{MOVED}drivers for dimension 5150 cd/dvd drive

padyboy,

Try reading...

Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs

Rick

I checked out the website you recommended.

I have two drives listed under cd-rom in device manager. One lists dvd+-rw, the other specifically mentions Toshiba.

Each also lists many numbers/letters which I do not understand.

As stated previously,I do not have Internet access on this Dell Dimension 5150 computer!!!!

Thus I cannot access the "Fixit" site as you recommend,

That is why I require the cd-rom functioning to install drivers for the usb network adapter I recently purchased.

Please take this into account in future posts.

I appreciate your assistance with this problem.

Padyboy,

There are no drivers for the CD/DVD drive. They are supplied by Windows.

If you need to install a wi-fi driver, then you should download the driver on another computer, save it to a flash drive, then install it onto your 5150.

Once you have fixed that, then connect to the internet and run the Fix-it utility.

Good luck!

Can anybody here explain why my CD-ROM can read a DVD movie, but not a CD????

This is curious.

I must know this before proceding.

Thank you.

AFAIK each format requires a different laser. If the CD laser is malfunctioning, the drive will read DVDs but not CDs. In that case, you need to replace the drive; Newegg has a Sony unit on sale for $17.

If Windows can't find a driver for an optical drive, the driver cache may be corrupted.

Out of curiosity why did you system restore? Was it because of problems with the CD/DVD? Did you by any chance update the drives firmware, it broke a drive for me in the same manner.

One way to test if it is software or hardware would be to insert your Dell Windows XP Reinstallation Home or Professional CD. If you have MCE it comes on a DVD so it would not be valid for the test. In the case of MCE make a bootable Linux CD on your other system for the test. Power down your system. Power up and press F12 at the Dell BIOs screen. Select boot from CD/DVD. If it can boot from the CD then the drive is fine and it is a software issue within Microsoft Windows. If the Windows setup begins to load, cancel it.

In the case of it being a hardware issue i.e. unable to boot from BIOs a lens cleaning CD may be able to wipe off some specks of dust on your lens and allow the laser to read CDs again. This sometimes fixes some issues. Otherwise you should replace the drive.

If you don't use the drive for playing CDs much you can convert the necessary Drivers and WIndows CDs to DVD. In the case of your USB adaptor driver disc, you may copy the CD to a DVD using imgburn on your other unit and use the DVD instead of the CD. Take a .iso image of the CD and then burn it. You could also copy the files to CD.

In the case of your Windows Reinstallation CD you can copy all the contents to a folder on your desktop, update it with nlite, create a .iso and burn it to a DVD by following the instructions here.