PHILIPS DVD+-RW SDVD8820 does not read CD/DVD; please help!; tried Dell troubleshooting

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Hello,


I have gone through numerous threads related to this issue, so please read below with this in mind.


My Philips DVD+-RW SDVD8820 on my Inspiron 6400 is not reading CDs or DVDs.  It is no longer under warranty.  A few days ago I reformatted my hard drive and reinstalled the operating system (Windows XP Pro SP3), Dell drivers, and other software.  After I was almost done installing back my software through installation CDs, the drive stopped reading CD/DVDs.  I have had this problem before and previously resolved the issue by clearing the upper and lower registries either manually or through a program called CCleaner.  I removed all CD/DVD writing software before clearing the registries, except for Windows Media Player 11.  Today I  rolled back Windows Media Player 11 to Windows Media Player 9 and then removed as a Windows component and cleared the registries again.  The drive started working momentarily on a Palm software installation CD and then kept on making noise without progressing further in the copying files stage.  I could not get the drive to read again, it would just make noises as if it was about to recognize the media and then stop, and indicate that there was nothing in the drive.


I had not yet installed Roxio Creator or Sonic DLA software or other CD/DVD writing software.  So I am surprised that I am encountering this problem again, which is that when I put in a CD or a DVD, the drive attempts to recognize the media, spins, and then stops and the computer indicates that there is no media in the drive.  The same happens when the computer is in safe mode.


I had updated the firmware to this device from the Dell driver downloads (to AD20), and there are no strange question marks in my Device manager.  The BIOS (updated to current through the Dell driver downloads A17) recognizes the drive, and I ran a self-test/diagnostics during which the drive passed.  When I go to the Device Manager to the Secondary IDE Channel properties, the Device 0's Current Transfer Mode is (and has always been) Ultra DMA Mode 2.  There are a few details I am not sure are relevant, but I will mention them because I do not know what the values were before I started to have problems:  1) under the “Details” listed when I highlight “DVD-RW Drive (D:)” in the explorer window is the description “CD Drive;” 2) the Hardware listed under the “DVD-RW Drive (D:) Properties” is a “ST96023AS” Disk drive and the “Philips DVD+RW SDVD8820” DVD/CD-ROM drive; and 3) when I expand the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers entry in the Device Manager, the first entry is “Intel ® 82801 GBM/GHM (ICH7-M Family) Serial ATA Storage Controller - 27C4” before “Primary IDE Channel”.


I have gone through a number of steps to troubleshoot this new problem that cannot be resolved through clearing the registries.  I went through nearly all the steps in the Dell article #08366R4Y6V, including reseating the drive, but I did not have an extra known-to-function DVD drive to put in the drive slot to completely rule out a problem with the connection and I did not swap the IDE cable with a known good cable (I could not find instructions on how to locate the IDE cable to even check the connection and I am apprehensive about opening my computer).  I found an article that spoke of removing the “Multimedia” component of Windows components, but after I edited the sysoc.inf file, I only saw “Media Center” among other components that had been hidden, and I could not uncheck it.


Please help, I am normally based out of Haiti and am currently in North America so I would appreciate low cost advice on how I may find a solution.  I am on a very tight budget and I rely on using CDs to restore my OS and software instead of using the Dell restore CD or internet link.