Dvd and Cdr drive problems and reinstalling windows xp

Question

My computer has a DVD drive and a cd rewriter drive. My problem is that my DVD drive stopped

functioning. I tried all the trouble-shooter wizards and uninstalled the drivers for it and

then reinstalled them. It was still not functioning. I decided to re-install windows. So

I deleted the hard drive partitions with fdisk to clear the hard drive then inserted the

windows xp install cd into the remaining functioning cd-r drive. I re-booted and found that

the cd-r drive would not boot from the cd. I tried using F12 to bring up the boot menu and

told it to boot from the cd. It would still not boot from the cd. I now have a computer

without an operating system, a cd drive that wont boot from a cd , and a broken dvd drive.

I would be so greatful of any help anyone could give me.

DELL-Cody · Answer

Power off and unplug the system, and then remove the cover. Swap the connections between your faulty DVDROM drive and your CD-RW drive; reconnecting the DVDROM drive is not necessary if it has already been troubleshot as defective. Replace the cover, and power on the system. If you place the Windows installation disc in the CD-RW drive and use the boot menu to boot to the CDROM device, it should now be able to boot from that Secondary Master drive.

jake23uk · Answer

I have tried what you said, swapping the cables round but the connecters on the end are too close together. I tried only connecting the cd-r drive and unplugging the dvd drive but the doesn’t work either.  I did notice that the jumpers on both drives are on the same position.  I am wondering why the machine has worked perfectly since new (about 5 months ago) with the jumpers in that position. Aren’t they supposed to be on different settings.  If you hold the machine upright they are both on the left most pair of contacts out of the three pairs. I am not sure which position is which. I cant get the power connecters out of the back of the dvd drive to get it out of the machine!

jake23uk · Answer

I forgot to say that when I unplug the dvd drive and try to use only the cd-r drive on its own the computer freezes at boot up.  The progress bar at the very start under the dell logo freezes. It clearly needs both drives for some reason. Is there any setting that I can change to make it accept only one drive?

DELL-Cody · Answer

Ensure that the connector that was previously plugged into the DVDROM drive is now plugged into the CD-RW drive. Enter the System Setup (BIOS), highlight Drive Configuration, and press Enter. Change Secondary Drive 1 to Off. If not listed as Auto already, change Secondary Drive 0 to Auto. Press [ESC] to move back to the main menu.

Turn on all the L lights on your keyboard (including Num Lock, Scroll Lock, and Caps Lock). With those three lights lit, press [ALT+E]. Then, press [ESC], and Save Changes and Exit. The system will reboot; try using your bootable Windows CD in your CD-RW drive at this point.

jake23uk · Answer

Yeh I tried that and it worked. Thanks  I managed to install windows.  I plugged in the dvd drive afterwards and changed the bios so it would look for it but I reckon the dvd drive is totally broken.  I also noticed now that the a: drive isnt registering. I dont think there is even power getting to it.  I tried reseating all the cables, but nothing!! It never rains but it pours doesnt it?

Storage, Drives & Media

Dvd and Cdr drive problems and reinstalling windows xp

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