CD drive is not recognized.

[Aksannyi]

Okay, this is starting to piss me off.

I have an HP Compaq Presario F700 Notebook PC that I'm using right now, with a ST9160821AS ATA disc drive.

I've been entering CDs and DVDs into the drive hoping that it will recognize at least one of them, but nothing is happening no matter what I do. The drive does not show up in "Computer." Device manager says that it is working properly and that the drivers are up to date. This is the information it gives me about the drivers, for what it's worth.
http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/1760/cdrom.png

I uninstalled the device, which required a restart, so I did that. Upon restarting, it automatically updated/installed drivers for that very device, then demanded another restart, so I did it. Logged back on and put a CD in the drive, and again, nothing happened.

I tried looking up possible solutions via Google, which yielded few useful results, so I'm at a loss. When I put the CD in the drive and shut the door, it spins a few times, and it sounds like it's trying to load, but nothing actually occurs. I check for the device in "Computer," and unlike any USB device I happen to plug in, it does not show up. AutoPlay also does not come up.

It worked back when I installed WoW, which was several months ago, and I can't remember using the drive for anything since, though I doubt I'd remember something as mundane as listening to music on a CD anyway. I bought the laptop in January of 2007, have reformatted it once since, and have had no major hardware issues since, though some minor hiccups have occurred.

Anyone have any suggestions for me? I'd really like to get this working again.

Thanks.

[Ksandra]

hmm hopefully someone knows how to fix that. I used to have a compaq presario desktop and it started doing that (from what I hear this is common). When I called customer support they couldn't get it to be fixed so I eventually had to get a new comp This was like 5+ years ago though so maybe people know what's wrong nowadays.

[Kryssan]

Is the drive removable? If so, pull it out and check to ensure the mating surfaces are clean and free of damage.


If the drive is not removable, look into seeing about accessing the drive. Some laptops make it a royal pain in the ass while others are as simple as removing a small quadrant of the case in order to get a look. If its the latter go ahead and take a look once again and make sure everything is still firmly connected. If the case is the former situation, meh. Might want to just take it in to a computer repair shop and let them look at it, as putting laptops back together is a royal pain in the ass and if you screw it up you'll be down one laptop without recompense. If someone else screws it up you can at least get something out of it.


A common issue with laptops is connectors becoming loose and/or damaged, yielding unexpected/unwanted results. Of course the drive itself could also just be going bad. If it's a slimware removable drive, it'll be rather easy to replace, but as most people don't have one of those just lying around and since it might not be an issue with the drive it could be a waste to walk down that route. Personally though it sounds like a hardware issue with the drive. I've had CDROM drives do this in the past, and replacing them fixed the problem.

[Aksannyi]

Shit. I already know that I can't get at it (my laptop is stupid as hell to open up) and I can't afford to have someone else look at it.

I'll be due for a new computer in the next few months anyway, so I guess I'm just gonna have to suck it up without a drive until then. I just wanted to listen to some tunes today, so meh.

SEE THIS? THIS IS WHY I DOWNLOAD MUSIC!!!!! lol.

[Rellikard]

Open up Regedit (Windows Key + R, type regedit.)

Follow this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Delete the Upper Filters and Lower Filters. Restart PC. Should work.

This is pretty common in Windows if this does fix. Otherwise yes, there's an actual hardware issue with your drive.

[Aksannyi]

There are no Upper and Lower Filters in there. Only this:
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/1347/regyq.png

Unless it's disguised somehow that I'm not seeing it, which is quite possible.

[Furtwangler]

In my history when something regarding it not being read happens the laser may have gone bad, but since it isn't showing in my computer at all that seems to be a bigger software issue .
One time my computer told me my driver was corrupted for my cd drive and I ended up doing a system restore to before it happened and it fixed it, so if that's possible you can always try that.

[Norellicus]

That device manager information looks suspiciously like a hard drive and not an optical disk. Are you sure it's being listed in device manager as an optical device?

Also, check your bios, see if it shows up there.

[Aksannyi]

There has never been anything listed in my Device Manager as an optical device, way back from when I was trying to disable optical devices to prevent Windower crashes. So if there is supposed to be something there, well, there isn't.

[Norellicus]

Yeah I don't know that the device manager page you showed is your CD at all; if it's supposed to be, it's definitely reading it as the wrong type of object. Check your bios like I said and make sure it shows an optical drive of some sort (it should list any installed drives).

[Solefald]

ST9160821AS is a Seagate hard drive.

You have to physically remove and reinsert the DVD drive in your laptop. If it still doesn't show up in Windows after that you are SOL.

[Aksannyi]

Well I can't do that.

I had plans to buy a new computer before XIV came out, now I guess I will just have to buy one sooner.

I had no idea it wasn't even showing in Device Manager, either. (Guess I'm a noob lol) But now that it doesn't even seem to exist according to the laptop, fuck it. It's far too over my head.

Mods can lock this. I'm just going to have to buy a new computer or an external disc drive.