My computer isnt new, i got it from a friend. And lately the CD rom drive is not working(wont open or run a cd when it does) and it is gone from the My COmputer menu. Also there is a red light on the front of it, which is usually green. If i turn the computer off and then back on it will work for a second but then stop again. i know how to put in a new CD ROM, if i go buy one and install it do you think that will solve the problem?
computer people - disappearing CD ROM
- Thread starter B33CPE
- Start date
You may just need to update the drivers for it. Whatever brand it is, go to the site and do a bit of searching around for drivers. That may not work.
You may just have to reinstall the drive also.
If that doesn't work, yeah I'd say go pick up a "new" one. You can get them for uber cheap at most of the small computer specialty stores. I wouldn't just go right to best buy, they charge too much.
You may just have to reinstall the drive also.
If that doesn't work, yeah I'd say go pick up a "new" one. You can get them for uber cheap at most of the small computer specialty stores. I wouldn't just go right to best buy, they charge too much.
Sounds like it could be an issue with the jumpers. I'm not sure how good you are with computers, but the jumpers are on the back of the CDROM. They control whether or not the ROM is the Master or Slave on it's channel. It could be loose.
Try this first.
Right click on My computer and go to Properties.
Go to Hardware, then Device Manager..
Go down to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
I am guessing that your CDRom drive is on the Secondary Channel, which is the norm.
Highlight the Secondary IDE Channel and hit Delete.
Now Reboot the computer..
The system will reinstall the secondary controller....
See if it shows your CDROM drive..
In the end you may, in fact, need a new drive.. and they can be gotten very cheap nowadays.
Try this first.
Right click on My computer and go to Properties.
Go to Hardware, then Device Manager..
Go down to IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.
I am guessing that your CDRom drive is on the Secondary Channel, which is the norm.
Highlight the Secondary IDE Channel and hit Delete.
Now Reboot the computer..
The system will reinstall the secondary controller....
See if it shows your CDROM drive..
In the end you may, in fact, need a new drive.. and they can be gotten very cheap nowadays.
It's probably not jumpers or drivers. Jumpers are not going to move themselves, and drivers for a CD ROM are so basic and old that there really isn't anything better than what comes with Windows. Its possible the driver is corrupted, so maybe reapplying the latest service pack will put a fresh copy of the driver out there. The 1st thing I'd do is boot the computer into BIOS mode and see if it's recognized, and let the computer do a discovery of all the devices connected to the IDE bus. If that doesn't work, reapply the last service pack. If that doesn't work, replace it. Even a CD burner is super cheap these days so it's not like you are out a hard drive or something.
heres some more info: i am running windows XP, my computer is an older dell, an optiplex gx110 that has been updated. and my CD ROM is an HP CD-Writer 9500 series, so it is not the original cd rom drive that came with the computer, so if i do the thing that dirtmcgirt told me too do will me computer be able to reinstall the secondary driver by itself? i dont have any disks for anything, so im kinda afraid to uninstall anything... Oh and when i restart a screen comes up saying some like "secondary device is not detected press f1 to continue". I'm great with computers when they are working lol, i can take them apart and swap out parts, and install software/hardware, but when it comes to diagnositcs i get lost, i appreciate all the help
The F1 prompt is telling you there is a problem. Run the BIOS setup and see if it finds it. If not break open the case and make sure the cables are firmly seated, then run the BIOS setup again. If all the cables are seated right, then the drive probably just went bad, it happens. I've had several CD devices fail in various computers over the years.
It doesn't matter that it's not the original CDROM. They all use a generic driver and XP has that part covered. When you do burning, thats when you may need a specific driver, but since you can't get it to work at all, you are not even at that point yet.
It doesn't matter that it's not the original CDROM. They all use a generic driver and XP has that part covered. When you do burning, thats when you may need a specific driver, but since you can't get it to work at all, you are not even at that point yet.
Okay i know what you are talking about, i have done that i just didnt realize it was called BIOS, anyway it doesnt have my CD rom listed on there, i believe it says secondary device: unknown. i also did what dirtmcgirt said in their first reply and that didnt work. I also emailed HP and they told me to try reinstalling the whole cd rom unit. I guess i'm going to have to take it apart and may try checking all the conections, and if that dont work i'll just go buy a new one, you can get them for like $30 anyway. thanks for the help.