PC hardware: Help! DVD drive doesn't recognize music CDs anymore

Sounds like a Windows problem...

In reply to: Help! DVD drive doesn't recognize music CDs anymore by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Hi Bob, it sounds like it is a problem with the file recognition system not working properly. Each file has a period and three letters at the end of it. That is there to identify what kind of file it is. Is it a DVD? Music file? a program file? or an auxiliary file needed for programs to work? That is what the last three letters stand for. These last three letters are called “file extensions”.

Inside the Windows Registry file, there is a table of what to do when it finds each of those file extensions. For example, if a .pdf file is double clicked, it would open Adobe Reader, and if a .URL file is opened, it would open your web browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Opera, Google Chrome) and find the webpage, and for the one you are talking about, a CD music File, is a CDA file. Something has disabled the table from recognizing what to do when it sees a CDA file, but that is easy to fix.

There are three things that I know to do, and I do them in this order. It is one of those things of do this first, and if that doesn’t work, then do this, and you keep doing that until you run out of possible solutions…

Option One:
To fix it, open “My Computer”, or “Windows Explorer”, find the drive icon for your CD/DVD player/burner and right-click on it. When the popup menu opens, choose, “Properties”. Click on the “Auto Play” tab. Click on “Select an Action to Perform”. Click on the “Restore Defaults” button and click on the “Apply” button. Then click on “Prompt me each time to choose an action” and click on the “Apply” button again. (Note: If you want it to open in a particular program each time you put in your music CD, instead of clicking on “Prompt me…” choose the program you want it to open each time you put in your CD. Now click on “Apply” and “OK” and restart your computer. Now put in a music CD and see if it works as it should.

If it still doesn’t work, here is something else you could do…

Option Two:
You could try uninstalling Windows Media Player 11 (WMP), and then re-installing it again. You may argue that you don’t like WMP, but do this anyway, because it would get your file settings right. Then if you don’t like WMP, you could go back to the above “Select an Action to Perform” to change it.

Open “Control Panel” and choose “Add or Remove Programs”. Scroll all the way down and double-click on “Windows Media Player 11” to uninstall it. Once it is uninstalled, restart your computer. (Note: You should always restart your computer whenever you do an uninstallation or an installation of a program.) You can re-install it at the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/11/default.aspx/. Once it is installed, restart your computer and try the music CD, and it should work as usual.

If that didn’t work you could do a little more complicated procedure. I don’t want to write it now, because I don’t think you would need it, because I am quite sure that one of the above two options would work and for me to write all the steps you would need to do, it would be very long. If the other two don’t work, then tell me, and I’ll tell you what steps to take from there.

If you do know how to work with the “Registered File Types” tool, that is found by clicking on Control Panel, and choosing “Folder Options” and clicking on the “File Types” tab, then check to see that it has one that says, “(NONE) AudioCD” and open that by clicking on the “Advanced” button and double-click on Play and make sure it is assigned to:
C:\Progra~1\Window~2\wmplayer.exe /prefetch:3 /device:AudioCD "%L".
If it is, close it and scroll down to file type, CDA, open that by clicking on the “Advanced” button, and check to see that it has Open and Play. Double-click on Open and it should be assigned to:
C:\Progra~1\Window~2\wmplayer.exe /Open "%L".
Then close that and double-click on Play, and you should see that it is assigned to:
C:\Progra~1\Window~2\wmplayer.exe /Play "%L".

NOTE: I assumed that what you meant by a “Music CD” was one that you buy in the store, ready made. If you are talking about another music format, such as, an MP3 CD, then check the value for that particular file instead of CDA.
I hope all this helps.