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josie023

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20 years ago

J

josie023

3 Posts

0

3802

April 23rd, 2006 16:00

CD-RW Missing

My cd-rw drive has disappeared. I have a Dimension L550r and am running XP on it. It dissappeared and is not showing up at all! Please help...
 
Thanks!
  • S

    Skybird

    10871 Posts

    197

    0

    Posted April 23rd, 2006 16:00

    Does it exist in the Device Manager?
     
    Start | Control Panel | System in classic view | Hardware tab | Device Manager

    Click on the (+) next to DVD/CD-ROM drives.  Is it there?  If so, right-click it and
    select Properties.  Is there an Error Code?
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    Message Edited by Skybird on 04-23-200611:16 AM

  • D

    dt63944

    9 Posts

    197

    0

    Posted April 23rd, 2006 21:00

    Check my post on IDE drives missing in XP which mentions uninstalling the IDE primary and/or secondary channels in XP. Googling "XP CD DVD device manager missing" will point to some Microsoft docs that might help.
     
  • S

    Skybird

    10871 Posts

    197

    0

    Posted April 24th, 2006 13:00

    Check that it is present in the Set-up (BIOS).  If it is there,
    make sure it is enabled.  If it is not in the Set-up, redo the
    connections at the back of the drive and at the motherboard.
  • J

    josie023

    3 Posts

    197

    0

    Posted April 24th, 2006 13:00

    No it isn't showing up in device manager.
  • D

    dt63944

    9 Posts

    197

    0

    Posted April 24th, 2006 15:00

    If the drives were detected in the BIOS:

    If the cables look good and you're running XP and the drives missing are IDE drives, remove the primary/secondary IDE channels in Device Manager and restart the PC and see if XP now detects the channel(s) and drive(s).

     

  • J

    josie023

    3 Posts

    197

    0

    Posted April 30th, 2006 22:00

    Thanks but now it shows up in device manager but now shows an ! mark next to it and says it cannot load the drivers on it.. What a nightmare this is!! Everything was working fine one week and then everything falls apart!
  • D

    dt63944

    9 Posts

    197

    0

    Posted April 30th, 2006 23:00

    If the alerted drives in Device Manager correspond to the proper make and model of what's actually in the computer, then XP sees them but something is blocking their complete installation.
     
    Can you recall installing any software just before this problem occurred? Are there any error codes associated with alerted drives in the Device Manager (the :Device Status info that is found by right-clicking the drive in Device Manager and selecting "Properties").
     
    Try booting into Safe Mode and see if the drives still show the alert.
     
    Try removing the drives and IDE channel(s) if they are IDE drives and letting XP detect them again.
     
    This may be resolved by a repair reinstall of Windows XP, however that should be the last resort.
     
     

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