckens, good call... I tend to forget that other unlike me, do not switch out cables when they replace DVD/CD/HDD's in boxes, so I take it for granted...

Ben

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

 

[tviman]

Replaced the cable a long, long, long time ago. But I'm getting closer to solving this mess. There's a codec named msg723.acm that was in every place it should have been but one. (How it got "removed" is anyone's guess.) Anyway, after I reinstalled it in the correct registry area, I'm getting beautiful sound from the drive using a music CD. Am in the process of getting the video portion of things working again. Will let you know when it's all done!

Thanks for all the input and helpful advice - I now know more about DVD's than one person ever should!

 

[tviman]

Just an update...

This turned out to be a false alarm, or a goose chase... whichever you want. The brand new drive turned out to be defective. After returning this drive to the reseller and replacing with another BRAND NEW drive, it, too, turned out to be defective. So, I packed up the entire computer and went back to the computer store. The owner thought I was crazy so I let *him* install a 3rd new drive. It, too, was defective!!! Turns out that all 13 of the drives he had in stock were defective!!!! (HP model...) So we put in a Pioneer drive and all is well now.

I want to thank all of you for your efforts and support. This was so frustrating but it gave me good excuse to continue drinking!

Thanks again!!!

 

[wahnula]

Turns out that all 13 of the drives he had in stock were defective!!!! (HP model...) So we put in a Pioneer drive and all is well now.

Whooda thunk it??? I guess that what happens when prices drop so far they take quality control with them. I've heard of back-to-back new-in-box items that were defective, but this takes the cake.

Glad you were resourceful enough to take the box in with you and get satisfaction. There is still some issue with the box if, after all, old drives that work in other PCs don't work in your PC...but that's for another day.

I have some vintage optical drives from 1999 (with the volume knob & headphone connector) that refuse to die, I use them over & over again...yet an Asus Lightscribe drive lasted about eight months. They sure don't make 'em like they used to !~

Tony

Users helping Users...