CDRW-DVD-RW drives won't recognize data/video CDs

Hi, curtda:

"Won't read" means what? Are you trying to read the disc contents in Explorer? Or are you just trying autoplay?

Thanks for responding!  When I input a disc in either drive, my computer doesn't display the CD.  When I double click on the drive with the CD, I get the "please insert a disc into drive E:."

Hi curtda. :smileyhappy: Since the drives tested fine on the hardware side I'd like you to run the Microsoft DevCon program using the steps outlined below. Also, have you installed any games recently?

1) Go to this link and download the DevCon package under More Information: Link to DevCon Program

2) Run the downloaded file and when it asks where you want to unzip it type C:\DevCon

3) Close the Unzip window

4) Click Start and type Command Prompt in the Search box

5) You should see "command prompt" listed in your search results so right-click on it and choose Run as administrator and then click Continue on the box that pops up

6) You should see a DOS window so type cd\ and press Enter so that you are looking at c:\

7) Now type cd devcon\i386 and press Enter

8) Type devcon stack gencdrom and press Enter

9) You should see a list with the details on your optical drives

10) Right-click on the DOS window and click Select All

11) Then ctrl-c on the keyboard to copy the information

12) You can then post it here so we can take a look at the filters (you can edit out any lines that are not needed once you paste it into a message just as I did below)

13) Type exit and then press enter when you are done with the DOS window

C:\DevCon\i386>devcon stack gencdrom
SCSI\CDROM&VEN_PBDS&PROD_DVD+-RW_DH-16W1S\4&25A200F8&0&000000
    Name: PBDS DVD+-RW DH-16W1S SCSI CdRom Device
    Setup Class: {4d36e965-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318} CDROM
    Class upper filters:
        GEARAspiWDM
    Controlling service:
        cdrom
    Class lower filters:
        PxHelp20
SCSI\CDROM&VEN_TSSTCORP&PROD_DVD+-RW_TS-H653F\4&152875E7&0&010100
    Name: TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-H653F SCSI CdRom Device
    Setup Class: {4d36e965-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318} CDROM
    Class upper filters:
        GEARAspiWDM
    Controlling service:
        cdrom
    Class lower filters:
        PxHelp20
2 matching device(s) found.

williamkid,

I didn't delete any of the text just to make sure you see all the good stuff!!

Thanks!!! 

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Curt Douma>cd\

C:\>cd devcon\i386

C:\DevCon\i386>devcon stack gencdrom
IDE\CDROMHL-DT-ST_DVD+-RW_GWA4164B_______________E113____\5&286E6A4&1&0.1.0
    Name: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GWA4164B
    Setup Class: {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} CDROM
    Upper filters:
        redbook
    Controlling service:
        cdrom
    Lower filters:
        imapi
IDE\CDROMSONY_CD-RW__CRX217E_____________________1DS2____\5&286E6A4&1&0.0.0
    Name: SONY CD-RW  CRX217E
    Setup Class: {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} CDROM
    Upper filters:
        redbook
    Controlling service:
        cdrom
    Lower filters:
        imapi
USBSTOR\CDROM&VEN_HP&PROD_PHOTOSMART_DVD&REV_NU01\7&283B6B1B&0&MY76RB701004YH&1
    Name: HP PhotoSmart DVD USB Device
    Setup Class: {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} CDROM
    Upper filters:
        redbook
    Controlling service:
        cdrom
    Lower filters:
        imapi
3 matching device(s) found.

C:\DevCon\i386>

Curt, thanks for working through the instructions despite the fact that I gave you the ones better suited for Vista. :smileyhappy: The only differences between using those instructions on Vista compared to XP are Steps 4 and 5 but I see now that that could be confusing. On the plus side, I now see that you are using XP which I didn't see mentioned earlier.

What you will notice here is that there are no class filters listed for your optical drives, only device filters (i.e. redbook and imapi). What that means is that if you do a regedit and check your registry keys for your DVD/CD-ROM drives you will see nothing listed and thus wouldn't be able to delete the upper and lowerfilters as is often suggested. On the plus side, there are no class filters shown that indicate the Sony "Rootkit" is installed. On the minus side, there are no class filters shown that would link your optical drive(s) to any programs that you may have installed, such as Roxio, iTunes, PowerDVD, etc.

The interesting thing from your original post is that the system is having trouble reading a program CD. I checked my Roxio (version 9) just to verify that it is in fact a CD and not a DVD saying it was a CD (stranger things have happened). What I would do here is run the Dell Diagnostics again and test the drives with that Roxio CD, if you didn't use that one the first time. Also test it with the movie DVD (if it's store bought and not a copy). Why I'm suggesting this is to make sure that the system can read both CDs and DVDs on the hardware side of things. For the DVDs it may be an encoder/decoder issue that can be fixed by using something such as the VLC Media Player but that shouldn't be the case with an application CD. I'm just wondering if that Roxio CD is still working correctly.

I also didn't see an answer to my question as to whether you had any games installed, including those which you may have uninstalled. Also, do you have any emulation software (e.g. Daemon Tools, Alcohol, Norton Ghost) installed or that you have uninstalled? In terms of the games if you had a game installed that had DRM protection (Starforce, SecuROM), uninstalling the game wouldn't necessarily uninstall the protection. I'm still trying to determine what side effects the protection has but there may be a possibility that the protection could be interfering with the normal operation of the optical drives.

At this point I would suggest running those tests that I talked about in the paragraph before last, if you haven't already, and then install the VLC Media Player. As a last resort I personally would use the Dell PC Restore by Symantec. However at this point I am not suggesting that because it would involve backing up all of the data files (pictures, documents, e-mail, etc.) and require that all of the necessary disks are available to reinstall all of the programs because it would reformat your hard drive and reinstall only those things that were on your system when you bought it. If you have any questions, let me know.

VLC Media Player (official site)

VLC Media Player (from download.com)

Sorry about not including the operating system (Operating system?  Yea...I got one!) and I am running XP Pro. 

I haven't installed any new games within the last 3 months, nor do I have any emulation software.  When I ran the Dell Diagnostics, I used the Roxio CD in the CD drive and a purchased movie DVD in the DVD drive. 

What will VLC Player bring to the table? (Not that I question your expertise!) 

One item that concerns me about PC restore is without either drive recognizing a data disc, I would have to back up on a flash drive, which I suppose isn't the worst thing in the world.

Thanks for your continued help!

curtda, let me answer your questions first and then I have a few for you. First let me say that if the discs tested fine with the Dell Diagnostics then it appears that the drives are working correctly. I'm still leaning toward something being wrong on the software side based on what I've seen so far. As for the VLC Media Player I think that I may have been thinking in the wrong direction. What the player would do is enable playback using a wide variety of decoders, some of which may not already be installed on your system due to the fact that it is XP. After some further thought, I don't think it's needed yet and may not be needed at all. My reasoning on this goes back to the fact that the Roxio CD isn't being read correctly. You shouldn't need a decoder for that and it should be usable even if the DVDs aren't playable.

Apparently there was some maintenance being done on the Dell Forums this weekend which appears to be complete so I'll continue where I left off.

As I mentioned the factory image restore is a last resort option so I'll get back to that if it gets to that point. For now though what I would like to have you check is the Autoplay options for each of the drives. I'm suggesting this only because you mentioned that you "uninstalled a bunch of programs" and what I am wondering is whether any of those that were uninstalled are still being referenced to in the Autoplay section for each drive. Go into My Computer and for each drive right-click on the drive (with no discs inserted) and choose Properties. In the Properties window click on the Autoplay tab and select "Prompt me each time to choose an action." If you end up having to select that option for either drive then try reinserting the discs to see what happens. Let me know what results you come up with.

It might also be helpful to know what programs were uninstalled so you might want to post that as well. That is when the drives started functioning incorrectly, correct? That might help in determining what steps to take next.

Hi, Curtda:

Ok, so as far as you know, both drives can read discs in diagnostic mode. Have you tried safe mode?

We solved this problem by uninstalling service pack 3.  I can read discs in either drive, but they are read only.  I will open a new discussion on that issue.

I don't know if this will work for discs not being recognised, but try either disabling the drive in Device Manager, or using the 'Safely remove hardware' option in Control Panel, then reboot the system?

The OS should find new hardware when it reboots, and install default drivers for it.

Try a disc again?

My computer is recognizing audio CDs ok but not data or program discs...

I read your posts and here is what information I gathered about my system: (any ideas for me?)

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\>cd devcon\i386

C:\DevCon\i386>devcon stack gencdrom
IDE\CDROMMATSHITA_CDRW/DVD_UJDA740_______________1.03____\5&32FA7F7A&0&0.1.0
    Name: MATSHITA CDRW/DVD UJDA740
    Setup Class: {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} CDROM
    Class upper filters:
        GEARAspiWDM
    Upper filters:
        redbook
    Controlling service:
        cdrom
    Class lower filters:
        PxHelp20
    Lower filters:
        imapi
1 matching device(s) found.

C:\DevCon\i386>